A US guided-missile destroyer reportedly spent four days adrift and without power in the South China Sea in July, furthering concerns about strain being placed on deployed military members. The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer which had been sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group, was reported to have been towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines, according to the US Naval Institute News, an independent military publication. The 10,000-ton destroyer lost power after what a spokesperson with the US seventh fleet called “an engineering casualty involving its generators”, resulting in a loss of power.
That loss of power meant sailors were without galley services, toilets and air conditioning, Commander Matthew Comer told USNI News in a statement. Another vessel, USS Robert Smalls, the cruiser attached to the strike group, had to help provide meals for the crew. Comer said that Benfold lost power on 24 July and was towed on 28 July.
Power was restored two days later. The Guardian has approached theseventh fleet for comment. Separately, the Pentagon was ordered to scale back annual joint military exercises with South Korea as his war against Iran stretches the limits of US aircraft carriers.
Trump said on Sunday that he had instructed Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, to “substantially reduce” the joint military exercises with South Korea. The USS George Washington strike group on Monday was headed to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, a carrier that in recent days was subject to reports by the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes of multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard after more than 200 days without a port call. Trump told reporters on Monday the carrier had been at sea for a “good period of time” and said he had spoken with a retired admiral over the weekend who recounted being on ships for “much longer”.
Trump said the admiral assured him that the Lincoln was “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of”. Reports of poor morale prompted Democratic lawmakers and military families to demand that the Trump administration answer questions about low morale, mental health challenges and living conditions for crew members. Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and retired marine, said on ABC News on Sunday that the problems arose from the Iran war that the Trump administration started in February but has not been able to resolve.
The Lincoln originally deployed to the Indo-Pacific before being ordered to sail to the Middle East in January. Hegseth has rejected the accounts, calling them “completely misrepresented”. The navy, meanwhile, has said: “Based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.” Navy officials said in a statement obtained by Task & Purpose: “We know that extended deployments place a significant strain on our service members and their families, and we are grateful for the resilience and sacrifices they make in support of our nation’s security.” In an opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Adm Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said he had been onboard the Lincoln in the Arabian Gulf a day earlier and addressed the sailors.
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