Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Bread and Circuses

(1,956 posts)
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 05:35 PM 15 hrs ago

Mutiny ?? USS Gerald R. Ford

If this is. True. Wow ! We need to defend these sailors !


https://open.substack.com/pub/deanblundell/p/breaking-did-sailors-aboard-the-uss?r=2zlv4a&utm_medium=ios

The United States Navy is investigating whether sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford — the most expensive warship ever constructed, a $13 billion floating symbol of American military supremacy — deliberately set fire to their own ship to end the deployment.

47 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Mutiny ?? USS Gerald R. Ford (Original Post) Bread and Circuses 15 hrs ago OP
Interesting... 2naSalit 15 hrs ago #1
Exactly. These sailors may feel that they are on a floating disaster Bread and Circuses 15 hrs ago #4
At the very least. ...nt 2naSalit 15 hrs ago #6
And Trump is stupid enough to demand that the carrier position itself in the middle of the Straits. OAITW r.2.0 13 hrs ago #26
The bathrooms were broken before deployment. Nt Fiendish Thingy 14 hrs ago #13
ABC... spanone 15 hrs ago #2
Our modern day edhopper 15 hrs ago #3
Violation of Article 94 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice can result in the death penalty... PeaceWave 15 hrs ago #5
What about refusing to carry out illegal orders? malaise 15 hrs ago #10
Yeah, not a good try there. Kingofalldems 14 hrs ago #18
Now do UNLAWFUL military orders. blm 13 hrs ago #28
Exactly! canetoad 9 hrs ago #45
Key words there are "lawful military orders." wnylib 10 hrs ago #39
Can you define "unlawful orders"? Ruby the Liberal 30 min ago #47
Who wants to go to war at the behest of a known pedophile and rapist? roamer65 15 hrs ago #7
Guardian link malaise 15 hrs ago #8
The military I was in was fueled by: coffee, hot sauce, "griping",........and porn underpants 15 hrs ago #9
"The military I was in was fueled by: coffee, hot sauce, "griping",........and porn" Codifer 12 hrs ago #32
This same guy posted AI slop of the Ford severely aflame rictofen 15 hrs ago #11
I'm sure it was what you were getting at, just pointing it out for those not familiar InstantGratification 12 hrs ago #30
Any other source besides some guy's blog? Nt Fiendish Thingy 14 hrs ago #12
See #8 n/t malaise 14 hrs ago #15
The status of the aircraft carrier is widely know, but not the mutiny/sabotage accusation. Brother Buzz 14 hrs ago #16
Thanks malaise 14 hrs ago #17
Look at post 11 InstantGratification 12 hrs ago #33
Possible, not unheard of. UTUSN 14 hrs ago #14
This sounds like the USS Bonhomme Richard case - which resulted in an acquittal... PeaceWave 14 hrs ago #19
This message was self-deleted by its author AllaN01Bear 14 hrs ago #20
My military law experience is limited to the Army but I'd be surprised to see mutiny charges. TomSlick 14 hrs ago #21
IF - this turns out to be true stopdiggin 13 hrs ago #24
"" AllaN01Bear 14 hrs ago #22
I remember hearing things post Vietnam Dan 13 hrs ago #23
Assuming this is true, why would we possibly need to defend mutinous arsonists? Renew Deal 13 hrs ago #25
Another former military member Dan 12 hrs ago #29
What good would the word of civilians do anyway? MorbidButterflyTat 9 hrs ago #41
I have been wondering if the generals and officers would begin to refuse to serve? ShazamIam 13 hrs ago #27
Who the hell really knows? ... littlemissmartypants 12 hrs ago #31
Get them off the ship OC375 12 hrs ago #34
There were straws in the wind last week irisblue 12 hrs ago #35
1972 Height of Vietnam. My F-4 squadron was assigned to the USS Forrestal... Wounded Bear 12 hrs ago #36
At sea shifts are 12 on, 12 off with no rest days. Tbear 10 hrs ago #37
I'm going to crap all over this theory... jmowreader 10 hrs ago #38
From a friend as well as a documentary on submarine life Melon 9 hrs ago #44
Improper maintenance due to fatigue/low morale, not sabotage is certainly a very real possibility. /nt artemisia1 8 hrs ago #46
I doubt it LogDog75 10 hrs ago #40
As an ex-sailor I don't believe anyone would try such a dumb stunt. GoodRaisin 9 hrs ago #42
The laundry area of any ship is prone to fires. Melon 9 hrs ago #43

2naSalit

(102,290 posts)
1. Interesting...
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 05:39 PM
15 hrs ago

I wonder if they tried the bathroom breakage first. They've been deployed for a really long time and now they are thrown into a fucking war?

This needs to end, never should have begun.

OAITW r.2.0

(32,071 posts)
26. And Trump is stupid enough to demand that the carrier position itself in the middle of the Straits.
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:15 PM
13 hrs ago

PeaceWave

(3,264 posts)
5. Violation of Article 94 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice can result in the death penalty...
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 05:56 PM
15 hrs ago

Under Article 94 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), US Navy personnel convicted of mutiny or sedition face severe penalties, including the death penalty, life imprisonment, or other authorized court-martial punishments. Mutiny is defined as creating violence or acting in concert to refuse lawful military orders or override authority. Joe Biden would call such an offense "a big fucking deal" and it is.

wnylib

(25,825 posts)
39. Key words there are "lawful military orders."
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 11:17 PM
10 hrs ago

The US attack on Iran is not lawful by International and US law.

Ruby the Liberal

(26,645 posts)
47. Can you define "unlawful orders"?
Thu Mar 19, 2026, 09:01 AM
30 min ago

Just a few examples would be great for those of us who never served.

roamer65

(37,921 posts)
7. Who wants to go to war at the behest of a known pedophile and rapist?
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 06:10 PM
15 hrs ago

I wouldn’t.

💥BOOM💥

There’s the truth.

malaise

(295,574 posts)
8. Guardian link
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 06:23 PM
15 hrs ago
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/18/onboard-fire-uss-gerald-ford-aircraft-carrier

Fire damage, clogged toilets, and sinking morale: USS Gerald R Ford to set sail for repairs in Crete
Aircraft carrier has been participating in strikes on Iran, after previously taking part in the operation to seize Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro

underpants

(196,251 posts)
9. The military I was in was fueled by: coffee, hot sauce, "griping",........and porn
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 06:24 PM
15 hrs ago

A tremendous amount of porn. 😳

I was a Cav Scout so we weren’t raw raw types. We aimed to sit quietly in the woods of Germany and almost certainly die if the balloon went up. We don’t call in - THATS where they at!

From what I’ve heard from sailors, it’s a monotonous repetitive daily grind. “Groundhog Day” they call it. You are in tight quarters and you often go through days and weeks of seeing exactly the same people at the same time every single day.

I’m just saying I can get they are pissed.

Codifer

(1,205 posts)
32. "The military I was in was fueled by: coffee, hot sauce, "griping",........and porn"
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:50 PM
12 hrs ago

The one I was in (Navy) had same list but add Benzedrine to keep up. Flight deck was a busy place to be in 1967. Not so much porn..... we had Olongapo. Also scuttlebutt.

rictofen

(266 posts)
11. This same guy posted AI slop of the Ford severely aflame
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 06:25 PM
15 hrs ago


Weird, I didn't know the Ford class island was that far forward.
30. I'm sure it was what you were getting at, just pointing it out for those not familiar
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:43 PM
12 hrs ago

Not only is the island not that far forward, it is farther aft than on the Nimitz class. That truly is some AI slop. I had to google his name, but I knew I had heard of Dean Blundell before. He has just proven how easy it is to fool people who have pre-determined their opinion.

Brother Buzz

(39,853 posts)
16. The status of the aircraft carrier is widely know, but not the mutiny/sabotage accusation.
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 06:57 PM
14 hrs ago
33. Look at post 11
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:50 PM
12 hrs ago

That is not the Gerald Ford. It is AI garbage. The Island on the Ford is farther aft than on the Nimitz class, not farther forward. Also, the angled flight deck for simultaneous launch and landing operations isn't angled enough in those pics.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2026/03/17/american-super-aircraft-carrier-arrives-in-crete-for-resupply/

UTUSN

(77,629 posts)
14. Possible, not unheard of.
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 06:40 PM
14 hrs ago

Last edited Thu Mar 19, 2026, 12:44 AM - Edit history (2)

When I reported straight from Boot Camp (after 30 days' Leave) to my rust bucket ship in the Vietnam river - me knowing nothing about nothing - we 4 or 5 Boots were toured around the ship and in a remote cranny of it were welcomed by a couple of seasoned sailors sitting on the deck and they said to us that the ship was a rust bucket that leaked and was a hazard to everybody and that some of the seasoned crew were planning something like a protest sit-down and did we want to join. Now, their facial expressions gave no inkling that they might be pranking. We Boots were shocked, taken aback, like, "Is this 'mutiny' ? " We had no clue as to what to think, much less react, so the issue just hung in the air. Nothing happened after that, but a few weeks later we went to Sasebo, Japan, for maybe some light repairs?

Later in the year's tour (1967-68) two sailors on the ship were disappeared as being either Gay or as trying to get out of service by pretending to be Gay.

There's an issue there - back then, not now? - the Draft (I volunteered) - but being a *CIVILIAN* was an unacknowledged issue. We who either volunteered for our own reasons and Draftees were Civilians to the core, not military mindsets, so had anti-authoritarianism resistance to military "order". We filtered and resisted (passively? ) the blind subservience to orders that might or might not make sense. Later, past my time and not my experience, something called "fragging" was happening in the land forces, which I'm linking to the "civilian" vs military mindsets - people serving against their will and reacting to blind obedience in the ultimate way.





PeaceWave

(3,264 posts)
19. This sounds like the USS Bonhomme Richard case - which resulted in an acquittal...
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 07:17 PM
14 hrs ago
US navy sailor acquitted of setting fire that destroyed $1.2bn warship

Court martial clears Ryan Mays after prosecutors alleged he started blaze after failing to complete Navy Seal training

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/30/navy-sailor-acquitted-fire-warship-bonhomme-richard

Response to Bread and Circuses (Original post)

TomSlick

(12,990 posts)
21. My military law experience is limited to the Army but I'd be surprised to see mutiny charges.
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 07:29 PM
14 hrs ago

I would think the Navy would not want to see this characterized as mutiny.

My expectation would be charges for damaging government property, under Article 108, UCMJ.

stopdiggin

(15,378 posts)
24. IF - this turns out to be true
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:11 PM
13 hrs ago

Anybody that is setting fire to their OWN ship ... Has the brains of a f***ing squirrel - and is a likely candidate for being tossed overboard by his own shipmates.

Dan

(5,133 posts)
23. I remember hearing things post Vietnam
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:01 PM
13 hrs ago

When Gerald Ford (POTUS) was discussing sending troops to Africa to fight Cubans/Africans. Some of the discussions, I do remember we lost our Company Commander which was a local event - but there were rumors about some Ships and that base in Montana.

Renew Deal

(85,042 posts)
25. Assuming this is true, why would we possibly need to defend mutinous arsonists?
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:13 PM
13 hrs ago

It sounds like a bad idea, immoral, and a losing issue.

Dan

(5,133 posts)
29. Another former military member
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:38 PM
12 hrs ago

posted yesterday about how hard it is to disobey an illegal order. I don't know what is going on reference the ship - but I do understand how hard it would be to disobey illegal orders.

What will probably happen in this situation is that the Captain will be relieved of duty due to Loss of Confidence - his career is over;

The Ship will be out of commission for the foreseeable future while they do repairs;

Lots of military members will be under the microscope - and not sure what will happen;

And given that our leader in the Department of Defense/War/Secretary of War - has decided that DEI must be removed - suspect that somewhere those DEI people are starting to listen to a leadership that doesn't give a damn about them and thinks that they are sub-human.

But I am not there.

littlemissmartypants

(33,069 posts)
31. Who the hell really knows? ...
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:48 PM
12 hrs ago

It will be years before we learn any "truths" about what's happening under the regime.

What I do know is that more than 50% of what's on the internet is mis/disinformation.

I don't have enough bandwidth or the inclination to concern myself with a generous portion of it.

But if even a small bit of this is true, it's pretty damned entertaining. My first reaction was actually laughter. Because It reminds me of the stories the sailors in my life loved to tell when they were alive after having spent the majority of their lives on the Seven Seas.

❤️

OC375

(856 posts)
34. Get them off the ship
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:56 PM
12 hrs ago

Before their comrades toss them off. Fire at sea. Not cool. Not even a little.

irisblue

(37,422 posts)
35. There were straws in the wind last week
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 08:59 PM
12 hrs ago

1.https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/12/aircraft-carrier-laundry-fire-iran/

2.https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2026/02/26/world-s-largest-aircraft-carrier-uss-gerald-ford-leaves-crete-as-iran-talks-start-report

snip-"The vessel has been at the US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay base in Crete since Monday. The US embassy in Athens has declined to comment on the carrier’s presence, forwarding questions to the Pentagon in Washington."

more there

Wounded Bear

(64,238 posts)
36. 1972 Height of Vietnam. My F-4 squadron was assigned to the USS Forrestal...
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 09:02 PM
12 hrs ago

We were in Norfolk Virginia, training for deployment either to the Mediterranean or to Yankee Station off of Vietnam.

A fire happened aboard the ship just before the final declaration of where we were assigned. I was on leave at the time. A short time at home before the deployment, I thought. The fire destroyed much of the officers' quarters and damaged the combat operations center severely. The USS America was sent off to Vietnam while we stayed in Norfolk for repairs. We finally left for Europe several months later.

We heard later that they caught the sailors who started the fire. We never heard a lot about the whole incident beyond that.

It happens.

Tbear

(693 posts)
37. At sea shifts are 12 on, 12 off with no rest days.
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 11:02 PM
10 hrs ago

Flight ops on a carrier are especially grueling because planes and stuff break, it’s always dangerous and you are exposed to whatever weather while heading into the wind.
I doubt if these sailors have seen a port for a long while for a break.
You still don’t want to set your ship on fire while at sea. Nowhere to run, put it out or you are shark bait.

jmowreader

(53,137 posts)
38. I'm going to crap all over this theory...
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 11:13 PM
10 hrs ago

...using a lot of the crap that won't flow through the Ford's undersized sewage system.

This fire started in a dryer vent. Dryer vent fires are more common than you'd think, especially in homes...but I figure if the people who designed this boat made the sewer pipes too small they probably also made the dryer ducts too small.

OF COURSE the Navy is going to look into whether the crew torched their own ship because...that's how the Navy does business. They don't rule anything out, but it appears at this juncture that the cause of the fire is improper maintenance.

Melon

(1,475 posts)
44. From a friend as well as a documentary on submarine life
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 11:52 PM
9 hrs ago

The dryer for laundry has a manned watch every time it’s running due to risk of fire.

artemisia1

(1,844 posts)
46. Improper maintenance due to fatigue/low morale, not sabotage is certainly a very real possibility. /nt
Thu Mar 19, 2026, 12:35 AM
8 hrs ago

LogDog75

(1,266 posts)
40. I doubt it
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 11:25 PM
10 hrs ago

The carrier has been plagued by problems since it was launched. Most likely, the Navy couldn't make or afford to correct the problems and as a result accidents happen. When I was in the military we were told 99% of accidents were preventable.

Melon

(1,475 posts)
43. The laundry area of any ship is prone to fires.
Wed Mar 18, 2026, 11:50 PM
9 hrs ago

In a submarine, there is a watch when the dryer is running as a high risk area for fires.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Mutiny ?? USS Gerald R. F...