Navy Confirms 8 Suicide Attempts on USS Lincoln Deployment

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed eight sailors attempted suicide during the carrier strike group's record 286 days at sea supporting the Iran war.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao revealed in a letter to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, dated Tuesday, that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide since the deployment began around ten months ago. Cao wrote that the count spans the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier air wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all embarked aviation squadrons. He stated plainly that there have been no suicides on board during the deployment. The Lincoln left San Diego in November on what was scheduled as a normal six-month Pacific deployment, but it was extended after the war with Iran began in February, and the ship was at sea without a port call for 286 days.

The deployment was supposed to end in May but was extended for the Iran war, and combat operations limited resupply opportunities. Cao acknowledged that piping failures and temporary desalination issues struck the ship early in deployment, and that meal options were reduced from two entrées to one for a short time, though he said four nutritionally balanced meals were served daily. Families of sailors had raised alarms about food shortages, dwindling hygiene supplies, and morale, which top officials rejected at the time.

According to Cao's letter, one sailor went overboard in early August and was quickly recovered by an air wing search and rescue helicopter, treated, and transferred off-ship for follow-up care. Another sailor attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by shipmates, then medically evaluated and flown off the ship. Cao also confirmed the ship deployed with a psychologist, a clinical social worker, a counselor, three behavioral health technicians, and a therapy dog. Military Times reports that only the psychologist and social worker are licensed mental health clinicians, and that a deployed resiliency counselor left six months into the deployment and had not been replaced when the ship docked in Thailand on September 2.

The disclosure lands after President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed reports about conditions on the Lincoln. Brad Cooper, the U.S. Central Command commander, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the concerns were 'old news' resolved months ago, and Navy officials said in August they had not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or attempts aboard the ship. Gillibrand said what was dismissed as 'fake news' turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions.

Experts say eight attempts in a strike group of roughly 6,000 sailors over ten months is statistically low compared with the Navy's 356 reported suicide attempts in 2024 and more than 1,500 attempts among all active-duty personnel. But Dr. Harold Kudler, a retired VA psychiatrist, cautioned that the raw number is not the best measure of conditions aboard the Lincoln and its escorts without additional detail. Retired Navy Capt. John Cordle, a former strike group ship commander, told ABC News that the service is in 'unknown territory,' noting ships have not deployed this long since Vietnam, and that port calls at Bahrain — normally a psychological benefit — became impossible after Iranian attacks on those facilities.

The Lincoln stopped in Thailand in early September, made a stop in Guam, and is now sailing back to its San Diego home port, with USA Today reporting the ship will likely remain at sea about two more weeks before returning. The Navy continues enforcing its blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has offered no clarity on how it intends to wind down the nearly seven-month-old war, meaning other crews could face similar extended deployments. Dr. Kudler urged the Navy to conduct a serious review of lessons learned so that such deployments, if necessary, are easier on service members and their families. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.