US Shifts Naval Logistics 2,200 Miles to Diego Garcia After Iran Hits Bahrain Base
Updated
Updated · presstv.co.uk · Aug 15
US Shifts Naval Logistics 2,200 Miles to Diego Garcia After Iran Hits Bahrain Base
3 articles · Updated · presstv.co.uk · Aug 15
Summary
The Pentagon has moved much of its main naval logistics support from Bahrain to Diego Garcia after Iranian missile and drone strikes severely damaged the US Fifth Fleet command there.
That shift forces the Navy to sustain carriers near Iran through a 2,200-mile supply chain instead of a short Persian Gulf network, a strain reports link to worsening operational problems.
USS Abraham Lincoln — carrying about 5,000 sailors and Marines and nearing nine months at sea — has reportedly faced shortages of food and hygiene supplies, mail, plumbing and laundry failures, unrest and attempted suicides.
US plans to replace the Abraham Lincoln with USS George Washington, but analysts say the vulnerability remains because Fujairah is also within Iranian strike range and Iran already fired medium-range missiles at Diego Garcia in March.
Nearly six months into the campaign against Iran, the logistics disruption is intensifying scrutiny from sailors' families and US lawmakers over the purpose and gains of the prolonged naval deployment.