Well, there’s some good news to talk about but it’s tempered by being incomplete. Let’s start with what we know. The USS George Washington arrived to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln (which hasn’t had so much as a port call in over 250 days) and the Lincoln is finally headed home. That’s certainly something to feel good about. The problem? Like any U.S. aircraft carrier the Lincoln is the lead ship in a Strike Group. In addition to the Lincoln’s 5000 Sailors and Marines who will finally come home there are the crews of the other ships. Add them in and some 7500 crew have been deployed past the breaking point, and the Pentagon hasn’t been clear on whether it’s just the Lincoln or it’s entire Strike Group that’s coming home!
Bear with me please. Carriers operate as part of formal Strike Groups. I wrote about this earlier this week in an article explaining the Lincoln’s relief, the Washington will be missing an Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer. It’s in the yard in Japan (the Washington Strike Group is forward based/deployed to deter China – it will take at least a couple of months to get another carrier there!) There’s the carrier of course which is the main ship in the group but there are ships (guided missile cruisers and destroyers and other ships (including a submarine or two) that are right there helping both to protect the carrier and carry out attacks in concert with it. This is all long-standing U.S. Naval Doctrine and it takes serious teamwork to ensure the whole Strike Group operates effectively and safely.
It also must be pointed out that for all the ‘happy talk’ from Trumpty and Warrior Petey Boy we have NOT destroyed or obliterated Iran’s weapons. They’ve still got missiles and drones AND nations like Russia and China willing and able to slip them more. I point this out because as I noted the non-carrier ships in a Strike Group are crucial to protecting it. When I learned the Washington Strike Group would be missing a ship my first thought was ‘will a guided missile destroyer assigned to the Lincoln have to stay behind?’ If you think morale is already in one of those toilets that’s broken imagine how bad it will get if one of the ships in the Lincoln Strike Group is ordered to stay behind in the Persian Gulf!
The blow to morale won’t be limited to whatever ship gets screwed over. Again, while all the talk has been about the Lincoln they are part of a collection of ships that saw a normal deployment (to a non-combat role) that was supposed to end this spring extended beyond all reason. If you think crew space on the Lincoln is limited, well it’s even more cramped on smaller ships! The crews of the other ships have been enduring the ‘when will this sh!t end so we can go home’ stuff just like the crew of the Lincoln.
What I find really troubling is that since learning the Washington had arrived in the Gulf I’ve been checking the Military Times and also the Navy Times (each branch has a service specific version of the parent Military Times) and as of an hour ago not a single article about the Lincoln coming home! Hmmmm. Worse, I’ve looked but can’t find stuff I saw recently about a meeting between the ‘Brass’ and families where the loved ones of crew on the support ships in the Lincoln Strike Group couldn’t get a straight answer on whether THOSE ships and their crews would be coming home with the Lincoln!
For now, the only news out there is about the Lincoln and this article from Business Insider is typical of what we’re being told:
A new US Navy carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, the military confirmed on Thursday. The group’s arrival comes amid questions and concerns about conditions aboard another aircraft carrier that has been on extended deployment in the region.
US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said that the George Washington Carrier Strike Group is now operating in the region as part of a scheduled deployment, adding that it arrived in the CENTCOM area of operations on Wednesday.
The strike group is led by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington, the Navy’s only carrier that is permanently forward-deployed to Japan.
Business Insider goes on to talk about lack of word on what ships accompanied the Washington but if you check out the link I provided to my own article you can see what the current composition of the Washington Strike Group at sea has been recently. But again I have to say right now it’s missing a guided missile destroyer. Although after four days without power the USS Benfold was repaired at sea that incident plus another where a similar ship suddenly lost power (but only for four hours) has the Benfold in the yard so engineers can figure out what the hell is going on with the power plant.
Anyway my point is that the lack of information provided to families earlier this week is troubling as hell. Worse, the lack of ANY information in either The Military Times or Navy Times about the Washington now being on station, the Lincoln (at least) coming home is troubling as hell. Electronic news outlets don’t seem any more interested in talking about and seeking answers to the question of whether ALL the ships in the Lincoln Strike Group are coming home. Surely family members in San Diego (whether they are based) have gotten messages from loved ones about these ships. Unless a communications blackout has been ordered by CENTCOM which wouldn’t surprise me.
Keep an eye on this folks. I might be fussing about what will turn out to be nothing. On the other hand if one or more ships from the Lincoln Strike Group which have suffered through the same over-extended deployment are still stuck in the Gulf fighting Trump’s useless war it could blow up into something very big and very fast.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Hubby, who’s a Navy vet and myself-retired Navy, have agreed there will be a whole lot of people NOT re-enlisting after this episode. Besides Hegseth’s thinning the upper ranks, the attrition is going to really weaken the military.