The U.S. Navy is downplaying concerns about a reported ongoing crisis onboard the USS Boxer.
The families of sailors onboard the ship have described to Medias Touch that they have been running out of supplies, including feminine hygiene items.
The ship, stationed in the Middle East to support President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, has been at sea for months on end with no port stops after leaving its home port of San Diego in March.
Without regular stops in ports, ships do not get access to their normal window to resupply for essential items. They also miss the opportunity to give sailors a reprieve from life at sea, which is seen as necessary for their mental well-being and overall morale.
“Family and friends on the Boxer have been out so long and aren’t receiving care packages. Women have run out of feminine hygiene items due to no resupplies happening. They pack enough and some extra for deployment but not for all the extensions and no port calls,” one family member told Medias Touch.
But the Navy is asserting that these reports from concerned family members are overblown, saying in a statement posted to social media that the “reports emerging of USS Boxer experiencing a shortage in hygiene products for women in uniform are FALSE.
The Navy said the ship has had four port visits, and that it is “stocked with feminine products.”
“The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group remains fully equipped and prepared to execute all assigned missions,” the statement concluded.
The apparent crisis aboard the Boxer comes as sailors aboard the USS Lincoln, also stationed in the Middle East, have reported deteriorating conditions and morale, as their deployment has been extended twice with no end in sight.
Sailors have reported that the ship does not have working toilets, and that they have been served undercooked chicken and beans. Similar to the Boxer, they have also said they do not have adequate hygiene products.
Tensions on that vessel came to a climax last month as several sailors went or attempted to go overboard in an attempt to take their own lives.
The USS George Washington is currently headed to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln, but officials have maintained that the swap had been preplanned, CNN reported.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted that reports of the bad conditions onboard have been “completely misrepresented.”
“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth said last week. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.”
Trump took his defense of the military a step further. When asked on Friday about family members who are concerned about conditions on the ship, Trump replied, “No, they’re not.”
And when asked if the deployment to support his disastrous war had gone on too long given the mental health risks, he responded, “No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.”
