Two sailors were sent back onto the USS Abraham Lincoln after a drunken brawl during their long-awaited shore leave, according to new reports.
Two American sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln were involved in a drunken fight outside a bar in Pattaya, Thailand, early Thursday, local police told MS Now.
Thai police responded to an emergency call about 1:30 a.m. in a nightlife hub in the resort city of Pattaya, after a Thai citizen reported the fight and worried it could escalate, Col. Anek Srathongyoo, the Pattaya police superintendent, told MS NOW. He called the incident “minor.”
Police and members of the ship’s shore liaison group responded, and the two sailors were taken to a joint operations center run by the Navy and Thai authorities at a Hard Rock Cafe before being returned to the carrier.
During a daily security briefing, Navy officials told Srathongyoo the two service members have been restricted to the ship for the rest of the port call.
Srathongyoo said Thai police will only arrest American service members if an incident involves a Thai citizen or violates Thai law, and that he was satisfied the crew had been properly briefed on the consequences of misconduct.
He said it was the only security incident involving American personnel Thai police were aware of during the port call so far.
Navy officials in Washington, Japan and Thailand did not respond to requests for comment.
The incident occurred during the first liberty port call for the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the Lincoln during a deployment of more than nine months, according to the report.
The ship has been involved in combat operations tied to the Iran war since February, and conditions aboard have drawn scrutiny after crew members’ families raised concerns about food shortages, low morale and exhaustion.
Before the port call, the ship’s commanding officer told the crew that parts of Pattaya were off-limits and that prostitution and marijuana use were forbidden, with violations subject to maximum punishment, according to a source familiar with the briefing.
Thai police have added patrols at six checkpoints around Pattaya during the ship’s visit. The Lincoln is expected to depart Sunday, returning to its home port of San Diego.
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