Lincoln Deployment Reveals Readiness Strains in the U.S. Military

An op-ed argues that the USS Abraham Lincoln’s 266‑day deployment—200 days in a combat zone, crews pushed to exhaustion, and trimmed meal plans—exposes a broader readiness problem driven by a persistently high operational tempo, maintenance backlogs, and fatigue across services. Citing GAO warnings and 2017 ship collisions, the piece contends readiness is a finite resource borrowed against wars chosen by civilian leadership, not merely a matter of fleet size. It concludes that the strain reflects policy decisions as much as military capability, and calls for a reset in tempo and clearer justification from civilian leaders.