Trump Orders Navy to Return to Steam Catapults; USS George Washington Sails to Middle East

Trump Orders Navy to Return to Steam Catapults; USS George Washington Sails to Middle East

Washington, Aug. 14: A U.S. Aircraft carrier deployed in the Pacific, the USS George Washington, is on its way to the Middle East amid fears over conditions aboard another U.S. Carrier in the region, the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been operating off Iran for over 260 consecutive days.

According to Navy officials, the USS George Washington sailed from Da Nang, Vietnam last week, transited the Singapore Strait and was in the Strait of Malacca early this morning en route to the Indian Ocean, with Navy officials saying it is expected to relieve the Abraham Lincoln as the carrier presence in the region of two U.S. Carrier strike groups.

The USS Abraham Lincoln shipped out of San Diego November 21, and arrived in the Middle East in January; and its deployment had reached over 260 non-stop days in the operational theater in addition to the 23 in the Persian Gulf, and the 38 off of Iran itself. The Navy admitted, due to the U.S.-Iran conflict, “traditional resupply routes were disrupted by military operations, leading to delays for food, hygiene products and mail deliveries on board the carrier.”

It further admitted: “Mission-critical supplies were prioritized, and service members now have a clear, safe water supply and sufficient provisions to meet their nutritional needs.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied reports that conditions aboard the carrier were disastrous, stating: “There’s no question the reports have been widely misrepresented” and that Pentagon officials were working to rotate in a fresh crew and bring the Lincoln home “as soon as it is operationally feasible.

” Meanwhile Democratic Senators continue to push for investigation into the Lincoln’s mission status. Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has submitted requests for information from Navy officials on the carrier’s long deployment during the extended operations against Iran, and ranking member Senator Ruben Gallego (D- Ariz.) has requested a congressional oversight visit to the Lincoln due to concerns over the sailors’ well being, calling the reports “dangerous.”

The Navy has denied that suicides and suicide attempts have occurred at higher rates aboard the Lincoln than other carriers but has refused to release detailed figures due to operational security and medical privacy. It has confirmed however that one of its sailors “went overboard from USS Abraham Lincoln in early August,” but the service member “was recovered quickly and received immediate medical care and has since transferred off the ship for further treatment.”

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Central Command officials for their part praised the ship’s operations and its sailors and Marines who have, according to officials, “flown roughly 10,000 sorties and launched 1.5 million pounds of ordnance on a continuous basis during their present deployment.”

Meanwhile, in a separate development: Trump orders return to steam catapults, citing past reliability concerns: President Donald Trump is ordering the Navy to develop a plan for the scrapping of the new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) technology aboard future Ford-class carriers, returning to traditional steam-powered catapults.

In an order to the Pentagon the President gives them 60 days for the implementation plan and said that in his opinion, traditionalsteampowered catapult technology is much more reliable, but the changeover may greatly increase costs and could be very financially and logistically challenging, a statement concurred with by the carrier’s manufacturer General Atomics, but they say the system allows aircraft to be launched more quickly and with less personnel.