Did US soldiers set fire to bedding, clog toilets of warship Gerald R Ford to skip war duty?
India Today
Amid the war in Iran, the US aircraft carrier Gerald R Ford is retreating to a port in Greece for repairs. The ship was plagued by clogged toilets, and a fire that burnt through the vessel's laundry system and sleeping quarters. While the first has been blamed on the crew, the other could also be their handiwork of soldiers trying to skip war duty.
The US Aircraft Carrier, USS Gerald R Ford has been an integral part of the US' war effort against Iran since February 28. It is now sailing to the port of Souda Bay, on the Greek island of Crete, for repairs after a fire burnt through its laundry system, and destroyed a significant portion of the crew's shipping quarters. And it might just be because of a suspected case of arson. Earlier, its toilet plumbing was found to have been clogged with items like T-shirts.
We have written before about how an aircraft carrier is one of the most powerful weapons and a floating military base that a country can use to project power across the world. That being said, aircraft carriers are not automated machines. Rather, they are crewed by thousands of sailors, each of whom require adequate rest and recuperation in order to function properly. Unfortunately for the crew of the Ford, they have been on continuous deployment for nearly 10 months, exceeding the US Navy's recommended deployment time periods of six to seven months.
Keep in mind, extended deployment periods like these stretch not just the machine, but the crew as well.
Just imagine the frustration of people who have been away from home on a floating system. Now imagine them being told they will be home soon, but then taken to another theatre of war. A war that seems endless. They have spouses to go to. They are reminded of the smiles of their children. That's how tension, frustration and exhaustion build up. They are desperate to make it home. They'll do anything to be home.
That's true for the soldiers on the Gerald R Ford, who were reportedly promised that they would be back home by early March but their deployment was extended to May. This raises a question: did the crew of the mighty Ford, stuck at sea for almost a year, deliberately sabotage their own vessel, to skip war duty and get a chance to go home?
Before we explore the possibility of the Ford's crew deliberately sabotaging their own ship to avoid war duty, let's first have a look at the ship itself.
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