The revelations about the alleged suicide attempts were made by acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao in responses to questions posed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Updated on: Sep 24, 2026, 22:08:31 IST

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Eight US Navy personnel onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier attempted suicide during its extended 286-day deployment at sea, the Pentagon told a lawmaker in a written response to questions, CNN reported.

The nuclear-powered Lincoln was deployed during the US naval blockade and combat ​operations in the US-Iran war. It set ⁠a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea, according to Democratic lawmakers, cited by Reuters.

Navy official's letter to US Senator

The revelations about the alleged suicide attempts were reportedly made by acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao in written responses to questions posed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand about the morale and mental health of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew. No service members had killed themselves during the deployment, Cao said in his response.

“Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group,” Cao wrote to Gillibrand in a letter dated September 22, CNN reported. “This number includes the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier airwing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons.”

Concerns were raised over Lincoln’s lengthy deployment amid reports of deteriorating mental health among the crew and shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products.

US lawmakers have previously sought answers from the Pentagon following accounts from sailors and their families of food and water shortages, exhaustion and mental-health emergencies aboard the carrier. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to these reports saying they were “completely misrepresented.”

Thailand break for USS Abraham Lincoln crew

Earlier this month the Abraham Lincoln and some of its supporting ships arrived at port in eastern Thailand after 286 days at sea, after having been deployed last November.

The Lincoln strike group, comprising roughly six ships and 6,000–7,000 sailors, spent over six months without a port call as it maintained a high tempo of combat operations against Iran.

As the carrier docked at the Thailand port, sailors hit Thailand’s seaside resort city of Pattaya early this month as part of a port call following a record 286 days at sea in its deployment against Iran.

Sailors from the carrier – both male and female – took pedicures at the Colour Nail salon and visited brand stores in a mall, purchasing “simple stuff like new socks”, according to one of them, according to a report in The Guardian.

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