Photo of Mystery Meat on U.S. Warships Goes Viral as Supplies Dwindle
U.S. soldiers stationed in the Middle East are getting fed mystery meat and single tortillas because of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon.
The Military Postal Service Agency and USPS have indefinitely suspended all mail to U.S. warships and zip codes in the Middle East. Family members of two service members—one aboard the USS Tripoli and another aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln—shared photos with USA TODAY showing what that suspension was forcing them to eat while warring on Iran—even as their families sent them packages filled with homemade desserts, candy, and clothes.
One image shows that single dreary tortilla alongside the lump of perhaps pulled pork or chicken. The other shows two horrid-looking slabs of meat alongside a pile of sliced carrots. And they’re starting to run low. Dan F, a former Marine whose own daughter is currently on the USS Tripoli, told USA Today that his daughter reported no fresh produce, low stock of hygiene products, and rationing of all non-perishable food. 
“The food is tasteless and there’s not nearly enough and they’re hungry all the time,” said West Virginia Pastor Karen Erskine-Valentine, whose congregation member has a son on the USS Abraham Lincoln. “That kind of breaks your heart.”
“We have the strongest military in the world. You shouldn’t be running out of food, and you shouldn’t not be able to get mail on the ship,” Dan F said. “The one thing we had over our adversaries [was] we fed our people.”
USPS and the Military Postal Service Agency announced the suspension earlier this month due to “airspace closures and other logistical impacts from the ongoing conflict,” according to Army spokesperson Major Travis Shaw. “Resumption of mail service is contingent upon the reopening of airspace by civil authorities, and the area commander’s evaluation of regional transportation and distribution stability.”
