Most European media pick up on an article in USA Today based on a new report sounding the alarm that 50,000 U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East for the Iran war “are facing scarce food supplies, forcing some to ration their meager meals and endure prolonged hunger.”
Alarmed by these conditions, family members have reportedly spent significant sums sending packages to help nourish their loved ones. But U.S. Postal Service deliveries to the region have been suspended, leaving boxes stuffed with home-cooked meals and protein bars stranded in limbo. “[Supplies] are going to get really low,” a Navy sailor aboard the USS Tripoli texted his mother last month, according to USA Today. “Morale is going to be at an all-time low.”
A 63-year-old father became deeply concerned when his daughter, a Marine stationed on the USS Tripoli, sent him a photo of the meal served aboard the vessel, according to USA Today. It consisted of a small portion of meat and one tortilla. Most of the tray was empty. A photo taken aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, shows an equally unappetizing meal: a tiny clump of carrots, a hamburger and a thin slab of meat.
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters earlier this month that U.S. troops supporting the war had consumed “more than 6 million meals, more than 950,000 gallons of coffee, and more than 2 million energy drinks.”
Both the Navy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied reports of food problems. “My team confirmed the logistics stats for the Lincoln & Tripoli,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “Both have 30+ days of Class I supplies (food) on board. NavCent monitors this everyday, for every ship. Our sailors deserve—and receive—the best.”
“We have the strongest military in the world. You shouldn’t be running out of food,” Dan, a Marine veteran, told USA Today.
