- Navy confirms eight suicide attempts aboard USS Abraham Lincoln.
- Prolonged Mideast deployment raised mental health concerns among sailors.
- One sailor went overboard, another tried; mental health support deployed.
US Iran war: Eight sailors serving with the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during the carrier’s prolonged deployment supporting the US military operation against Iran, according to a letter from the US Navy. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao disclosed the incidents in a response to questions from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat who had sought information about the conditions faced by sailors after families raised concerns over deteriorating morale and mental health during the extended mission.
The Abraham Lincoln had remained at sea for months beyond its original deployment schedule and is now returning to the United States.
Two Overboard Incidents
Cao said one sailor assigned to the Lincoln’s air wing “went overboard from the ship” in early August and was rescued by one of the carrier’s helicopters.
In another incident in March, a sailor attempted to go overboard but was stopped by fellow crew members before reaching the point of leaving the vessel.
The eight sailors identified in the Navy’s response were drawn from across the Lincoln crew and the wider strike group.
Cao said the affected personnel included sailors from “the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier airwing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons.”
Five chaplains and several mental health professionals were deployed aboard the carrier to address what Cao described as the “spiritual and emotional needs of the crew.”
Navy Disputes Crisis Claims
The Navy has acknowledged some problems aboard the carrier but has pushed back against descriptions of a broader mental health crisis.
Cao’s letter said there had been temporary “localized piping failures” and problems with reverse osmosis equipment used for desalination. It also acknowledged a short period when meal options were limited.
The Abraham Lincoln has roughly 5,000 crew members.
Gillibrand, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised the administration’s earlier response to reports about conditions aboard the ship.
“What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as ‘fake news’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members,” she said in a statement provided to the BBC on Wednesday.
“Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect,” she added.
Deployment Extended
The Abraham Lincoln left California in November and initially headed towards the South China Sea before being redirected to the Middle East ahead of US military action against Iran in February.
The deployment was initially scheduled to end in May but was extended several times as the conflict continued.
By August, the USS George Washington had been sent to take over from the Abraham Lincoln, which had spent about nine months at sea. The Lincoln later made a stop in Thailand before beginning its journey back to the United States.
The carrier spent 286 consecutive days at sea without a port call while supporting US military operations against Iran. The deployment was substantially longer than the typical six-to-seven-month schedule for a carrier, which normally includes regular port visits for restocking and crew breaks.
The ship departed San Diego in November and was originally expected to return in May. It has since stopped in Thailand and passed through Guam while making its way back to California.
ALSO READ: Zelenskyy Warns India Against Citizens Joining Russia’s War: ‘Don’t Let Putin Drag You’
Families Raised Concerns
Families of sailors had raised concerns months earlier about food supplies, morale and the psychological pressure associated with the unusually long deployment.
One family member told NBC News last month that the deployment was “wreaking havoc” on sailors’ mental well-being.
Some military officials had previously rejected or downplayed those concerns. Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion article last month that the problems being raised were “old news” and had already been addressed.
Earlier this summer, a Navy official said there had been no increase in suicidal thoughts or attempts aboard the carrier.
“We take every service member’s well-being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise,” the official said.
The Navy said the Lincoln’s support system included five chaplains, a clinical psychologist, a clinical social worker, behavioural health technicians and an embedded integrated prevention coordination counsellor.
Cao’s latest letter provides additional details about the incidents as the carrier’s extended deployment comes to an end.
