Navy says 8 sailors attempted suicide aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln

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.

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/travel/