S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on this episode of KPBS Midday Edition. After 286 days at sea , sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln finally get relief making their first port call in Thailand. We've got the latest. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. The USS Abraham Lincoln docked in Thailand Wednesday local time , marking its first port call during a grueling nine month deployment for the crew of nearly not nearly 5000 sailors and Marines. This is their first big moment of respite after reports of poor conditions , supply shortages and deteriorating mental health aboard the ship. I'm joined now by KPBS military and veteran affairs reporter Andrew Dyer. Andrew , welcome. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thanks for having me.
S1: Glad to have you here. So this is the first port call. Um , a couple of other stops before then. Why have these stops been so , um , limited?
S2: As far as I know , it's because those were kind of logistic stops. They stopped in Guam , like in December. There's a Navy base in Guam. That was a one day thing where sailors could get off and limited to the base. They could go anywhere on the base. But that's just one day. That's that's not a Liberty port. Um , and um , the other stop , I think , was at another supply base somewhere where they weren't able to leave even the pier. So , um , yeah , when you're deployed on a ship , you work seven days a week. Um , you either work shifts or you work 12 hours , you have 12 hour shifts or sometimes watch standards have different schedules , but , uh , you work seven days a week. And so , um , this these five days , they're in Thailand are they're literally their first days off. Um , in in nine months. Wow.
S1: Wow. And this is also the first , um , Liberty port the Lincoln has stopped at in its nine months. Um , what does that mean?
S2: So , um , Liberty ports , I mean , this is a big reason why people choose to join the Navy over the Army or the Air Force. Because when you go on a deployment. Um , Navy ships traditionally will hit multiple , uh , Liberty ports. So when you go to the Westpac , which is where San Diego carriers normally deploy , you know , you can kind of count on hitting Hong Kong , Singapore , Thailand , if you're lucky , uh , Sydney , Australia , or if you're really lucky , Perth , Australia. Uh , but that's kind of what you expect. Um , so , uh , a liberty port is just , um , you know , usually it's four days. 4 or 5 days. Um , one of those days , you'll normally have to work a duty day , but , um , every other day. You're it's basically like a weekend. You're free to come and go as you want to. So it's obviously for at the end of a long chunk of time at sea. Uh , this is this is huge.
S1: So what are they? What are sailors allowed to do in their free time?
S2: Well , um , so before you hit a port , um , there'll be a port brief on the ship's , uh , closed circuit TV system. The commanding officer , maybe the Kaggle. Come on there and they'll tell you , uh , about the exchange rate. Tell you how the taxicabs work. Tell you , um , where you're allowed to go , where you're not allowed to go. Um , there'll be a security aspect to the brief where they'll tell you , you know , like NCIS , and they'll be like a team that goes to the port ahead of the ship , and they'll kind of get a report from , you know , NCIS and whoever else about threats and whatever else. And so that'll all be baked into the brief as well. So , um , you know , that's , uh , They'll be , well , kind of informed before hitting shore.
S1: So it's not like they can get off the boat and then maybe go and travel somewhere else necessarily. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. You know , normally , no. Um , I mean , Bangkok isn't that far from from Pattaya , so , um , theoretically , you could hop a train. Um , I don't know if that's exactly authorized , though , but , um , if you're , uh , if you're willing to risk it , you know , you can you can do a lot. Yeah. It's a it's a day off. Ken.
S1: Ken. Loved ones. Meet them over there. Family?
S2: Yes , absolutely. In fact , the only time I was in Pattaya , this is like 2005 , 2006. I was stationed in Japan , which is a lot closer. And , you know , my wife came out and we I took leave and we just got a stated one of the resorts down there. And it was it was great , um , being able to see one of the another.
S1: Yeah , yeah. You know , this stop comes amid reports of unsanitary conditions , water contamination , food shortages and mental health challenges among the crew. What have you heard about current conditions on the ship?
S2: I've heard what everybody else has heard , just that , you know , it's a it's been a tough going , a tough last few months. Um , we've learned a lot about why some of these shortages occurred. Um , from , uh , reporting in the New York Times and elsewhere about the supply base in Bahrain being damaged so badly that it was unusable. This is what kept the ship in stock with , um , basic toiletries and food and fresh fruit and vegetables , vegetables when you're deployed in Fifth Fleet. So they've been having to truck everything from Diego Garcia , which is a tiny island thousands of miles away. So , uh , that changed the whole , um , ability of the Navy to operate in that Central Command Fifth Fleet area , which they've said they've got it figured out now , but , um , it's been it's been rough on the ship and its crew. And , you know , I tend not to read too much into photos of ships in the midst of deployments. But if you see photos of the Lincoln in Thailand , there is a ring of rust around the waterline of the whole , um , you know , this is kind of normal for a ship operating at sea. You know , rust happens , um , and especially in the Central Command where it's very hot and humid and , uh , you know , it's not the best conditions for all of the metal parts on the ship , nor the aircraft.
S1: So will they do some upkeep on that ship while sailors are off?
S2: Very limited. Um , you're limited in what you can do in that short amount of time. Uh , you know , maybe the duty section sailors will , um , strip and walk some floors. Maybe they'll they'll paint a few bulkheads. But as , as far as , like , significant repairs , which the ship is any ship would need after a deployment That's going to have to wait until they get back , and they can get into what the Navy calls an availability , which is a long period of time at the pier.
S1: All right. Um , you know , Pattaya has historically been a stop for U.S. troops , as you mentioned. You've actually been there. What can you tell us about the city and its reputation among American sailors? And if there's any tension there between people who live in Pattaya and call Pattaya home and and sailors and all?
S2: Well , you know , this is part of the economic engine. You know , Pattaya is a resort town on the beach. Um , it's it's for tourists. It is an adult playground. So , um , you know , the the costs are very low relative to a lot of Western countries. Um , your your dollar goes a long way in Thai baht. So , um , you can live rather well comparatively. Uh , there. Um , and. Yeah , whatever you want , you can do , you can go. Right? elephants. You can go jet skiing. You can go parasailing. Um , but that's what I did , so I don't know what else. I'm sure there's a lot of other things to do , but , um , there's , uh , it's it's it's very , uh , sailors love , love the port. Going to Thailand is always a highlight of of a deployment. Um , there's something for everyone. And , um , the relationship with the community is is is good. You know , this is they rely on , um , these periodic ships , uh , stops from Navy ships , um , for part of their economy. So , um , it's very normal for a Navy ship , several Navy ships to dock in this port. Or the other big one is Phuket , um , during any deployment. So multiple times a year , they'll be a ship. They're they're very used to it.
S1: Well , Navy officials and local authorities say they have set limits on what sailors can do for this shore leave. According to the Thai government. Troops will not be allowed to enter the red light district , but can go on on walking streets. And is that like typical for a port call like this?
S2: Yes , you'll always have off limited areas in any port , and those off limited areas will often be red light districts , maybe certain bars. Um , and Pattaya , the there's a street called Walking Street , and that's kind of like the main drag of a lot of , uh , a lot of stuff to do there. So everybody kind of is that walking through it at one point or another during the port call? Um , but yeah , that's uh , that's standard , um , off limits areas , um , how strongly it's enforced , I don't know , I'm not there. Um , I'm , I'm pretty skeptical that they're going to be able to , to , to stop folks from a , you know , like it or not , the sex tourism and sex industry in that part of Thailand is a big part of a big part of the draw for some of the. A lot of the tourists maybe. And , um , I think it's going to be challenging to keep people away from that aspect of the , of the port.
S1: And there's I'm sure a dark side of that and , and victims in all of that , and probably something that does , in fact create a lot of tension between people who call Pattaya home and , and sailors who are coming in off , you know , a very long deployment. Um , listen , zooming out , what does this mean for the Lincoln and the significance of this deployment amid the ongoing U.S. Iran war?
S2: Well , it's kind of a , you know , the fact that this ship was out there for so long with no idea when they're going to come home , not even hitting ports. It's kind of a I don't know , maybe it's a metaphor for the Iran war as a whole where , you know , we kind of launched this thing. Uh , the goals kept changing. Um , we've heard so many times that Iran has been destroyed , the country's been destroyed. Its regime has destroyed , its ability to fight is gone. Um , things that are clearly not true. And , uh , there's no end in sight. And there's no , you know , what is the what is the condition to end the war? That question has never been answered. So the fact that the Lincoln was out there for so long , no idea when they're coming home , uh , not hitting ports , not getting the supplies it needed. Um , I think that , you know , says a lot about the the conflict itself. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. The Lincoln is scheduled to depart on Sunday. What can you tell us about that?
S2: Uh , I don't know exactly what the plan is for the Lincoln. The Navy doesn't , you know , publicize its ship movements. Kind of famously so , um , you know , uh , there's a long a lot of ocean between , uh , Thailand and San Diego. So , you know , Sometimes on a deployment , a normal deployment , you can maybe anticipate another stop either in Guam or Hawaii on the way home. But this is an unusual deployment , and a lot of sailors , I'm sure , just want to get home. So I don't know if those stops will happen or if they won't , but um , I would I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
S1: Well , they have the things that the basic needs that , you know , soap , food , those things. So moving forward the.
S2: Operation and logistics environment is going to change as you go from Fifth Fleet. Now they're in seventh Fleet. Um , they'll be getting supplies out of Japan. Um , it'll be much more. It'll be much more comfortable , uh , from here on out.
S1: All right. Well , well , I know you'll continue to follow this , and we'll stay with you on this coverage. I've been speaking with KPBS military and veteran affairs reporter Andrew Dyer. Andrew. Thank you.
S2: Thank you.
