(Dobbs) “No. No. No. Not nearly long enough.”The issue is not just about the overlong deployment. It’s about the president’s utterly callous unconcern.
“Not nearly long enough.” That’s the president of the United States, answering a reporter’s question yesterday about whether the nearly nine month deployment of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Strike Group, which is in the waters off Iran, is too long. His answer? “No. No. No. Not nearly long enough.” And we’re not just talking about some 5,000 crew on the carrier itself. The strike group has four guided-missile destroyers, several support ships, and a nuclear-powered sub. Altogether, some 7,500 members of the military. They’ve all been out there for nearly nine months. But that’s “not nearly long enough.” What else do we need to know about this guy? The issue is not just about the overlong deployment. It’s about the president’s utterly callous unconcern. Then again, how could we expect him to show any sympathy for the soldiers and sailors and airmen in the strike group when he didn’t even care about his own cabinet officers and staff and White House journalists, some of whom, after the NATO summit last month, were never told that they were flying out of Turkey on an airplane he only pretended to board because he had reason to believe it might be attacked? There have been longer deployments, some far longer, in previous wars. But stuck on a ship for nearly nine months is no cakewalk. Especially when the crews on this deployment haven’t actually had a port call in more than 200 days, a modern record for consecutive days on duty, at sea. Usually port calls are built into a ship’s schedule every 30 to 45 days. And when credible reports say that basic supplies, both food and hygiene, sometimes run short, and that water sources sometimes are contaminated and toilets don’t work. Last Spring, the 7,500 men and women aboard the Lincoln strike group even went some months without mail, which normally brings cherished care packages from home that break up the routine. But is nearly nine months of it too long? “No. No. No. Not nearly long enough.” That’s a mouthful, coming from a guy who had five consecutive deferments from military duty during the Vietnam War, including a dubious doctor’s diagnosis of bone spurs in both his heels. Records from the Selective Service, which oversaw the draft, show that thanks to the doctor’s verdict, Trump was classified as “unqualified.” The landlord for the doctor, a podiatrist, happened to be Donald Trump’s father. The doctor’s daughter later said her father did the diagnosis as a “favor” for the senior Trump. So, no Vietnam, no deployment. It seems the only confined deployment Trump ever endured was just last month when he cowered in a catering truck at the airport in Ankara to get on an airplane that wasn’t supposed to be Air Force One. (from The Borowitz Report) When those reporters yesterday were gathered around Trump, another question came up: are families of the crews concerned about conditions on the ship? The president’s curt answer? “No they’re not.” That must be of interest to the some 200 families who met just two days ago in a town hall format with acting Navy Secretary Hung Can and two high-ranking admirals. In a report from the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, “One spouse told officials she got a message from husband (that day) saying ‘he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.’” So the long deployment is taking its toll on not just living conditions but mental health. The Navy Times and other publications have reported that at least two sailors have actually tried to jump overboard, apparently to end their lives, one of them earlier this month. The families call it a sign of serious mental health challenges for every sailor, marine, and airman onboard the ships. But the way Donald Trump sees it, nine months is “not nearly long enough.” When critics point out that the president once assured us that the war with Iran would be over in weeks, and now it’s going on close to half-a-year, he is fond of favorably comparing it to the longer wars the U.S. has fought since World War II. Likewise, he seems to be of a mind that a nine month deployment is easy, when compared to deployments in the past. But that doesn’t make the crews who are out at sea for so long feel any healthier. Nor does it make the toilets work. There is, however, some silver lining in all this. His heartless comments are bound to cost him and his party some votes. Most members of the military typically go with Republicans, but some must now be asking, “If this is all the compassion we get from this president and his party after the sacrifices we and our families make, maybe we need to look again.” Share Leave a comment © 2026 Greg Dobbs |