SUN'S OVER THE YARDARM

Pentagon Pete Derails Navy Celebration With Angry Meltdown

The defense secretary showed up at the USS Lincoln to complain.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln back to the U.S. with a furious rant against the press—which exposed the appalling conditions on the vessel.

The aircraft carrier is due to finally return home to San Diego on Thursday after being in the Middle East for an extended deployment. Hegseth visited the aircraft carrier Wednesday to praise their work.

But what was supposed to be a celebratory moment for the crew after roughly 10 and a half months at sea turned into U.S. service members being subjected to the Pentagon chief airing grievances.

“I realize I’m the only thing standing between you and home,” Hegseth kicked off his remarks.

He also acknowledged he was the one who signed orders to extend their tour twice, but it didn’t take long for him to get to his repeated complaints about the media. Hegseth was a member of the media as a weekend Fox News anchor.

“There were a few folks in the media who tried to turn the USS Abraham Lincoln into some sort of symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission,” Hegseth complained. “And what I look at right here and when I talk to your leadership, and I have had a chance to talk to a number of you, I know it’s the exact opposite.”

But the former TV personality was not done whining about the press for reporting on the concerns that sailors’ families had about the abysmal conditions and morale onboard as the deployment dragged on.

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“They see success, and they see excellence, and they see difficulty and challenge that needs to be overcome, an extension, a challenging environment, and they want to point at it as a symbol of something that was missed or wrong,” Hegseth ranted.

“Instead, what makes the U.S. military and the U.S. Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt, and that you’re resilient, and you overcome. You finish the mission nonetheless,” Hegseth said. “Yes, it’s hard.”

The USS Lincoln was at sea without a port call for 286 days straight, the second-longest deployment without a port stop since the Vietnam War.

There were reports of supply shortages and mental health challenges that prompted families and members of Congress to sound the alarm.

In fact, the Pentagon admitted that a crew member jumped overboard in an unsuccessful attempt to take his own life, and also acknowledged that eight sailors in total attempted suicide on the Lincoln, and its escort vessels, during the deployment.

While Hegseth praised the crew repeatedly and acknowledged the deployment “wasn’t easy,” he was called out for seemingly being out of touch with the demands of the mission.

At one point, Hegseth praised the crew for doing 60 hours of constant flight operations, but he was immediately corrected by those standing in the crowd that it was far more.

He had to clarify that it was 160 hours with 60 strike hours. For his error, he dropped down and gave them two push-ups.

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Hegseth has been increasingly outspoken in public, at the same time as speculation has mounted that he would be fired if Democrats win the midterm elections.

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