By: David Larter “The equipment works better when it’s being operated,” he said. In a January 16 email to the crew obtained by Navy Times, Ike’s supply officer, Cmdr. Andrew Henwood, warned sailors that they could only use drinking water for the first 10 minutes of every hour, adding that water, juice, soda and ice machines aren’t available “when potable water is secured.” The officer also noted that laundry service was stopped “until further notice.” While food service was not expected to be impacted, Henwood said his “largest concern” was the “Afloat Mount Trashmore,” mounds of garbage piling up in the aft mess decks that were “a function of the reliance on paper products and the creation of trash exceeding the processing capacity of our Trash Rooms.”
Readying for the worst: Pandemic’s long deployments take a hard toll on crews, families and ships Geoff Ziezulewicz
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt last year. (Navy) As the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and its thousands of sailors got ready for another deployment this fall, one officer was worried. Ike broke records earlier in 2020 by deploying for 206 consecutive days at sea, a dubious distinction of a cruise made longer and crappier by the need to keep the crew COVID-19-free, eliminating the port calls that serve as pressure release valves for hard-working shipmates during deployments. The carrier got back to Norfolk in August and will soon ship out again.