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At Pattaya’s Hard Rock Cafe and hotel, the city’s mayor and police officials, along with women in traditional Thai dress, wait to greet the sailors who are arriving in civilian clothes, bags slung over their shoulders, off the buses.
The USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew of 5,000 have not been on shore for nearly nine months, a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea.
Crew appeared to be told not to speak to the gathered journalists about the reportedly deteriorating living conditions on board, but said they were looking forward to being on dry land, sleeping and going home.
The Hard Rock hotel is around the corner from the Soi 6 alley, known for its go-go bars, one of the many areas that contribute to Pattaya’s infamous sex tourism industry. Soi 6 and the neighbouring area would be off-limits for crew after sunset, said Pattaya’s mayor, Poramet Ngampichet.
One sailor, Breese, who didn’t want to give his surname, said “it’s a fever dream right now” and he was looking forward to trying Thai food for the first time and meeting new people.
The sailors are being released in staggered groups, so not everyone is out. Shakeira Fairfax, who has travelled all the way from New Jersey, has to wait one more day to be reunited with her daughter, Jada Fairfax.
Fairfax says she is mostly excited: “I just want to pick her up and spin her around. She’s my baby always,” but, she said, “I don’t know who I’m welcoming home.”
Jada finished her basic training last October and was shipped out a month later, two months before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. Jada celebrated her 25th birthday on board in June.
Fairfax says there was an “abrupt” stop to communication when the war broke out, but she has since been able to check in with her intermittently and send care packages.
The ship’s captain, Dan Keeler, acknowledged to the media that the carrier “looks like a dirty car in a parking lot”. As for the reports of the conditions on board, he says: “I don’t know how to say it other than there’s a disconnect between reporting back home and what’s happening on the ship.”
Keeler added: “First-time sailors are going to complain about the food, the living conditions, similar to sending kids off to college for the first time. We did get caught up in an election cycle and got thrown around like a football.”
Keeler said there was plenty of food on the ship but admitted it became hard to get fresh fruit and vegetables, which stopped being served. “I am looking forward to a fresh salad.” They also had to be careful with supplies of soap and toothpaste to ensure every sailor could receive some, he added.
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Asked about the reports of attempted suicides on board the ship, Keeler did not answer, saying there was an open investigation. As for comments from the US president, which included claims that the 270-day deployment was “not nearly long enough”, Keeler told the Guardian “the president speaks for himself”.
Crew from the USS Higgins also arrived at the Hard Rock hotel. When asked about the conditions on board the two vessels, Ethan Johnson, a cook on board the Higgins, said: “We joined the military, it’s not a cruise ship.”
Johnson said there was plenty of meat and vegetables on board the Higgins.
As well as being prohibited from entering certain areas, sailors are also being prevented from doing any water sports in the area, owing to the potential danger.
They will also not be allowed to visit pharmacies as Thai authorities do not want sailors accessing medicines that do not require a prescription in Thailand, but may need a prescription in the US, Poramet said.
Kristopher Robinson, a naval attache with the US embassy, said Pattaya was chosen as the destination for rest and relaxation because the “people of Thailand have a history of being wonderful hosts not just to US sailors but people from all around”.
Robinson said the crew would take as much opportunity for rest as possible and conduct themselves in accordance with US and local laws. “Sailors here, like all tourists, they’re going to enjoy Pattaya’s great food and wonderful culture,” he said.
