国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯将于周二前往圣地亚哥，并在周三欢迎“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航母船员返航。此前，该航母将其在中东的部署时间延长。五角大楼称，赫格塞斯将在圣地亚哥与船员交谈、参加体能训练，并与海军官兵共进午餐。“尼米兹”级航空母舰“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号在中东长期部署后即将返回美国。此次部署因船员心理健康状况恶化、食物供应紧张以及生活条件恶劣等报道，引发了国会民主党议员及部分前国防官员的反对。
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to San Diego on Tuesday and will welcome the USS Abraham Lincoln crew home on Wednesday after the aircraft carrier extended its deployment to the Middle East. According to the Pentagon, Hegseth will speak with the ship’s crew, participate in physical training and eat lunch with the service members while in San Diego. The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, is coming back to the U.S. after an extended deployment in the Middle East, which prompted pushback from congressional Democrats and some former defense officials over reports of degrading mental health of crew on board, tight food supply and poor living conditions.
包括国防部长在内的高级政府官员为航母上的条件进行了辩护。该航母在超过280天的航行中未靠过任何港口。赫格塞斯曾在8月份表示：“请放心，我们确保每一艘舰船、每个船员、每位舰长在任何时候都能获得我们所能提供的一切。有些部署比其他部署更长，我对那些水手怀有比任何人都更多的尊重与感激。他们在公海恶劣条件下、在较少靠港的情况下所付出的努力令人难以置信。”
Top administration officials, including the defense secretary, defended the conditions onboard the aircraft carrier, which spent more than 280 days without a port call. “Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth said in August. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas and those austere conditions with less port calls, it’s incredible.”
海军代理部长洪·曹上个月告诉参议院军事委员会成员、纽约州民主党参议员柯尔斯滕·吉利布兰德称，在“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航母打击群执行包括对伊朗军事行动在内的艰苦部署期间，有八名船员试图自杀。航母打击群通常由一艘航空母舰、巡洋舰、驱逐舰或护卫舰以及大量飞机组成。众议院军事委员会成员、加州民主党众议员萨拉·雅各布斯上个月底作为跨党派代表团的一员，对该航母进行了实地考察，以直接监督其上的条件。
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, last month that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a grueling deployment, which included military operations against Iran. A carrier strike group is normally made up of an aircraft carrier, cruisers, destroyers or frigates and a host of aircraft. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Ca.), who is on the House Armed Services Committee, visited the aircraft carrier late last month as part of a bipartisan delegation to conduct in-person oversight of the conditions onboard.
雅各布斯表示：“监督工作不能等到‘亚伯拉罕·林肯’号返回圣地亚哥才开始。我们现在就需要答案和问责。”
“Oversight can’t wait until the USS Abraham Lincoln comes home to San Diego. We deserve answers and accountability now,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Ca.), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Sept. 27 after a bipartisan delegation conducted in-person oversight of the conditions onboard.
加利福尼亚州民主党众议员萨拉·雅各布斯（Sara Jacobs）是众议院军事委员会成员。她在9月27日发表声明，此前一个两党代表团已对舰上状况进行了实地监督。她补充道：“正因如此，我今天登上了该舰，进行实地监督。我直接向舰上指挥部提出了我的关切，并就后勤、补给问题以及未来部署的经验教训接受了简报。”
She added, “That’s why I traveled aboard the ship today to conduct oversight in-person. I raised my concerns directly with the ship’s command and received a briefing on logistics, supply issues and lessons learned for future deployments.”