With over 5,000 personnel aboard, multiple places to eat, a coffee shop and several gyms, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is often called a floating city. Like any city one may visit on land, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) has it’s very own shopping center, the Lincoln Mall.

“While out to sea, with the full air wing embarked, there are roughly 1,000 people who will visit the Lincoln Mall daily,” said Ship’s Serviceman 3rd Class Mario Brown, a store operator. “The store is a mini market that’s perfect for Sailors to replenish their necessities and purchase snacks to make it through the day.”

The store is like a condensed supermarket containing an assortment of goods such as toiletries, snacks and uniform items. But for Sailors like Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Dermarious Hardy, a Lincoln Mall regular, the store has an even more important purpose.

“The store keeps morale up, and morale is the most important thing on this ship,” said Hardy.  “If that stays up, the ship will operate smoothly.”

“Underway we have to restock every day to keep up with the high demands of the ship’s store,” said Ship’s Serviceman 1st Class Jason Rodriguez, leading petty officer in the ship’s sales office.

To keep up with the demands, the ship frequently orders goods through approved vendors, often retrieving the products via replenishment-at-sea. Once aboard and inventoried, the products make their way to the shelves for customers to enjoy.

The products the Lincoln Mall orders are influenced by the crew.

“We have a suggestion box that Sailors are encouraged to use to and give their input on what they want to see in the store,” said Rodriguez. “We try to please and accommodate our customers as much as possible.”

While the main store remains open on the 3rd deck, a second store has been opened on the 02 level to alleviate the long lines and high demands of Sailors. The location also adds easier accessibility to those who might not have the time to make it to the main store.

For the ship store to operate flawlessly at sea, at least four Sailors are needed during the day and two at night to serve more than 5,000 Sailors.

While most of the store’s profits go to the ship’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) division, the amount of money retained by Supply department’s S-3 division goes into a reserve. That reserve is utilized to repair or replace shipboard vending machines.

“The ship store helps with Sailor’s morale because the profits fund MWR’s recreational programs, events and gym equipment,” said the ship’s Fit Boss, Shawn Ellison.

The funds received by MWR are reinvested into the crew through various means such as recreation programming or prizes given out, Ellison added. The extra money also covers the supplies for activities such as the holiday party and command picnics.

When Sailors go out to sea, their access to goods becomes limited. The Lincoln Mall’s mission is to bring the comforts of home to sea. 

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