Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:24pm on 24 Feb 2026,Tuesday International
As US-Iran tensions escalate, America's most expensive warship, the $13.3 billion USS Gerald R. Ford is battling an unexpected internal crisis after a catastrophic sewage system failure leaving most of its 650 toilets non-functional. Over 4,500 sailors face 45-minute toilet queues daily while technicians work 19-hour shifts attempting repairs. The vacuum-based sewage system's fragile design means a single valve failure disables entire departments, with calcium build-up requiring $400,000 acid flushes each time. Now in its eighth month at sea well beyond the standard six exhausted sailors are missing family milestones and contemplating leaving the military entirely. The USS Harry S. Truman suffered similar crew fatigue issues, resulting in multiple lost fighter jets in 2025.
