U.S. Senators demand review of Navy ship deployments

Two influential Democratic senators, Patty Murray of Washington and Chris Coons of Delaware, have called on the Pentagon to conduct an independent strategic review of recent U.S. Navy deployments. In a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, the senators highlighted concerns regarding the quality of life and well-being of personnel aboard several vessels.

The request specifically targets the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as the destroyer USS Benfold. The USS Benfold recently experienced a four-day power failure in the South China Sea due to an engineering fault. The senators emphasized that the review should examine operational readiness, staffing levels, mental health, onboard culture, and communication with crew families.

The call for investigation follows increasingly long deployments that have exceeded the Navy’s standard seven-month target. The USS Gerald R. Ford recently completed a record-breaking deployment involving operations related to Venezuela and Iran, while the USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to San Diego after a similarly lengthy mission with reports of difficult conditions for its crew.