WASHINTON: The US Navy has confirmed eight USS Abraham Lincoln suicide attempts during the carrier strike group’s extended deployment, which lasted 286 days and included 264 consecutive days at sea. No suicide deaths were reported during the deployment, according to Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao.
Cao disclosed the figures in a letter responding to questions from US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about the wellbeing and conditions of personnel assigned to the carrier strike group.
The eight cases did not involve only sailors serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The figure covers personnel across the wider carrier strike group, including the carrier’s air wing, destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and embarked aviation units.
USS Abraham Lincoln suicide attempts raise concerns over mental health
According to Cao’s letter, at least two of the reported incidents involved personnel attempting to go overboard.
In March, a sailor attempted to go overboard but was stopped by fellow crew members and subsequently received medical care. In August, another sailor went overboard and was quickly rescued before being transferred from the ship for further treatment.
The disclosure follows months of concerns about the mental health and living conditions of personnel during the unusually long deployment. The USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego in November 2025 and was later deployed to the Middle East as US military operations involving Iran intensified.
Reports about conditions aboard the carrier had raised concerns over limited port visits, supply shortages and the psychological strain of prolonged time at sea. US officials have disputed some of those accounts, while the Navy has said mental-health resources were available to personnel during the deployment.
Cao said the carrier had access to a range of mental-health services, including a psychologist, behavioral-health staff, a clinical social worker and five chaplains.
The USS Abraham Lincoln reached Thailand in early September after its extended deployment and is now scheduled to return to California.
