USS Lincoln's 5,000 sailors unwind in Thailand's Pattaya after long deployment

Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Philip J. Heijmans, Bloomberg News on Sep 1, 2026

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BANGKOK, Thailand — Thousands of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are about to trade the steel corridors of an aircraft carrier for the neon-lit bars, beaches and massage parlors of Thailand.

The nuclear-powered carrier is due to arrive early Wednesday at Laem Chabang Port, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the resort city of Pattaya, giving roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines a five-day break from an extended deployment that included operations in the Middle East. No joint military exercises are planned.

For the crew, the stop offers respite after an unusually long deployment — more than 280 days — that has drawn scrutiny in Washington over conditions aboard. For Pattaya, it promises a needed injection of cash during an unusually quiet low season.

“They told us themselves that they’re coming with their pockets full, as they haven’t had a chance to spend any money at all,” Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches said in a phone interview. The city is accustomed to absorbing large groups of visitors, including thousands of passengers arriving on cruise ships. What makes the sailors different, he said, is their expected spending power.

The mayor estimates the visitors could spend $2.5 million to $3.75 million during the five-day stop if all 5,000 come ashore and spend $100 to $150 a day. Restaurants, bars, hotels, massage parlors and transport operators are among the businesses preparing for the influx.

The tourism federation of Chonburi, Pattaya’s home province, said in July that visitor numbers had fallen 20%-30%, with occupancy at some hotels dropping as low as 15%-20%. Even Pattaya’s Walking Street, a neon-soaked strip of bars and nightclubs usually packed with tourists, was subdued in late August as operators reported weaker sales and fewer customers.

‘Great Relief’

The port call also comes after a demanding deployment for the San Diego-based Lincoln. U.S. lawmakers have sought answers from the Pentagon following accounts from sailors and their families of food and water shortages, exhaustion and mental-health emergencies aboard the carrier. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said reports about conditions on the ship were “completely misrepresented.”

“After months of long shifts, even if they don’t involve continuous flight operations, the crew gets burned out,” said Bryan Clark, director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute, who served in Navy headquarters from 2004 to 2011. “A port call is a chance to get off the ship. Just the change in activity and surroundings can be a great relief to the crew.”

The Lincoln is scheduled to remain at Laem Chabang through Sept. 6, while the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., an accompanying destroyer, will dock nearby in Sriracha, also in Chonburi province. Personnel will stay both aboard the vessels and at hotels in Pattaya, with shuttle buses operating between the port and the city from 5 a.m. until 2 a.m. the following morning, according to the city’s mayor.

Pattaya’s emergence as a major resort began during the Vietnam War, when American servicemen stationed in the region came to its beaches for rest and recreation and transformed a sleepy fishing community. Hotels, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues sprang up to serve them, helping lay the foundations for the sprawling tourism and nightlife industry that defines the city today.

Days before the carrier’s arrival, Chonburi officials held security meetings and urged businesses to charge fair prices and treat visitors well. Police also fined 25 people on Saturday, including 18 Thai nationals, for offenses including harassing passersby and soliciting prostitution, part of efforts to present a more orderly image of the resort.

Such sweeps are routine in Pattaya, where officials periodically target public solicitation and other visible signs of the city’s sex trade. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, though the industry remains highly visible in Pattaya and other tourist destinations.

The U.S. military is imposing restrictions of its own. Personnel may visit nearby islands but will be barred from jet skiing and consuming cannabis, Poramase said. They will also be prohibited from entering certain areas after sunset, including an area known as Soi 6 that’s known for its go-go bars.