PATTAYA, Thailand-At the Hottuna Bar in this seaside town, owner Suchet Teewiang will open a second counter to serve up ice-cold beers. Other venues on Walking Street, the city's main drag, are staging DJ nights or bringing in extra hands to welcome the expected crowds.

Some 5,000 American sailors will pour into Pattaya starting Wednesday, when the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and two other Navy ships make a five-day port call in eastern Thailand.

For the sailors aboard the Lincoln, the port call can't come too soon. It will be their first sustained time on land since they made port in Guam in December. Other than a brief stop in Oman in July, the Lincoln has been at sea for more than 260 days.

For much of their extraordinarily long deployment, the sailors were supporting U.S. operations in the Middle East. Reports of fresh-food shortages, poor conditions on board and mental-health challenges, including one sailor going overboard, have prompted questions from Navy families and Democratic lawmakers about the sustainability of increasingly long naval deployments.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao last month acknowledged the grueling nature of extended combat operations, but said that there was always adequate food on the Lincoln and that "a small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life."

In Pattaya, the sailors from the Lincoln continue a long tradition of U.S. servicemen seeking respite at the city's wide sandy beach, restaurants and bars.

"They like to walk up to the bar, American-style," Suchet, 53, said of the U.S. sailors that have come to Hottuna to listen to rock music, drink and play pool since it opened in the 1990s.

A video playing on loop on a screen above the counter encourages the sailors to forgo table service. "Attention soldiers. The cold brew you deserve," it declares, an American flag as the backdrop. "Order at the bar now."

Pattaya was little more than a fishing village surrounded by jungle when young GIs deployed in Thailand visited the sleepy bay sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The nearby U-Tapao airfield became a major base of operations during the Vietnam War.

Early on, some U.S. troops camped out on the beach during leave. Soon, businesses cropped up around the bay to serve young Americans flush with cash and a need for distraction.

Sombat Visetsuwan, 64, who lives near Pattaya's traditional fish market, said he used to collect garbage from Navy ships with his boat in the 1980s and 1990s and often received gifts from visiting sailors. Back then, carriers would anchor in the bay, and locals ferried sailors ashore, often swapping beers for T-shirts or belt buckles.

"When I first saw the aircraft carrier, I was amazed. Thailand didn't have anything like it," he said. "It was the first time in my life I'd seen such a huge ship."

Over the years, the greater Pattaya area-which sits near a port that is now deep enough for carriers to dock-has seen its population explode to more than 350,000 people.

The city's nightlife, including go-go bars and clubs on Walking Street and a strip of restaurants on Beach Road, draws tourists from around the world, including Europe and Russia. There's an elephant sanctuary and a temple that bills itself as the world's largest all-wood structure. Hotels from major international chains and condominium buildings loom over the city.

Even as foreign tourists have descended on the resort, Pattaya remains a popular R&R stop for U.S. Navy ships and an affordable place for American veterans to retire. The local Veterans of Foreign Wars post has about 420 members who swap tips on visas and local health insurance.

Shameer Ali, who served 29 years in the Marines, including in both Gulf wars and Afghanistan, said that as an officer he oversaw troop visits to Pattaya.

"It's like New York back in 42nd Street days, back in the 70s," says Ali, 58, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and now lives outside Pattaya.

Before going on liberty during a port call, sailors receive extensive safety briefings, including how to avoid getting drawn in by foreign intelligence services. They are required to buddy up and given curfews according to rank. U.S. military typically police work with local authorities to keep them out of trouble, including conducting joint patrols.

Ali said sailors would also be warned against engaging with sex workers, who are common in Pattaya even though prostitution is illegal in Thailand. Pattaya's police chief said his men have in recent days rounded up some suspected sex workers who were new to the area.

Pattaya's mayor, Poramet Ngampichet, said that the American sailors have been told not to participate in dangerous activities, such as jet-skiing or parasailing, and to stay away from the cannabis dispensaries, which are legal in Thailand.

Buses will run continuously from the port to the center of Pattaya from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m., said Poramet. He and local business owners hope the sailors will boost the economy at a time when the war in Iran has pushed up the cost of air travel and depressed foreign tourism.

"They have saved up their full allowances and salaries since they had nowhere to spend them," he said in a video posted on his Facebook page, estimating they would spend about $3 million during the visit.

A U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesman declined to discuss details of the port visit.

Eric Baker, a retired Air Force linguist who volunteers at the Pattaya VFW office, said he had been following news coverage of the Lincoln's lengthy deployment.

"They've been out for 250 days, so that's going to put a strain on them," said Baker, 60. "I'm really glad they get to do some R&R here."