I wrote this article several days ago. But, I had to wait to do the final edit on it and post it today…Sunday.
Why?
It’s very personal. I didn’t want to publish my original article or even put my initial thoughts down on paper. It was 50% cursing and ugly language. Inappropriate for me to post.
I had to put it off until the Sabbath and wait for that promoting on how I should finish this post and even if I should publish it. Here is the final product…please “feel” what I am saying. It’s that important.
USS Abraham Lincoln, aircraft carrier, has been deployed more than 267 days (9 months) without coming ashore in over 240 days (8 months), setting a record for consecutive days at sea for a carrier. That is 40 days longer than the next closet record. And yes, it beats the records for wartime days at sea as well…even during WW2!
Can you even imagine 8 months without setting foot on land!! Or, seeing any semblance of normal life.
Let me stop for a second…I was in the US Navy…I was stationed on a destroyer for 2 years back in the 1970’s…and…after my destroyer assignment I was stationed on an aircraft carrier for 2 years. I did two 6-month deployments overseas (1 on each ship, 1 during the Vietnam War). So I would say I have some valid and reliable background to share what I think.
The longest we ever stayed at sea on the destroyer was about 20 days…and that was tough, hell actually. Rocking and rolling and the sea sickness was horrible. And by then any fresh food was long gone and we were eating all caned or frozen food…and powdered eggs.
The aircraft carrier…oh boy…
On the carrier the longest period at sea was approximately 45 days…and that was tough. By then the fresh food was gone, milk was gone, powdered eggs were the norm…and we were all dead beat tired like you can’t imagine.
We had air operations going constantly monitoring USSR and other East Block countries that were pushing America’s geopolitical buttons. It was also during the same time period that Israel was warring with its neighbors…we were standing-by in the area to get involved if asked. We had 4 plane accidents, 1 helicopter down, 5 deaths, a devastating fire, and a long list of injuries, myself included.
We were constantly working our normal 8 – 5 work days at our jobs…and then at least one 4-hour watch at night, usually two. That made our total work days 12 – 16 hours minimum, usually with no more than 3 – 4 hours of continuous sleep…for 45 straight days.
Then there was the constant sounds, constant personnel and aircraft movement 24/7, constant stress…and little sleep. The stress was the worse. Aircraft carrier duty is among the most dangerous high-risk working environments anywhere in the world.
Let me explain “port calls”…first off, being away from family and friends back in the states is tough to deal with on the best of days. I can’t even imagine for 9 months straight of not seeing your family. But it’s worse than that…for 8 months not even being able to step foot on land, see real people, or experience some semblance of normal life. It is devastating to a ship’s morale. At 60-days morale is suffering badly…under war-time conditions it is tougher than hell.
At 240 days of no port call the crew is basically automated zombies…especially the lower ranking enlisted men. Let me be perfectly clear…at 240 days of no port call…the crew is burned out. And you now can see that by the fact that some crew members are attempting suicide…and not just one or two.
Let me clarify…the Lincoln is getting resupplied…and I am sure some of that includes some amount of fresh food of some sorts on occasions. But just as clearly…they will never get enough fresh food for 5,000 crew members while being resupplied at sea…it’s just not possible.
Now, let me be clear…the officers, Warrant Officers and senior enlisted crew (Chiefs) get better food and that would include fresher food. The lower ranking enlisted men E-6 and below (about 75% of the total crew, 3800 sailors out of 5000) don’t get the same quality food…it is a lower standard, lower quality. And the living conditions for Officers and senior enlisted are far better than the lower ranks as well.
Think about this for a minute…9 adult males sleeping in room with a total floor area of 7′ x 7′ (49sq’), bunks stacked 3-high, and a 2’x4′ hatch in the deck (floor) taking up some of that space. Yeah, real nice, eh?
Why do I mention food so much?
It is hard to understand unless you’ve been stationed aboard ship. Life on board is tough, really tough. And one of the, if not the, highlight of the day is chow time. But food fatigue is a real problem…shitty food…poor quality food…lack of fresh food…same-old-same-old food…makes a tough life, a hell. Something as simple as ice cream can pick-up the ship’s morale like you can’t imagine.
Back to 240 days at sea…no port calls. Everyone in the navy…EVERYONE…knows that 240 days at sea creates a zombie crew…a dangerously unsafe crew…a mentally unhealthy crew.
If truth be told and the navy released the actual numbers of accidents, injuries, sickness, suicides, drug abuse, fights, etc………..OMG………it would make the average person throw-up. And maybe it would make them demand a change of military leadership.
Interestingly…everyone in Washington leadership refuses to release any actual numbers of any of the suicides, attempted suicides, mental health crisis, etc. Hummmmm, I wonder why that is?
And I would agree with that call for change in leadership……except I don’t believe we have true leadership in Washington anymore…we have posers, wannabees, and pretenders.
In a real world…one of justice…one where decent and qualified people were in leadership…one where we valued people over a lust for war…these “so-called leaders” would be going on trial and then to prison for this kind of crap.
But in our world…the world for the last 50 years…people will not be held accountable. Well, actually…people will retire on fat pensions, get great book deals, become talking heads on cable news, and smoke fat cigars with their millionaire and billionaire buddies that have done the same.
Now, if you have military experience in one of the other branches…other than the Marines…you don’t know and can’t understand living in a metal box 24-hours a day, working 12 – 16 hours per day in a very high-stress environment on very little sleep. Even Army personnel go out on a mission for days at a time…then come back to a base with air conditioned living quarters and blue sky and Burger King.
Underway at sea…some sailors don’t even see the sky for days or even weeks at a time.
And don’t listen to the bullshit, being on a carrier at sea is NOT a cruise of luxury and comfort.
For the average person imagine this…you’re at your job, it is both stressful and very dangerous, more so than ever before. You just worked 10 hours and you are deadbeat tired…it’s time to go home and you just want to spend some time with your family. But you can’t, home and family is 6500 miles away. Instead you walk for 4 minutes to the mess (eating location) and eat a meal of no fresh food, everything heavily processed. You’re tired and ready for bed. You climb into your bunk bed that has about 18” of space between your face and the bottom of the bunk over you. There’s 3 bunks stacked on top of each other. You wanted to take a shower but there is no hot water, the line was long, and very little fresh water available. So going to bed the only real option.
Air operations are still going on so it isn’t quiet, it’s like living next to an airport runway but worse. You fall asleep anyway. You have a “watch” tonight so you are woken up about 3 hours after you fell asleep, you have 15 minutes to get dressed and be at your watch station. Four hours later you get relieved and head back down to your bunk. You might get another 2 – 3 hours of sleep before your workday starts all over again.
And you have done that for 240 straight days. You’re a zombie…maybe worse.
Would you want to live like that? Where would your mental health be?
Now…you, the sailor, goes topside. Ah, beautiful blue sky and ocean…but that ocean looks a bit too inviting…and then you’re thinking…
P.S. Are you aware that the suicide rate in the military is more than double the suicide rate in the US civilian population?
This is what the general public thinks…
This is reality after 240 days at sea…
And let me make one more thing very, very clear…and I don’t give a damn if you’re offended. Maybe you just need to hear the real truth for a change…
August 14th, “President Donald Trump reacted to reports of poor conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln on Friday, claiming that families of service members are ‘not’ concerned and [Trump] saying that the vessel hasn’t been deployed for ‘nearly long enough.’”
And that is 100% verified according to numerous news outlets and video recordings of him making that unbelievable statement. I’ve personally seen the videos.
That is a man…a Commander-In-Chief poser…who is completely out of touch with reality and doesn’t give a shit about the Lincoln’s crew. It is utterly disgraceful what he said.
But it should be even more disturbing that is actually what he thinks. What a totally disgusting and dishonorable thing to say about the men you are supposed to be leading.
What is even more scary…”why” would he say such a thing?
A window to the true character of the man.
Our country has lost its soul.