Rusted US aircraft carrier docks; commander strictly forbids soliciting prostitutes.

Here is the English translation of the news text:

On September 2, local time, after continuously sailing at sea for over nine months, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Lincoln docked at an eastern port in Thailand. Exhausted officers and sailors disembarked from the rusted hull and boarded buses for the resort city of Pattaya, beginning a long-overdue period of rest and recuperation.

The Lincoln was deployed to the Middle East before the outbreak of the war against Iran in January this year and was originally scheduled to return to the United States in May. However, it was not until reports emerged in late August of multiple sailors attempting to jump overboard that the carrier finally embarked on its journey home. Relatives of the crew complained bitterly about the repeatedly extended deployments, stating that sailors had been trapped at sea for a prolonged period and were suffering from severe mental health issues.

The lengthy deployment at sea also left the carrier’s exterior covered in rust, with mottled paint near the waterline, though it sustained no obvious combat damage. Lincoln Commanding Officer Dan Keeler admitted to the media that the aircraft carrier now looked like “a dirty car in a parking lot.” Regarding President Trump’s previous claim that this 270-day deployment was “not nearly long enough,” Keeler responded, “That is the President’s own statement.”

R&R

Before arriving at the port near Pattaya, the Lincoln had only made brief stops in Guam and Oman throughout its entire deployment, staying for just one day each time, during which crew members were not allowed to leave the port freely. This time, however, thousands of sailors and officers on board would have five days off the ship for rest and recuperation.

Pattaya was once a quiet little fishing village. During the Vietnam War, a large influx of U.S. military personnel stationed in Thailand flooded in to seek entertainment, and the area gradually developed into one of the world’s most famous red-light districts.

To welcome the large number of U.S. sailors, Pattaya police beefed up security, deploying extra patrols in major beaches and nightlife districts, and arresting some sex workers soliciting on the streets.

According to U.S. media reports, commanders required officers and sailors to observe a curfew during their free time in Pattaya, returning to their hotels on time. At the same time, prostitution and marijuana use were strictly prohibited, and participation in high-risk tourist activities such as jet skis and parasailing was banned.

Pattaya Mayor Poramet Ngampichet personally went to the hotel where the Lincoln crew was staying to greet them. He told the Bangkok Post that during the five-day leave, each U.S. service member was expected to spend $100 to $150 per day, bringing the total estimated economic contribution to the local area to around $3 million.

However, for some sailors, the only thing they wanted to do at that moment was to go home.

Two sailors with more than 10 years of service in the U.S. Navy told NBC News that rather than intermediate port calls, they would have preferred to return straight to San Diego. Both had executed overseas deployment missions multiple times, yet agreed that this was the worst of their military careers.

Impacted by the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, the Lincoln experienced food shortages due to disruptions in its logistics supply chain. Issues such as clogged toilets, moldy shower rooms, and polluted domestic water also plagued the crew for a long time.

The two sailors also worried that increasingly long deployments and fewer port calls for rest might become the “new normal” for the U.S. Navy, leading fewer and fewer sailors to reenlist.

Disciplinary Action

Meanwhile, a Lincoln sailor who attempted to jump overboard is facing disciplinary action from the U.S. Navy.

The 19-year-old sailor leaped from the deck into the sea on August 3 and was rescued less than an hour later. According to his wife, after their daughter was born in February this year, he repeatedly applied for paternity leave, only to have his requests denied by superiors. Before jumping, the young sailor had repeatedly reported his mental health issues to superiors and the ship’s medical team.

On August 13, he was flown to San Diego and spent five days receiving treatment at a naval medical center. His wife stated that upon discharge, her husband was immediately ordered back to duty. According to U.S. media reports, the sailor was subsequently charged with “feigning illness to shirk duty” and “unauthorized absence,” which could result in the forfeiture of half his pay.

The Lincoln began its deployment mission last November, initially planning to head to the Pacific before being reassigned to the Middle East shortly afterward. After the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war in late February this year, the ship remained at the very forefront of U.S. military operations against Iran. According to U.S. Central Command statistics, over the past six months, the Lincoln carrier strike group shot down more than 200 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps drones that threatened international shipping and U.S. forces, and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military targets inside Iran using carrier-based aircraft.

According to Democratic lawmakers, the Lincoln‘s nearly 300-day continuous deployment set a new record in modern U.S. military history.