U.S. Navy Central Command reported that the "Ford" aircraft carrier, which is participating in military operations against Iran in the Red Sea, caught fire on the same day. The cause of the fire is unrelated to the combat, and two sailors were injured.

The command statement said that a fire broke out in the main laundry room of the "Ford" aircraft carrier, and the fire has been controlled. The two injured soldiers are currently receiving treatment and their condition is stable. The carrier's mission is not affected and it maintains full combat capability.

The Ford had previously been reported to have frequent toilet failures, causing 4,600 sailors to queue for restroom use, sometimes waiting over 45 minutes, but the Navy denied that the ship's sanitation system was experiencing a "serious failure."

The main laundry room fire, was it caused by a methane explosion...?

The Ford costs 1.33 billion U.S. dollars, and this deployment has been postponed multiple times, with the number of postponements approaching the record from the Vietnam War.

The fire in the laundry room is truly unrelated to the battle, but this is not the key issue.

The fire was not caused by an Iranian drone attack, but rather because a warship designed for a six-month deployment cycle has been operating continuously for nine months in the region with the highest combat intensity on Earth, performing missions around the clock.

According to statistics from the U.S. government itself, this war has already cost 11.3 billion U.S. dollars in just six days. The systems responsible for providing food, clothing, and combat capabilities for 4,500 sailors are gradually becoming overwhelmed due to the high-intensity combat rhythm.

Fire incidents in the laundry room on a warship are not uncommon and are reportedly one of the most common accidents on board.

But the "Ford" is not a warship deployed during peacetime, it is the core force of American power projection!

In the Iran war, the United States simultaneously deployed three aircraft carrier strike groups, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard successfully attacked five ships (tankers, etc.) within 12 hours.

A suicide drone costing only 20,000 U.S. dollars managed to kill an Indian seaman on an American oil tanker, which was not protected by three aircraft carriers.

The Supreme Leader of Iran has just ordered to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

The fire was controlled at 1:32 a.m. (local time), and fortunately, the crew responded quickly.

The combat capability appears to be running normally, the propulsion system is intact, and aircraft operations continue.

The problem is not whether this fire was controlled, but whether the nine-month multi-front deployment will lead to another fire, and then another one?

The most complex warship ever built must defend against anti-ship missiles from the Houthi rebels in Yemen, swarms of drones from the Revolutionary Guard, and attacks from Iraqi militias, while maintaining daily air operations costing 280 million U.S. dollars.

The Revolutionary Guard's cost calculation is not about sinking the aircraft carrier, but rather about exhausting its resources. It does not need to hit the carrier itself, but instead exhaust the washing machines, kitchen equipment, air conditioning systems, sewage treatment systems, and the energy of the 4,500 personnel on board.

The laundry room water leak also revealed a fact long known by the Pentagon: the key to the attrition war is not weapons, but time.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859507336929280/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.