Eight American sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln have attempted to take their own lives since the start of the ship's Middle East mission, a senior US Navy official disclosed in a letter obtained by NBC News that has alarmed senior officials in Washington.
The deployment, widely considered unusually long and grueling, raised concerns among crew members over supply shortages and the effect of the prolonged time at sea on their mental health. However, no deaths from suicide were reported during the deployment.
According to the letter, signed by acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and sent to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the suicide attempts involved crew members from the carrier and its air wing, personnel from the strike group and destroyer squadron, sailors from the destroyers that escorted the ship, and members of the aviation squadrons stationed aboard.
About 7,500 service members, most of them sailors, belong to the strike group. The aircraft carrier spent 286 days at sea without a single port call, as part of the broader US campaign backing the war against Iran. A typical military deployment lasts six to seven months and includes regular stops to replenish food and supplies.
The Lincoln sailed out of San Diego in November, with its deployment originally slated to end in May. The mission was extended after the war began in February. This month, the ship docked briefly in Thailand and is now making its way back to San Diego after a stop in Guam.
Relatives of crew members raised concerns over food shortages and low morale, as well as the psychological strain of the extended time at sea. One relative described the situation to NBC News last month as "wreaking havoc" on the crew's mental health.
Military officials, however, downplayed or rejected some of the claims. In an op-ed published last month in The Wall Street Journal, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, described the concerns as "old news," insisting the problems had been resolved months earlier. Another Navy official also pushed back on the claims, stressing that the welfare of service members is the top priority.
Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had already pressed the Navy in an earlier letter over conditions aboard the Lincoln and the medical resources on offer to its crew. Responding to Cao's letter, she said conditions aboard the ship were "serious and deteriorating."
"Our troops and their families make enormous sacrifices every day, and yet the president dismissed them with blatant disrespect," she said. President Donald Trump had previously said the deployment "wasn't long enough."
A Navy official told NBC News that chaplains, medical personnel and mental health professionals are available to assess and address concerns as they arise.
Serving aboard the Lincoln are five chaplains, a clinical psychologist, a clinical social worker, behavioral health technicians and an integrated prevention counselor, all intended to provide support to crew members.
