8 sailors in Lincoln carrier group attempted suicide on extended
deployment, Navy leader says
[September 25, 2026]
By BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight sailors attempted suicide while deployed with
the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, which spent a
record-setting uninterrupted time at sea supporting the Iran war, the
Navy's top civilian leader said this week.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao provided the information to Sen. Kirsten
Gillibrand in a letter dated Tuesday after the New York Democrat
inquired last month about the strike group's crew. The Lincoln's
extended deployment drew the nation's attention following reports of
crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages,
including food and hygiene products.
Eight attempts in a strike group of 6,000 sailors over 10 months is
actually low, experts say. The Navy reported 356 suicide attempts across
the service in 2024, while there were more than 1,500 attempts among all
active duty personnel that year, according to the latest annual report.
However, the reported attempts are not the best measure for conditions
on the Lincoln and its supporting destroyers, particularly with no other
additional details, said Dr. Harold Kudler, a former national lead for
mental health services at the Department of Veterans Affairs and a
retired VA psychiatrist.
“But something happened to get those families upset. Something happened
to raise concerns about the health and well-being of those troops,”
Kudler said, referring to media reports that quoted sailors and their
families. “It reverberated through the military and reverberated across
the country. So we need to understand what that was because we don’t
need that to happen again.”
Acting Navy secretary offers information following questions about
mental health and hygiene
Gillibrand had asked Cao several questions focused on ship conditions,
including about the availability of mental health support and healthy
food as well as hygiene. The senator also asked if there were any
suicides.
“There have been no suicides on board during this deployment,” Cao wrote
in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and reported
earlier by CNN. “Since the beginning of LINCOLN'S deployment, there have
been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group — this
number includes the LINCOLN crew and Sailors from the carrier wing,
strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all
embarked aviation squadrons.”
Cao wrote that the carrier deployed with a psychologist, a clinical
social worker, a counselor, three behavioral health technicians and a
therapy dog.
Cao said the Lincoln maintained adequate food supplies, but because
combat operations limited resupply opportunities, meal options were
reduced from two to one for a short time. However, he wrote that four
nutritionally balanced meals were served daily.
Cao acknowledged delays in scheduled resupply shipments but said the
Navy prioritized the delivery of hygiene products and established a
rotation to streamline distribution to different squadrons. He also
acknowledged piping failures on the carrier early in its deployment as
well as temporary issues with desalination units.
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Trump had downplayed reports on ship conditions
President Donald Trump had downplayed reports about conditions on
the Lincoln, which left its homeport in San Diego in November,
arrived in the Middle East in January in support of Iran operations,
and spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than
260 days.
The carrier and some of its supporting ships stopped in Thailand in
early September on their way back home to California. The Lincoln’s
commanding officer, Capt. Dan Keeler, said then that the ship was
heading home soon but may make further supply stops. He declined to
say the exact date the strike group was expected back in the U.S.
Last month, Trump called the nearly nine months at sea that the
sailors endured a “good period of time” but added that “over the
years, we’ve had them out there much longer.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also had said that conditions about
the Lincoln were “completely misrepresented.”
Gillibrand slams the Trump administration for ‘deteriorating
conditions’ for troops
Gillibrand took aim at Trump and Hegseth in a statement released
this week in response to Cao's letter.
“What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as ‘fake news’ turned
out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service
members," she stated.
“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.”
Extended deployments of carriers wear on service members who are
away from home for long periods and increase strain on the ship and
its equipment. The Navy is enforcing a 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.
Kudler, the retired VA psychiatrist, said it can be challenging for
troops counting down the days of their deployment to have it
extended. He said the Lincoln could be a learning opportunity for
the Navy.
“Let’s really do a serious look at what lessons have been learned
and what we can do in the future,” he said, “to ensure that these
kinds of deployments, if they are necessary, are easier on the
service members and the families.”
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