US Navy and Marine Officers on Board Ships in the Arabian Sea Are Failing to Feed Their Enlisted Personnel Properly
Cybele Mayes-Osterman, a reporter at the USA Today, wrote a story on April 16 that buried the lede… The enlisted personnel on board ships deployed to the Iranian war zone are not being adequately fed. Her article — Cookies, deodorant, socks. Iran war puts military packages in limbo — carried a misleading title, most likely the decision of editors eager to give cover for the failure of military and civilian leaders to ensure the sailors and Marines on board ships puttering offshore of Iran are being properly fed.
Her article starts with testimony from family members about the terrible food:
Dan F. was alarmed when his daughter, a Marine aboard the USS Tripoli, a warship deployed to fight the Iran war, sent him a photo of a meal served on the ship. A lunch tray, two-thirds empty, carried one small scoop of shredded meat and a single folded tortilla.
A picture of a mid-April dinner on the USS Abraham Lincoln, shared by a service member with his family, was similarly unappetizing – a small handful of boiled carrots, a dry meat patty and a gray slab of processed meat.
Dan and other military family members worried that their loved ones deployed to the Middle East are going hungry are filling boxes with items they hope could help service members ride out prolonged deployments in the Middle East – homemade fudge, Jolly Ranchers, crossword puzzle books, playing cards, toothpaste, Girl Scout cookies and fresh socks.
The article implies that the problem is lack of mail delivered in a war zone. While mail is not being delivered, that is not the problem. I have been in touch with two angry mothers. One has a son, a sailor who served on the USS Tripoli, who lost 30 pounds during his recent deployment. The other lady, who I met at Robert Barnes’ conference last weekend in Chattanooga, is the mother of a Marine who served on the USS Boxer. The sailor’s mom sent me photos, text messages and emails from her son describing the unpalatable cuisine. She has the receipts.
During a conversation with the Marine’s mother, I mentioned the emails I had received from the sailor’s mom. The Marine mother, who does not know the lady who had sent me the emails, told me her son had the same experience, i.e., lousy chow and big weight loss.
Pete Hegseth is calling these parents liars. According to Ms. Mayes-Osterman:
Both the Navy and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth denied reports of food problems.
“My team confirmed the logistics stats for the Lincoln & Tripoli,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “Both have 30+ days of Class I supplies (food) on board. NavCent monitors this everyday, for every ship. Our sailors deserve — and receive — the best.”
The only liar is Hegseth. He reportedly visited one of the ships and had a splendid meal in the Officer’s Mess. He did not eat in the dining facility for the enlisted personnel. That is a failure of leadership. My dogs eat better than these sailors and Marines.
This is not just a problem on the USS Tripoli and USS Boxer. Similar complaints came from sailors posted to the USS Abraham Lincoln. The officers on board these ships have a duty and obligation to ensure their troops are properly fed. In theory, officers are supposed to eat last. But that is not the reality on board the ships conducting war missions off the coast of Iran.
Not only has Donald Trump embroiled the US in an unnecessary war… A war of choice… he has failed to ensure that the enlisted military personnel are being properly fed. The Navy and Marine Corps officers on board these ships are feasting instead of ensuring that the enlisted personnel they are supposed to lead are being properly fed. What a disgrace! Don’t be surprised to learn that many of these enlisted folks will leave the military as soon as they legally can.
Nima and I discussed the news that the US and Iran are engaged in serious indirect negotiations, with Pakistan and Qatar serving as mediators:
Colonel Wilkerson and I reviewed the latest developments in the war with Iran with Danny Haiphong:
Mario and I discussed media reports that Iran reportedly is ready to reopen the Strait of Hormuz provided that the US fulfill the obligations incurred under the MoU:
I am seething (once again) about Pete Hegseth. A person in his position should--must--connect personally with the troops on a visit. Yes of course, eat with them! Stand in line for food with them! Interact and talk with them!
But when he was onboard that ship, he was probably fearful of what he'd hear from them. He also thinks so highly of himself (another god) and his position in the Administration that he would not stoop to eating as the enlisted men do.
Of course the Trump-serving mainstream media will bury any journalist's story about meager, unpalatable food and no mail deliveries to deployed ships. Such stories make the leaders look bad, and the populace would get angry and cry for justice. Must keep the masses ignorant and placid.
If some senators and congressmen got a delegation together for a fact-finding mission to one or more of the USN ships parked in the waters south of the Middle East...that would be good. A helicopter could ferry them around. Problem is how to make surprise visits to the mess halls. Also, would the higher-ups allow this?
Any other ideas?