US Officials Deny Reported Hygiene Products Shortage on USS Boxer

U.S Naval Forces Central Command has denied there is a shortage of hygiene products for women aboard the USS Boxer.

The USS Boxer is a Navy Wasp-class amphibious assault. The 844-feet-long vessel carries between 1,200 to 1,600 Marines when fully deployed, and functions as a floating airfield and landing base carrying helicopters, vertical-takeoff aircraft, and Marines. It is home ported in San Diego and currently operates in the Middle East region, including the Arabian Sea.

Concerns about the Boxer come amid concerns about conditions aboard another U.S. vessel, the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is involved in the United States’ ongoing war with Iran that is approaching the five-month mark with no end in sight.

MediaTouch news, citing an anonymous source who they said was a relative of someone aboard the ship, reported Saturday that women on the ship “have run out of feminine hygiene items due to no resupplies happening.” The vessel was deployed March 18 from San Diego.

“They were begging us to send them extra pads and tampons so they could share them out, but then none of our packages got delivered,” the source allegedly told the publication.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command denied these reports, calling them “FALSE” in an X post on Sunday.

“The ship has had four port visits since departing San Diego in March,” the post said. “The crew has been at sea for less than two months since the last port call, and they are stocked with feminine products, including at the ship store and in medical offices on board.

“Additionally, the ship has had two major mail deliveries so far during the month of August. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group remains fully equipped and prepared to execute all assigned missions.”

USS Boxer Scrutiny Piles on Abraham Criticism

USS Boxer has been the subject of scrutiny in the past.

In 2016, the Boxer unintentionally compromised its own water supply by intentionally and potentially illegally dumping diesel fuel into the ocean and immediately sucking the noxious liquid back aboard the ship and into its water supply.

In 2024, it returned to shore because of an engineering issue. It had previously suffered from maintenance and readiness issues which affected its deployment that year.

Criticism is mounting as the war wages on in the Middle East and more reports come from the region, coming from naval vessels like the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Lawmakers have demanded federal oversight of the Lincoln, which has 5,000 sailors and Marines and has been at sea for nine months. Multiple reports have alleged that sailors have made attempts to jump overboard and are experiencing other issues with their mental health including exhaustion, suicidal thoughts and low morale.

Naval families have also reportedly said there are safety concerns, food shortages, water contamination, and disruption in the mail system on the ship, according to reports.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the reports “completely misrepresented” while President Donald Trump dismissed concerns over the length of the deployment, stating that sailors had been out “not nearly long enough.”

Relief carrier USS George Washington is traveling to the region and is expected to arrive within nine days to finally relieve the Lincoln, according to multiple reports.

Elsewhere, photos on social media claimed to show poor shower conditions at a military base in Texas last week.

Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) told Military.com it was “addressing the state of the showers” in Camp Bullis after an image posted on Reddit showed the shower with stained floors and yellowing water. Bullis is a training site long used by the base, preceding World War I.