Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during its lengthy deployment in the Middle East.
The Lincoln, currently en route to its home port of San Diego, has been deployed for more than 300 days and will likely remain at sea for another two weeks before returning to the United States. The aircraft carrier’s current deployment began on Nov. 21, 2025.
Cao revealed the number of suicide attempts in a letter to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, responding to questions about the well-being of the Lincoln’s crew. The letter was first reported by CNN.
Cao said that no sailors had died by suicide during the aircraft carrier’s deployment.
One sailor assigned to the
Lincoln's air wing went overboard in early August. An air wing search and rescue helicopter "quickly recovered" the sailor, Cao wrote in the letter. Another sailor "attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by his shipmates."
The Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"Nearly one suicide attempt a month speaks to the intense challenges our sailors faced during a dangerous operation," a former Pentagon official told USA TODAY. "The Navy must work to make every resource available to deployed sailors so they remain combat capable."
The sailors aboard the Lincoln described poor conditions and low morale as the aircraft carrier remained at sea for roughly 280 days, setting a modern record. The Lincoln’s crew conducted operations in an active combat zone for most of that time as it enforced the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Families of sailors reported food shortages and sanitation problems on the Lincoln, prompting lawmakers to criticize the Trump administration.
In a statement, Gillibrand slammed President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for initially seeking to downplay concerns about the conditions on the Lincoln.
"Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect," Gillibrand said. “That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Navy says 8 sailors attempted suicide aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
