Washington, DC: Families of US service personnel, stationed on warships in West Asia, to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports have said that their loved ones are going hungry, citing limited supplies and poor-quality meals on board.
USA Today has obtained photographs that sparked alarm on social media. One image showing a small scoop of shredded meat and a single folded tortilla, while another showed a dinner plate with a handful of boiled carrots, a dry meat patty and a grey slab of processed meat.
“I can only hope those are leftover plates of midrats. Both look like something culinary specialists found stuck under the mess deck tables,” a user wrote.
Dan F, whose daughter is serving on the USS Tripoli, told the news outlet that American troops were rationing their food supplies on the ship, as fresh produce was nowhere to be found. A coffee machine on board broke down, and Dan said he stopped drinking coffee in solidarity with his daughter.
“We have the strongest military in the world. You shouldn’t be running out of food,” he said. “The one thing we had over our adversaries was we fed our people.”
Karen Erskine-Valentine, pastor of a church in West Virginia, said she was alarmed to hear from a community member whose son is serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln about the quality of the food.
“The food is tasteless and there’s not nearly enough and they’re hungry all the time. That kind of breaks your heart,” she said.
Family members have sent care packages containing food, crossword puzzle books, playing cards, hygiene products and fresh clothes, but these are caught somewhere in transit as the US Postal Service has temporarily suspended mail delivery to 27 military zip codes after the US and Israel attacked Iran, USA Today reported.
The suspension is “in effect until further notice”, as the end of the war is unclear despite a two-week ceasefire in effect.
“The resumption of mail service is contingent upon the reopening of airspace by civil authorities, and the area commander’s evaluation of regional transportation and distribution stability,” said Army spokesperson Major Travis Shaw.
Dan F’s family sent two packages with shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, tampons, Vitamin-C tablets and clean socks for his daughter aboard the USS Tripoli. However, the boxes have not reached their destination nearly a month after being dispatched.
A Texas mother whose son, a Navy sailor, is also aboard the Tripoli, said she panicked after hearing he was hungry on the ship. Her family has now spent at least $2,000 on care packages, but none have reached her son, as per the report. Notably, the USS Tripoli has been at sea for more than a month since it left its home port in Japan to join the Iran war.
