U.S.-Iran Warship Arrives in Raunchy Beach Town

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The troubled USS Abraham Lincoln's 5,000 sailors and Marines ended 264 days at sea at Pattaya, a notoriously raunchy beach town where authorities hope they will avoid thousands of exuberant sex workers in pulsating bars and instead shop, sightsee, and unwind from Iran War combat.

U.S. and Thai security officials arranged tight security for the September 2-6 stopover by the aircraft carrier, accompanied by two other U.S. Navy vessels, at Laem Chabang Port next to Pattaya, a popular hedonistic town built on tourism 62 miles (100 kms) east of Bangkok.

Thailand is perceived as especially nervous because Bangkok has enjoyed excellent relations with Iran -- most notably when Tehran hosted Thai Muslim officials and Hamas militants, resulting in a November 2023 deal which freed 23 Thai hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Bangkok and Washington said the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group's nuclear-powered Lincoln is on an "R & R" rest and recreation visit, a Pentagon-Pattaya tradition dating back to the Vietnam War more than 50 years ago.

The flat, gray, aircraft carrier's arrival carrying fighter jets is officially portrayed as having nothing to do with Thailand's relations with Iran.

Thailand's "government is clear about its approach to international relations. We do not choose sides, but choose to create opportunities from relationships for the benefit of Thai people," Government Spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said on August 26 describing the Lincoln's visit.

Ammunition and other weapon supplies will not be loaded from Thailand onto the ship, military officials said.

"There will be no joint operations," Defense Ministry Spokesman Rear Admiral Sursan Kongsiri said the same day.

"The personnel have been at sea for a long time and the U.S. side has acknowledged a certain level of stress," he said.

"Sailors have made multiple attempts to jump overboard and are experiencing other issues with their mental health," Military.com news said citing multiple reports.

"A Navy sailor who jumped from the USS Abraham Lincoln this month is facing disciplinary action and could lose half his pay, according to charging documents and testimony from his wife," Military.com said.

"Of the U.S. Navy's 11 active aircraft carriers, the Lincoln currently has among the lowest number of cases related to mental health," Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on August 17, responding to the reports.

"A small number of mental health case were treated with no loss of life," Navy Acting Secretary Hung Cao said on August 15.

"There is no question our young men and women have been pushed to their limits -- but they have never broken," Mr. Cao said. "Semper Fi and Hooyah."

On August 23, to bolster morale and cheer up the crew, the Lincoln's X account @CVN_72 blared the first 16 seconds of Jerry Lee Lewis singing "Great Balls of Fire" while a video showed warplanes taking off from the flight deck.

The U.S. and Thailand are non-NATO treaty allies. 

Washington and Bangkok conduct extensive military training including an annual Pentagon-led multinational Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand.

The Lincoln's 5,000 sailors and Marines participated in combat missions against Iran for more than 150 days during the ship's 264 days without landing after deploying 286 days ago in November.

The USS George Washington is currently sailing to replace the Lincoln in the Middle East.

Pattaya's hotels, restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and other businesses are hoping the 5,000 sailors and Marines will splash much-needed cash during Thailand's low season.

"Everyone is excited and ready to welcome them," Pattaya Tourism Association Adviser Bhunanan said.

"Pattaya Street Hookers Arrested Ahead of U.S. Carrier Group's Visit," the conservative Bangkok Post's headline said August 30.

Police arrested, fined, and released 25 people on August 29 for prostitution along Pattaya's beach at night, including 18 Thais, five Laotians, and two Ugandans.

The raids were to emphasize "prostitution remains illegal under Thai law, despite Pattaya's long-standing reputation for its nightlife and sex industry," Khaosod news said.

Thailand has an estimated 200,000 sex workers including up to 50,000 in Pattaya, according to the widely quoted Service Workers in Group Foundation (SWING), a non-profit Thai organization lobbying for their equal rights.

Social media is frothing with American expats and other foreigners, mostly men, posting memes and ribald jokes about what the cooped up sailors and Marines will do when greeted by Pattaya's bar girls in dives and nightclubs on tourist-thronged Walking Street and nearby lanes, or nonchalantly strolling on palm-studded Beach Road.

In addition to U.S. Military Police and Thai cops, undercover Thai police are expected to be watching Pattaya's vulnerable and popular sites for international security threats while imaginatively disguised as noodle vendors, taxi drivers, and other civilians.

In an example of such disguises, an undercover police informant in the Pattaya area on August 29 wrapped himself in an orange robe and shaved his head to resemble a Buddhist monk.

He then helped arrest a real monk in a large temple, Wat Photi Samphan, during an alleged ketamine purchase, the Pattaya News reported.

USS Lincoln's staff warned the sailors and Marines about involvement with Pattaya's sex workers and ubiquitous licensed cannabis shops.

The U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice forbids Defense Dept. service members worldwide from patronizing prostitutes -- even where prostitution is legal -- paying for sex, or committing adultery.

Punishment can include a court-martial, dishonorable discharge, imprisonment, reduction in rank, fines, or forfeiture of pay.

U.S. Military Police and Thai security forces are expected to prevent any fights involving sailors or Marines on shore leave.

The U.S. Navy issued off-limit restrictions to the Lincoln's crewmembers, including two raucous bar-lined lanes known as Soi 6 and Soi 7, all cannabis shops and pharmacies, plus mechanized water-based sports.

Crewmembers were allowed to visit Walking Street's bars but not after 2 a.m. when public activity often becomes unruly.

Walking Street frequently appears in viral videos and news media showing fist-fights by seemingly drunk or high foreign men grappling with bar girls, bouncers, and other foreigners.

The foreigners, occasionally including an aggressive female, are invariable kick-boxed and stomped upon by outraged Thais on the usually friendly neon-lit street.

Police on Walking Street discovered an unconscious Russian tourist slumped in a toilet with white powder allegedly visible in his nostrils before dawn on August 28.


Previous port visits to Pattaya by U.S. ships including the 7th Fleet have not resulted in any major public disturbances.

For the past few decades, Pattaya officials have been painstakingly projecting the beach resort as a safe, sanitized, family destination featuring delicious dining, fun sites, water sports, and natural settings.

Brian Gruber, 71, a Thailand-based American author and former C-SPAN host said he would go to Pattaya this week hoping to talk to the Lincoln's crewmembers.

"How the sailors behave, and what they may be willing to disclose, may make it more than the obvious debacle of rampant partying, paid sex, and inevitable mayhem of 5,000 young men set loose after months of celibacy and unspent salaries," Mr. Gruber said in an interview.

"I am curious what American sailors experienced during their 250 days at sea and what they know, saw, and believe about their relentless bombings of Iran."

The Lincoln, homeported in San Diego, California, enabled 1.5 million pounds of ordnance to be dropped on Iran by more than 10,000 sorties, Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on August 17.

The Lincoln's mission is "to conduct air warfare operations and assist in the planning, control, coordination and integration of air wing squadrons in support of carrier air warfare," the Navy said on its website.

"The largest warships in the world, Nimitz-class aircraft carriers support and operate aircraft that engage in attacks on airborne, afloat, and ashore targets that threaten free use of the sea and engage in sustained power projection operations in support of U.S. and coalition forces," the Navy said.

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Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based American foreign correspondent reporting news from Asia since 1978, and winner of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondents' Award. Excerpts from his two nonfiction books, "Rituals. Killers. Wars. & Sex. -- Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka & New York" and Ehrlich's newest,  "Mindfucking DeepSeek: Pushing China's AI to the Extreme" are available at 
https://asia-correspondent.tumblr.com