USS Lincoln Restricts 2 Sailors After Drunken Pattaya Brawl During 5,000-Crew Port Call
Updated
Updated · ms.now · Sep 3
USS Lincoln Restricts 2 Sailors After Drunken Pattaya Brawl During 5,000-Crew Port Call
3 articles · Updated · ms.now · Sep 3
Summary
Two USS Abraham Lincoln service members were confined to the carrier for the rest of its Thailand port call after a drunken fight outside a Pattaya bar at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
Thai police said a local citizen called emergency services fearing the brawl near Walking Street would escalate; officers and the ship’s shore liaison team took the sailors to a joint U.S.-Thai operations center before returning them to the carrier.
Col. Anek Srathongyoo described the episode as minor and said it is the only security incident Thai authorities have recorded involving Lincoln personnel during the visit.
Six extra police checkpoints have been set up around Pattaya as roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines take their first liberty stop in more than nine months, under warnings that prostitution, marijuana use and other rule breaches could draw maximum punishment.
The port call comes after months of combat in the Iran war and scrutiny over reported shortages, low morale and exhaustion aboard the Lincoln, which is due to leave Thailand on Sunday for San Diego.