Reports say sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have made multiple attempts to jump overboard as the aircraft carrier’s prolonged deployment and difficult living conditions intensify concerns about the crew’s mental health.
The carrier, carrying about 5,000 sailors and Marines, is now in its ninth month at sea and has spent a record 250 consecutive days without reaching land. Its extended deployment is linked to the war involving Iran.
Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, two specialist military publications, reported the alleged incidents, citing concerns from military families and members of Congress about worsening conditions aboard the ship.
At an emotional town hall meeting with Navy leaders in San Diego last Thursday, around 200 family members raised concerns about relatives serving aboard the Lincoln, according to Stars and Stripes. One spouse said her husband had texted her that day that “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow”.
Navy leadership at the meeting included acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and other senior officials.
One woman told Cao that the Navy had “broken trust between us and the leadership”, the newspaper reported.
Navy Times reported details of attempted suicides that were prevented during the carrier’s current deployment. Annabelle Loma told the publication that her husband attempted to jump overboard after his time at sea was repeatedly extended.
“He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out his 13-year career is ruined, just like that,” she said.
The publication also quoted the wife of another sailor whose husband was involved in a separate incident in which he stopped a fellow crew member from jumping overboard by grabbing the person and bringing them back onto the deck.
California Democratic Congressman Mike Levin has also raised concerns about conditions aboard the warship, which has reportedly spent five months conducting combat operations against Iran. On X, he described conditions as “moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry down for weeks, long stretches with no hot water, a meal that came down to half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant, or toothpaste.”
Colorado Democratic Congressman Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, said the pressure on Lincoln personnel and their families was “building week by week”.
The problems have developed over several months. The aircraft carrier departed San Diego on November 21 and was initially scheduled to operate in the Pacific before being redirected to the Middle East after the US-Israel war with Iran began.
According to MS Now, the more than 5,000 personnel aboard the carrier have spent only two days on land during the deployment, in Guam in December and Oman in July. The deployment was initially expected to conclude in May but has been extended several times amid the continuing conflict.
Public criticism over conditions aboard the carrier intensified in April after photographs showed reportedly poor-quality and rationed food. There were also reports of water shortages, moldy showers and malfunctioning laundry machines.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed those reports as “more fake news”.
Levin responded this week, saying: “These men and women signed up to serve their country. The least their country owes them is hot water, a working toilet and a real meal. Hegseth cannot even manage that, and he has the nerve to look their families in the eye and call them liars.”
The US Navy was contacted for comment on the reports of sailors attempting to jump overboard. After publication, a Navy official said the service recognised that “extended deployments place a significant strain on our service members and their families, and we are grateful for the resilience and sacrifices they make”.
The official said the health and welfare of every Lincoln sailor remained a priority, adding: “Based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.”
The official said religious, medical and mental health professionals were available through a “comprehensive support network”, including “onboard deployment-resilience counselors and chaplains”. The Navy acknowledged that the war had disrupted traditional supply hubs but said that “current reports from the ship confirm continuous access to clean water, functional AC and healthy meal options”.
Mental health difficulties among active-duty US Navy personnel are well documented. A study published last year examined stressors specific to sailors during deployments and identified factors including excessive noise, insufficient rest and inadequate mental and physical healthcare.
Researchers surveyed deployed sailors and found that nearly half believed they were not receiving sufficient support to manage stress while at sea. The study concluded that “given the high rates of military suicide, including within the navy, efforts to improve healthcare access on ships are urgently needed”.
