Shocking Meals Served to US Troops in the Middle East: What’s on Their Plates?

Allegations that meals provided to U.S. service members deployed to the Middle East are inadequate have sparked a growing controversy.

On April 17, the British Daily Telegraph and USA Today published photographs of meals served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln after it deployed to the region.

The images were reportedly sent to family members by a sailor aboard the Lincoln. They show a tray with a gray slice of processed meat, a few boiled carrot pieces and a dry patty.

Sources said three of the tray’s five compartments were empty. Similar conditions were reported aboard the USS Tripoli after it transited from Japan to the Middle East.

A Marine sent his family a photo showing only a handful of shredded meat and a single tortilla on his tray.

Troops on site report broken coffee machines and exhausted stocks of fresh fruit and vegetables.

They said supply problems have rapidly degraded food quality, and extended deployments without port calls are raising concerns about declining morale.

Families have been sending care packages, but officials say mail service for troops in the region has been suspended since the outbreak of war, leaving thousands of parcels stacked in warehouses.

Some service members warned in March that consumable supplies could be depleted soon.

The reports contrasted current rations with past instances when troops were served steak and lobster. A U.S. watchdog group said the Defense Department spent $15.1 million on steak and $6.9 million on lobster tails last year.

After the story circulated, Iran’s embassy in Tunisia posted on social media: “Unbelievable. This is what Trump is feeding his soldiers to open the Strait of Hormuz.”