# 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:** 8
**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 18, 2026, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/142 "2026-08-18T05:20:41Z")
> [@keeganst94](#): > > I thought the US had a large base in Djibouti… KC and The Sunshine Band just wrecked that for us. ---
**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, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/143 "2026-08-18T05:47:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > For what it’s worth, “Then build a new one!” didn’t come across as a question, but rather as an exasperated bit of advice a la HL Mencken–that is, a solution that is “neat, plausible, and wrong.” Chalk it up to cultural differences? I come from a place that prefers a blunter, more aggressive style of speech than most of you are used to; we’re actually fairly famous for it. I usually try to temper my writing to fit in here on the SDMB, but sometimes, I slip. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/144 "2026-08-18T06:31:14Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > If someone is standing on the edge and intentionally teetering over or making a run towards the edge and in either case is grabbed by a fellow crewman before they are successful, isn’t that attempting to go overboard? I’m thinking more like loudly announcing “That’s it I’m going to jump overboard. I’m done. Hold me back! Hold me back!” Or walking to the edge of the deck, standing there, looking longingly toward the horizon, and waiting for someone to come up to you and ask “Dude, are you okay?” Nothing to be taken lightly—suicidal ideation is suicidal ideation—but it’s not like there are guards posted continuously at every point on the ship where someone could go overboard. Quite the opposite, actually. “Not going overboard” is kind of an honors system, you know? There’s an aft lookout whose job is, among other things, to spot anyone who might go overboard (but good luck seeing anything at night if the person isn’t wearing an inflatable vest with a flashing light), but that’s about it. Like I said, it’s really not hard. It’s so not hard that it even happens by accident from time to time. You can literally go overboard without even trying. ---
**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, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/145 "2026-08-18T07:05:28Z")
I know that some cruise ships have automatic MOB (man overboard) sensor systems. Is it worth installing systems like that on warships, or is the environment too rough-and-tumble for them? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/146 "2026-08-18T10:04:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Chalk it up to cultural differences? > > I come from a place that prefers a blunter, more aggressive style of speech than most of you are used to; we’re actually fairly famous for it. I usually try to temper my writing to fit in here on the SDMB, but sometimes, I slip. > > Sorry about that. Fair enough, and thanks for the explanation! ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/147 "2026-08-18T10:27:33Z")
My neighbor invited me to go watch the disembark when she goes to greet her husband back. They’re interesting on TV but my neighbor says ‘thrilling’ in real life. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/148 "2026-08-18T10:44:37Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > More info about the _Abraham Lincoln’s_ ability to make potable water: > > **[Abraham Lincoln Makes Potable Water - Official US Navy Website](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2253374/abraham-lincoln-makes-potable-water/)** > > not every aspect raised here is addressed in the article, but I still found it interesting None of which explains the multiple reports of “water issues preventing them from doing their laundry.” _Some_thing is up with water on Abe. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/149 "2026-08-18T11:29:52Z")
> [@bump](#): > > That’s what has me baffled. Supposedly the Navy has the unique (among world navies) capability to resupply their ships nearly completely while at sea. > > Unless it was deemed too dangerous, there’s no reason I can think of why they shouldn’t have been adequately supplied. Hell, the Navy pulled that off during WW2. They should have only become better at it since then. I would imagine they [pull up one of these next to a carrier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_J._Kaiser-class_replenishment_oiler) (and presumably it’s escorts) and offload supplies. > [@TruCelt](#): > > The people who make those plans have to act like they believe Trump when he says the war will be over in a few days. They can’t get orders from Hegseth on down to resupply realistically for the long haul. So “they’ll be fine” for a few more days, another week, comes down the pike again and again and again. > > When Trump said yesterday that Abe hadn’t been deployed “nearly long enough” it was the closest that anyone in leadership has come to admitting this siege will continue indefinitely. Maybe it’s enough that the Roosevelt will come in fully supplied, and with re-supply orders in place. I hope so. > > But when I see headlines like the Navy is “scrambling” to send the Roosevelt carrier group to relieve Abe, it does not set my heart at ease. That’s the problem when you put corrupt morons in charge of things. They make stupid plans and everyone just goes along with them until they can’t. It feels very similar to the situation described in the Russian military in Ukraine, except that Putin doesn’t have to worry about political backlash. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/150 "2026-08-18T12:42:22Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I know that some cruise ships have automatic MOB (man overboard) sensor systems. Is it worth installing systems like that on warships, or is the environment too rough-and-tumble for them? I have no idea. I guess it would depend how well those systems work, how many spurious alarms they give, and how much they cost. With the cruise industry, I can imagine that even if they don’t work particularly well, there’s some “value” in staving off accusations of negligence when a passenger goes overboard, whether by mistake (which must be harder to do than on a warship), by their own will, or by someone else’s. But the Navy? It doesn’t have to worry quite so much about getting sued. And as to how many USN sailors go overboard _and die_ each year (by mistake or otherwise) I have to imagine that it’s not quite a _freak_ occurrence, but that it’s probably on the order of something you can count on one hand. It’s rare enough that such incidents are pretty much always reported on in at least minor publications like the Navy Times, the sailor’s hometown newspaper, and/or the local news for the ship’s homeport. Whether that number warrants fleet-wide installation of MOB detectors is beyond me. It’s certainly a shitty way to die. That’s about all I can really say for sure. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/151 "2026-08-18T12:46:52Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Rumor has it that trillions of dollars of damage have been done to American bases across the middle east and hundreds of deaths are going unreported in the USA. Just to be clear, are you proposing there are hundreds of US servicemembers dying and going unreported, or hundreds of non-US nationals (eg: host nation personnel and civilians) dying unreported (in the US)? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/152 "2026-08-18T13:35:17Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Also, I assume it’s difficult to catch 5,000 fish at a time They only need two fish, plus five loaves of bread. Trump can feed the entire crew on that. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/153 "2026-08-18T13:52:30Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > > [@TruCelt](#): > > > > Rumor has it that trillions of dollars of damage have been done to American bases across the middle east and hundreds of deaths are going unreported in the USA. > > Just to be clear, are you proposing there are hundreds of US servicemembers dying and going unreported, or hundreds of non-US nationals (eg: host nation personnel and civilians) dying unreported (in the US)? “Trillions of dollars” is such a nonsensical number to render the statement absurd. The cost of the USS Abraham Lincoln is like $2.5 billion. The entire war in Afghanistan cost something like $2 trillion over 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/154 "2026-08-18T13:54:24Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Just to be clear, are you proposing there are hundreds of US servicemembers dying and going unreported, Yes. Look at the FOIA information [here,](https://thewarhorse.org/records-troops-wounded-iran-war/) and note the number of slots with the words “Data Missing.” There are 41 pages of that. It’s highly unusual. These are not redacted, they are just empty. It’s the Trump administration’s game of failing to collect information that might make them look bad. We are being lied to, and not just about property damage. I don’t claim to have any real guess as to the extent of the lies. “Hundreds” is just a hope that it’s not more than that. ---
**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, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/155 "2026-08-18T14:15:49Z")
These people have families, and their families have social media. Do you really think the auhorities can hide hundreds of deaths for 5 months? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/156 "2026-08-18T14:23:19Z")
Well, yes, I imagine they do. They’re not particularly intelligent, if you hadn’t noticed. They embarked on this insanely foolish war in the first place without sufficient consideration of logistics. That alone belies the fundamental disconnect between their self-confidence and their actual competence. That said, while I’ve no doubt they’ve been hiding and/or lying about many details, they’re probably not hiding hundreds of deaths. But a dozen or two? And potentially hundreds of non-fatal casualties? Entirely possible, at least for the short term. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/157 "2026-08-18T14:31:08Z")
They can’t hide dead bodies. What they can do is [reclassify deaths as being part of (or not part of) various operations](https://taskandpurpose.com/news/iran-war-us-troops-casualty-numbers/), [which they’ve done.](https://abcnews.com/US/pentagon-quietly-updates-categorizes-iran-war-casualties/story?id=135101765) They’ve also [withheld information about non-fatal casualties](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/us/politics/troops-injured-jordan-iran-war.html), generally downplaing them as is [Republican tradition](https://www.npr.org/2020/01/22/798644728/trump-downplays-u-s-soldiers-head-injuries-but-combat-brain-trauma-can-be-seriou). In some cases, this can impact veterans benefits for the families, but I think for the most part it’s a slap in the face not to credit servicemembers who are put in harms way. “Trillions in damage” is obviously nonsense, but I’ll accept that there are probably lots of non-US casualties that are being suppressed. Evidence is that they’re trying to mess with the numbers for US casualties to salvage some optics. ---
**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, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/158 "2026-08-18T14:45:04Z")
They were helped by Frank Zappa, aka Sheik Yerbouti ---
**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 18, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/159 "2026-08-18T15:16:51Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > None of which explains the multiple reports of “water issues preventing them from doing their laundry.” _Some_thing is up with water on Abe. From experience in the Navy and on a nuclear-powered (much smaller) vessel, I can tell you that evaporators and distillation units are finicky and break all the freaking time. Especially when you are at sea and trying to keep them going with jury-rigged repairs. Next, the priority for potable water is: 1. Drinking water for the crew 2. Makeup water for the steam plant 3. Water for cooking 4. Showers for the mess staff (i.e. cooks) to prevent the spread of disease and food-borne illnesses. 5. Laundry for the mess staff 6. Showers for the crew 7. Laundry for the crew (Toilets are often flushed with seawater, but it depends on the ship.) Anyway, as you can see, laundry and showers are pretty far down the list. On my submarine, we had two potable water units: a small, reliable, electric one that could only handle the first three items on the above list, and a larger finicky, steam-powered one. (Of course we also had storage tanks.) If either of them went down, the first thing we did was to secure (curtail) showers and laundry for the crew. This sometimes went on for weeks. From experience, it’s not great for morale. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/160 "2026-08-18T15:18:27Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > They were helped by Frank Zappa If Samantha Stephens was on the Lincoln, and went overboard, you think they could save her? [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ_m0AWBqfPbA5Mx_O6N4ciCVamJs3FCG8DGBWrQNp0MOJvllHIYdjLhv8&s=10) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ_m0AWBqfPbA5Mx_O6N4ciCVamJs3FCG8DGBWrQNp0MOJvllHIYdjLhv8&s=10) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/161 "2026-08-18T15:20:28Z")
On the carriers, we had a lot of excess capacity even back by the end of the 80s. This was even on a conventional carrier. It was more likely a lack of hot water that was being reported, as the water for the heads are heated locally. At least they were. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359.md?page=9)