WASHINGTON — The top US military commander in the Middle East has admitted that sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are “tired” after a record-setting deployment, but continue to “fire on all cylinders” after reports emerged last week that multiple service members attempted to jump overboard.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Tampa, Fla.-based US Central Command (CENTCOM), visited the aircraft carrier in the north Arabian Sea on Saturday ahead of its imminent relief as one of the most important American military hubs waging the Iran war.
“I was blown away by this strong group of high-achieving Americans standing tall with justified pride in everything they have accomplished,” Cooper wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday.
The admiral added: “I also saw the reality of more than 260 days at sea with more than 150 days in a combat zone, while speaking with sailors in spaces most guests don’t see.”
Cooper did not deny reports of mental fatigue and difficult living conditions afflicting the more than 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the vessel, but wrote that “many elements of those stories are old news.”
“I chatted with junior enlisted personnel and junior officers in small groups. Issues related to food, hot water and other concerns raised months ago were addressed by leadership and resolved,” the admiral wrote.
“The crew is tired, but they continue to fire on all cylinders. History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era.”
Cooper continued that “my conversations with our troops naturally turned to what matters most. Tucked between steel bulkheads, away from the roaring flight operations, we spoke not of headlines or high-level strategic maneuvers, but of missed birthdays, first steps captured on video calls, high-school graduations and the quiet sacrifices unfolding thousands of miles away back home.”
President Trump had brushed off the reports Friday, saying the Lincoln’s deployment had been “not nearly long enough” while confirming the carrier would return “very shortly” to the US.
Cooper hailed the crew for courageously withstanding Iranian attempts to sink the ship while conducting hundreds of missions to weaken the Islamic Republic’s military.
“The strike group’s guided-missile destroyers engaged in arguably the most intense combat at sea the Navy has seen since World War II, and the air wing executed hundreds of decisive strikes on IRGC targets — sinking the Iranian navy with exceptional tactical precision,” he wrote.
“The strike group twice enacted the most effective naval blockade in modern history. But the true foundation of American sea power isn’t measured in steel, nuclear reactors, high-tech aviation or surface platforms. It is measured in human endurance, character and the strength of the American military family.”
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