Concerns are mounting in the United States over the mental and living conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as its deployment continues to set a record at sea. Families of service members and members of Congress have expressed concern about the pressure faced by roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines on board.
According to a report published by The Guardian, citing Navy Times and Stars and Stripes — both specializing in military affairs — a number of sailors attempted to jump from the carrier amid growing psychological strain after the crew completed its ninth month at sea, and more than 250 consecutive days without setting foot on land. That marks a modern-era record for an aircraft carrier.
Families of crew members voiced their concerns during a meeting with Navy leaders in San Diego last Thursday, attended by about 200 family members. Representing the Navy at the meeting were Acting Secretary of the Navy Hong Cao, along with other senior officials, according to The Guardian.
One wife said during the meeting that her husband had sent her a text that same day saying he “hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.”
During the meeting, a woman told Cao that the Navy had “shattered the trust between us and the leadership,” per The Guardian.
Navy Times reported details of suicide attempts that were foiled aboard the carrier during the current deployment. One wife said her husband tried to jump from the ship after his time at sea was repeatedly extended.
She added: “He’s scared. He thinks he will be given a dishonorable discharge, and once he was exhausted, his 13-year career was destroyed, just like that.”
Living conditions exacerbating week after week
Democratic Rep. Mike Levin of California issued warnings about conditions aboard the carrier, which is in its fifth month of combat operations against Iran.
Levin described the crew’s conditions as including “bathrooms full of mold, broken toilets, washing machines out of service for weeks, long periods without hot water, and a meal that consisted of half a cup of rice and two pieces of tortilla. No soap, no deodorant, no toothpaste.”
Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, warned that the pressure on service members and their families aboard the Lincoln “is piling up week after week.”
The current crisis dates back several months. The carrier departed San Diego on November 21. It was originally supposed to head to the Pacific, before being redirected to the Middle East following the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
According to MSN, since then the crew of more than 5,000 has spent only two days on land — in Guam in December and in Oman in July.
The deployment was scheduled to end in May, but it has been extended several times amid the ongoing war.
In April, public criticism over conditions aboard the carrier intensified, with photos emerging of low-quality, rationed food, and reports of water shortages, mold in bathrooms, and broken laundry machines.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected those accounts, calling them “the latest fake news.”
For its part, the U.S. Navy told The Guardian that it recognizes that “long deployments place significant stress on our service members and their families,” and expressed appreciation for “the resilience and sacrifices they make.”
A Navy official affirmed that the health and well-being of every sailor aboard the Lincoln is a priority, adding that “based on information available to leadership, we have not seen an increase in reports of suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.”
He explained that religious, medical, and mental health specialists are available as part of a “comprehensive support network” that includes “deployment resiliency counselors and chaplains aboard the ship.”
The official acknowledged that the war had disrupted traditional supply hubs, but said that “current reports from the ship confirm continued access to clean water, working air conditioning, and healthy food options.”
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