US defence failures leave Australia holding a rusty AUKUS

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth seems to be so focused on cosplaying “warfighter” in “the jungles” that he has been neglecting to do the very basics of his job. Just little things, like making sure that the service people (sorry, “warfighters”) he is tasked with looking after have enough to eat.

As part of the Trump administration’s illegal war on Iran, the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier (big ship) with 5,000 sailors and marines abroad, has now been deployed for nine months. The Abraham Lincoln has now gone 250 days without making landfall, which is a record for that kind of ship.

Horrifying stories are emerging about the conditions on the Lincoln from the concerned families of those aboard. Some of the crew have been driven into mental health crises so significant that they have attempted to jump overboard.

There are reports of mouldy showers and broken hot water systems. Laundry systems that don’t work. Broken toilets. No soap. No deodorant. No toothpaste. Care packages from home that go missing or take months to arrive. And meals that are not only unsuited to conditions, but are barely edible. Bit of white rice and a couple of plain tortillas, anyone?

Unsurprisingly, the Secretary has dismissed these reports as “fake news“. President Trump did the same — of course — and even said that the deployment was “not nearly long enough”.

But Hegseth did concede that Marines on the Abraham Lincoln are facing “austere conditions“. And the USS George Washington (another big ship) is now on its way from the Pacific to relieve it.

In Australia, coverage is all about how the Trump administration is (or isn’t) handling this crisis.

But this isn’t just a domestic issue. It has huge implications for America’s strategic position. And it has – or at least should have – very big implications for Australian defence policy.

That’s because Australian defence policy is entirely based on the idea that these guys – Trump, Hegseth and co – will keep us safe.

It’s an act of faith, and like all acts of faith, it is blind to argument and evidence.

To give just one example, in April – after Trump started the war with Iran – Defence Minister Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said that “the United States, will always be fundamental to Australia’s defence” and that “the Alliance remains critical to Australia’s national security”.

The story of the USS Abraham Lincoln exposes this for the joke that this is.

What makes Australian policymakers think that these guys can be trusted with our security when they can’t look after their own people?

This is not an isolated incident.

Still, most security and defence types in Australia will not acknowledge this as an issue. They will refuse to make the obvious connection between the USS Abraham Lincoln and Australian policy. They will gaslight with platitudes like, “the alliance is bigger than presidents and prime ministers”. Except it’s not, when the president is this president.

In Australia, there will be barely a whisper about how, because of this gross negligence, the only US aircraft carrier in the Pacific is now gone. It’s on its way to the Middle East.

That’s a substantial change to the United States’ strategic position in the Pacific.

How can an ally be indispensable to our security if its major power projection platform is not even in the region? Shouldn’t we talk about what it means for our security, so dependent on this great power, when that power has to send its last aircraft carrier out of the region because of its own apparent inability to do the basics of logistical management in an illegal war that it started against all logic and expert advice?

The argument that the US is essential to our security fails on its own terms.

To be fair, some defence types will wring their hands about it – wondering how the US can be convinced to come back, how it can be drawn back into focusing on the “Indo-Pacific”. That usually means a ratcheting up of the rhetoric about China, alongside criticisms of the government for not sucking up to Trump enough.

But most of them will carry on pretending that this has nothing to do with our security alliance with the United States. The Defence Minister will carry on chatting with his “good friend” Pete Hegseth. We’ll all carry on with our “bipartisan consensus” about the necessity of our security alliance with the United States. And we’ll carry on pretending we can isolate our alliance with the United States from the reality of the Trump administration’s cruel incompetence.

We will do all of this as the United States Department of Defense fails its own, and in the process demonstrates once again that it can’t win wars.

The USS Abraham Lincoln exposes Australia’s defence reliance on America for the joke that it is. It would be funny, if it weren’t so serious.

Dr Emma Shortis is a historian and writer, focused on the history and politics of the United States. She writes regularly for Australian and international outlets and appears regularly on radio and television. She is Director of the Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs Program. 

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