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The U.S. Navy’s supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln is now in Thailand for a much-deserved and highly publicized liberty port call. The carrier had gone 286 days without making such a stop, with much of that time spent executing grueling combat operations against Iran. The ship has been run very hard, relying on at times a rickety conveyor of sea replenishments to continue operating for months on end, and it has the scars to show for it. The Lincoln looks very much worse for wear, with so-called “running rust” and algae caked all along the sides of the hull, as well as around the edges of the flight deck and sponsons on either side. It’s something of a startling appearance for one of the most powerful ships on the planet and a major symbol of U.S. power projection, but it is also a reminder of what the vessel and its crew have endured for months on end.
Foreign accounts are calling the USS Abraham Lincoln a “defeated” aircraft carrier because it returned from 286 days at sea covered in rust and algae. As a 20-year U.S. Navy submarine veteran, I explain what these images actually show—and what they don’t.
Running rust is not proof of structural damage. Aircraft parked on the flight deck do not prove the elevators failed. The Lincoln’s appearance reflects an extraordinarily long deployment that included months of high-tempo combat operations against Iran.
But there is a serious warning hiding behind these photographs. Extended deployments place enormous pressure on sailors, their families, maintenance schedules and an already strained carrier force. The crew accomplished its mission—but America cannot continue asking the same people and ships to carry an unlimited operational burden.
In this video, we examine:
• What 286 days at sea does to a warshi
