The United States (U.S.) Navy has confirmed that eight sailors, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, attempted to take their own life during the aircraft carrier’s 260 day deployment at sea for the Iran War.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sought answers about the conditions aboard the vessel and the mental health of its sailors and now the acting navy secretary has replied to the Democratic Party senator via a letter.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao disclosed the figure, saying, “Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group.”
There were no suicide deaths.
The eight cases were not all sailors serving directly aboard the Lincoln. The figure covers personnel across the carrier strike group, including its air wing, escorting destroyers and aviation squadrons.
At least two incidents involved sailors trying to go overboard.
In March, shipmates stopped one sailor before they could jump. Another sailor went overboard in August but was quickly rescued and later transferred off the ship for further care.
The disclosure comes after months of questions about what sailors were going through aboard the carrier.
Lincoln left San Diego in November 2025 for what was expected to be a seven-month deployment.
Then came the war with Iran.
Its deployment was repeatedly extended as the carrier remained in the Middle East for combat operations. The ship eventually spent more than 260 consecutive days at sea before reaching Thailand earlier this month.
Families and sailors had previously raised concerns about mental health, shortages of basic supplies and long stretches without a port visit.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disputed some of those reports in August, saying conditions aboard Lincoln had been “completely misrepresented.”
The Navy says mental health support was available aboard the carrier, including a psychologist, behavioural health staff, a social worker and five chaplains.
But personnel have separately described a Navy mental health system struggling with long waits and heavy caseloads during extended deployments.
The Lincoln is now on its way back to California.
2026-09-24 22:16:00
