Torn between loyalty to their comrades and disillusionment towards the cause for which they are fighting, they are beginning to cave in. Morale has been the casualty, points out Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Key Points
- Reports allege deteriorating morale and living conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its prolonged Hormuz deployment.
- Claims of crew unrest include alleged brawls, deaths and sailors attempting to jump overboard near Iranian waters.
- The growing disillusionment could undermine US forces despite their professional and technical military capabilities.
Some lesser known online media platforms have been rife with reports that hell has broken loose onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, arguably, one of the most powerful warships on the planet.
According to these reports, morale of the aircraft carrier's crew is at an all-time low.
The carrier is engaged in enforcing the Hormuz blockade, on continuous deployment for over 250 days.
The extended deployment and deteriorated living conditions onboard the ship appears to have taken a serious toll on the mental health of the crew, according to these reports.
In the not too distant past, reports about dismal living conditions on another carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, owing to choked toilets, forced her withdrawal from her deployment area for repairs.
Before any further discussion, it will be fair to state that many observers see these reports as Iranian strategic communication or 'psy ops', and that they could be exaggerated to put pressure on the US forces, which are already suffering battle fatigue.
However, more and more reports seem to be appearing about the state of crew morale onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln for several weeks.
US navy officials have reportedly even met with the families of the crew to discuss this matter.
This gives some credence to the alleged happenings onboard the carrier, particularly incidents of brawls resulting in seven crew-member deaths and sailors trying to jump overboard from the ship close to Iranian waters.
Further, the total silence of mainstream media such as CNN, Fox News and DW, as well the Pentagon's earlier attempts to suppress US casualties, makes matters more curious.
If the reports are anywhere close to the truth, there is a major morale deficit onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Morale is a big deal in the fighting forces, so big that 'Maintenance of Morale' is considered to be one of the 'principles of war', that has remained unchanged over generations of warfare, notwithstanding better living conditions and exponential sophistication of platforms worldwide.
It is still the human behind the machine that will win or lose wars.
It is this human being which requires total command focus at all times. Food, hygiene, living conditions, physical fitness and mental well-being have to be optimally managed so that individuals can concentrate on their combat functions.
This is what command and leadership are all about. After all, if there are no people, there is nothing to command or lead.
The morale of the armed forces
There is the big question about the link between ethics, belief and motivation. The military follows orders without question, especially in combat.
To my mind, this can be unconditional only if the fighting forces at all levels believe it to be an ethical and just war.
While no violence and loss of life can be justified as ethical, and the expression 'just and ethical war' may, in itself, be a contradiction, there are fundamental individual judgements that are made on what is right or wrong or in the interest of national or collective well-being.
This is where public opinion inside the United States and around the world is tipping heavily against its current regime, that is seen as killing innocent children and civilians, harming the United States internally, destabilising the international order and destroying global economies.
The USS Abraham Lincoln reports, if borne out to be true, are indicators of embers that will eventually erupt into a flame, engulfing the US administration.
The US armed forces are professionally good, technically competent and highly disciplined, possessing immense combat and operational experience.
They were once considered unbeatable but the tables have turned. This has little to do with their professional or technical competence, which has not changed.
It is the complete disregard to ethical and moral dimensions of the war aims that has deeply affected the American soldier's conscience.
Torn between loyalty to their comrades and disillusionment towards the cause for which they are fighting, they are beginning to cave in.
Morale has been the casualty. The USS Abraham Lincoln can be replaced on station by another carrier but the story will not change.
Maybe, it is a war that the US armed forces are not ready to fight any longer.
Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd) is a former commander-in-chief of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
