# USS Abraham Lincoln **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359 "2026-08-15T21:31:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/202 "2026-08-18T19:14:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Why don’t they just load up a SpaceX Starship with MREs and land it on the deck of the ship on a suborbital hop? This sounds like something the Trump administration would actually try. And then the rocket would crash into the sail of the aircraft carrier, killing dozens. Trump would be on TV five minutes later but instead of talking about the tragic loss of the sailors, he’d be bitching about how they need to move the sail on the aircraft carrier to how they had in WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/203 "2026-08-18T19:15:36Z")
I had thought the only barrier to the Snickers plan was the political intervention of Hershey. Ignorance fought! In all seriousness, this has been a fascinating thread and I appreciate the knowledge and concern expressed in it, from the personal stories to the hard facts to the geo-politics. My apologies if my kibbitzing has been an unwelcome distraction. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/204 "2026-08-18T19:23:25Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > That said, it is worrisome (to me) that it seems our navy is so fragile. We have little ship building capacity and little ability to repair our navy. If a serious war broke out and our ships started taking real damage I doubt we can handle that in any reasonable time-frame to get them back out to sea. This just shines a light on this problem. I have no military experience but I agree that the limited number of ships and limited ability to build and repair them is a big problem. Also a problem is that America builds bigger and more complex ships at vast expense. Meanwhile other countries like Iran are getting much better at using low-cost things like drones and missiles. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/205 "2026-08-18T19:45:40Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > In theory the West Coast has 6 carriers to rotate on station. I’m not sure if any are undergoing major maintenance Per the video Dorjan linked above the Ronald Reagan is technically laid up. But it should be literally in the final days of its 17-month maintenance overhaul in Bremerton so it should be basically ready to go any day now. The Carl Vinson and Theodore Roosevelt are in service and currently in port in San Diego. The John C. Stennis and Harry S. Truman are completely laid up and fully unavailable, the Gerald R. Ford just returned from duty and is supposed to start being laid up, so should be unavailable. The Nimitz and Dwight D. Eisenhower are in service and in port on the East Coast. So four (soon to be five) in reserve for rotation in port. Three essentially unavailable. Two on station in the Arabian Sea, with one moving to replace one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/206 "2026-08-18T21:28:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > These people have families, and their families have social media. Do you really think the auhorities can hide hundreds of deaths for 5 months? Any given death, they can’t hide, because even if they don’t record it, someone else will. But a count of deaths is really hard, unless all of those records are in the same place. And since they control that same place, they can, effectively, hide the number of deaths. An investigative reporter could still, with enough time and effort, comb all of the individual records of people who have died, and put them together themself. But there are very, very few investigative reporters left willing to put in that much effort. > [@Thumper668](#): > > But if the _Lincoln_ were unable to carry out its mission it would have already been relieved. The Lincoln is unable to carry out its mission. But then, if it were relieved, its relief would also be unable to carry out its mission. And if all 11 of the US carriers were to converge on that spot at once, they’d still be unable to carry out their mission. Because the “mission”, such as it is and to the extent it’s defined at all, is and always was impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/207 "2026-08-18T21:38:42Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I dunno, in the Punic Wars the Romans determined their best strategy _wasn’t_ trying to poke holes in the Carthaginian ships, but instead to drop boarding bridges and run a bunch of legionaries over to capture them. Though famous, those corvus were little used, because the Carthaginians learned to avoid them, and their weight made the Roman ships unstable. They were a good example of thinking outside the box. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/208 "2026-08-18T21:55:21Z")
I thought that prior to the modern age, most naval combat consisted of archers shooting from ship to ship; ramming, boarding and even heavy weapons like catapults and ballistae were the exception, not the rule. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/209 "2026-08-18T22:01:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Because the “mission”, such as it is and to the extent it’s defined at all, is and always was impossible. The mission of the administration is not the mission of the carrier group. The carrier’s mission is clearly defined in their tasking orders whether or not the result is achievable. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/210 "2026-08-18T22:04:57Z")
And what is the carrier’s mission? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/211 "2026-08-18T22:19:17Z")
I can’t speak for @Thumper668 but my guess is the ship’s mission is not to win the war but something more like “control the airspace within 500 miles of the carrier and conduct ground attack sorties as needed.” And I bet they were aces at that. That it does not win the war is a political problem and not their problem. They did their job and did it well. It just didn’t matter that they did it well. Not their fault. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/212 "2026-08-18T22:37:29Z")
I would concur with every bit of that. I’ve personally been a participant in more than one political boondoggle, but as a service member politics is separate from the mission. It makes it hard as a civilian to watch politicians abuse and misuse the people in their charge. But politics is still separate. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/213 "2026-08-18T22:38:58Z")
The mission is simply stated by Dumbfuck Vance, who says that it’s gas prices. Which an American war in Iran is bound to alleviate. And reiterated by Dumbfuck Trump who confirms that the mission is IRAN NEVER HAVE NUKES! ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/214 "2026-08-18T22:39:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And what is the carrier’s mission? I don’t know and neither do you because neither of us is in the carrier’s chain of command. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/215 "2026-08-18T22:50:43Z")
Just have to say, I’m very appreciative of the former military in this thread. Such valuable info. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/216 "2026-08-18T22:56:41Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > The mission is simply stated by Dumbfuck Vance, who says that it’s gas prices. Which an American war in Iran is bound to alleviate. And reiterated by Dumbfuck Trump who confirms that the mission is IRAN NEVER HAVE NUKES! The thing is, even if Iran never gets nuclear weapons, they’ve learned that they can control traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. In some ways, that’s a more powerful weapon and not one they would have had if Israel and the United States didn’t start this stupid thing. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/217 "2026-08-18T22:59:40Z")
That’s right. Leave it to Trump and his Republican apologists to allow Iran the opportunity to test and prove what was previously merely suspected. (And according to Hegseth, the mission has something to do with chest hair.) ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/218 "2026-08-18T23:14:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I thought that prior to the modern age, most naval combat consisted of archers shooting from ship to ship; ramming, boarding and even heavy weapons like catapults and ballistae were the exception, not the rule. “Prior to the modern age” covers a lot of time, but assuming you mean antiquity (with the reference to archers rather than gunpowder weapons), boarding and ramming was how naval battles were fought and won or lost with oared vessels. Archery supported boarding actions, it wasn’t done to win actions on thier own. [Oared vessel tactics - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oared_vessel_tactics) > From the earliest times of naval warfare [boarding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_(attack) "Boarding (attack)") was the only means of deciding a naval engagement, but little to nothing is known about the tactics involved. In the first recorded naval battle in history, the [battle of the Delta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Delta "Battle of the Delta"), the forces of Egyptian Pharaoh [Ramesses III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramesses_III "Ramesses III") won a decisive victory over a force made up of the enigmatic group known as the [Sea Peoples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Peoples "Sea Peoples"). As shown in commemorative reliefs of the battle, Egyptian archers on ships and the nearby shores of the Nile rain down arrows on the enemy ships. At the same time Egyptian galleys engage in boarding action and [capsize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsize "Capsize") the ships of the Sea Peoples with ropes attached to grappling hooks thrown into the rigging. > Around the 8th century BC, [ramming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramming "Ramming") began to be employed as war galleys were equipped with heavy bronze rams. Records of the [Persian Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Wars "Persian Wars") in the early 5th century BC by the Ancient historian [Herodotus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus "Herodotus") (c. 484–425 BC) show that by this time ramming tactics had evolved among the Greeks. The formations could either be in columns in line ahead, one ship following the next, or in a line abreast, with the ships side by side, depending on the tactical situation and the surrounding geography. There were two primary methods for attack: by breaking through the enemy formation (_diekplous_) or by outflanking it (_periplous_). The _diekplous_ involved a concentrated charge in line ahead so as to break a hole in the enemy line, allowing galleys to break through and then wheel to attack the enemy line from behind. The _periplous_ involved outflanking or encircling the enemy so as to attack them in the vulnerable rear or side by line abreast.[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oared_vessel_tactics#cite_note-4) If one side knew that it had slower ships, a common tactic was to form a circle with the bows pointing outwards, thereby avoiding being outflanked. At a given signal, the circle could then fan out in all directions, trying to pick off individual enemy ships. To counter this formation, the attacking side would rapidly circle, feigning attacks in order to find gaps in the formation to exploit. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/219 "2026-08-19T00:28:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > …they’ve learned that they can control traffic in the Strait of Hormuz I wonder what took em so long!?! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/220 "2026-08-19T00:41:03Z")
Until now, no one forced the issue by starting a poorly planned war against Iran? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/221 "2026-08-19T00:43:19Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > …they’ve learned that they can control traffic in the Strait of Hormuz > > I wonder what took em so long!?! It would’ve been a very provocative act, and might have even invited an attack. Which we now have already done, so what do they have to lose? Trump and company actually gave them the perfect excuse to take control of the strait, and ironically they are now in a much better strategic position than before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359.md?page=12)