Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said this week that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a lengthy deployment that included military operations against Iran.

Cao made the disclosure to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a four-page letter dated Tuesday that was obtained by The Hill on Wednesday. Cao said he was replying on Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s behalf and that the Navy “shares your deep commitment” to service members’ safety, health and morale.

Attempted Suicides During Extended Deployment

Cao told Gillibrand that no service members had died by suicide during the deployment of the strike group. He said the figure of eight attempted suicides covered a broad set of personnel, including crew on the aircraft carrier, sailors from the carrier air wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all embarked aviation squadrons.

A carrier strike group, Cao noted, is typically built around an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, destroyers or frigates, and a carrier wing with dozens of aircraft, and it can also include submarines.

In responding to Gillibrand’s letter of Aug. 15 to Hegseth, Cao said operational decisions to extend deployments are not made lightly. He attributed the move to evolving security conditions and the need to protect national security interests, as well as personnel and US allies abroad.

Personnel Support And Chaplain Coverage

The USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to the United States after an extended Middle East deployment that prompted congressional scrutiny over reported living conditions, worsening mental health among crew, and constrained food supplies. Trump, Hegseth and other senior administration officials defended the conditions aboard.

Cao told Gillibrand that Lincoln deployed with five chaplains, an embedded integrated prevention counsellor, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, three behavioural health technicians, and an expeditionary facility dog to support sailors’ mental health.

He also said each escort vessel in the strike group had an embedded chaplain responsible for pastoral care and monitoring crew endurance.

Food, Water Systems And Overboard Incidents

Cao said the carrier participated in combat operations against Iran and faced “limited” resupply opportunities, leading to a temporary reduction in meal options during regular hours. He wrote that the number of main entrée choices served at mealtimes was cut from two to one “for a short time” in order to optimise endurance and sustain time on station.

Cao added that the ship served four meals daily, and that the meals provided were “nutritionally balanced”, with adequate calories available to every sailor.

He also described technical problems earlier in the deployment, saying Lincoln experienced “localised piping failures” and temporary issues with its reverse osmosis desalination system. Cao said the difficulties were linked to high ambient seawater temperatures and continuous operations.

In addition, Cao confirmed that a sailor assigned to the air wing went overboard from the carrier in early August and was quickly recovered by an air wing search and rescue helicopter. He said a separate incident occurred in March when a sailor tried to go overboard but was stopped by shipmates. Cao said the sailor received immediate medical care and returned to homeport.

Carrier Return And Oversight Planning

Cao wrote that a congressional delegation is in “planning stages” to embark on the Lincoln for oversight once the carrier returns to the US.

The Lincoln left San Diego in November and was replaced in the US Central Command (Centcom) area by USS George Washington after spending more than 250 days at sea. The aircraft carrier then docked in Laem Chabang, Thailand, for a five-day stop, departing earlier this month.

Centcom commander Adm. Brad Cooper visited the Lincoln last month, describing the visit as “awe-inspiring” and saying Americans would “beam with pride” at work carried out onboard. He said mental health required attention alongside physical and spiritual health, and praised Lincoln’s leadership and the chief petty officers’ mess for making mental health and crew resilience a leadership priority.

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24 September 2026

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Well, Hung would present an administration-approved response, wouldn't he.

It’s no surprise the letter reads like the approved line from the top. The administration keeps pointing to “operational necessity” and “national security interests”, but that doesn’t change the basic facts.

Eight sailors attempted suicide during the deployment, food options were cut back, the desal system had failures, and there were two overboard incidents!

Those conditions were experienced by the crews of the vessels, not by Cao or Cooper!

Their praise from afar doesn’t erase what the sailors reported or what prompted congressional scrutiny in the first place.

Non no! That must be another MSM lie that justifies banning them from the WH press meetings! 😂

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Eight Suicide Attempts Revealed Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln

Including the flotilla assigned to the carrier, aren't there over 6000 personal.

We have more suicides here in Pattaya weekly

Attempted suicide ... hmm. Sounds more like, 'can I get a medical (mental) discharge', since obviously not cut out for military, especially long stretches of navel duty.

If they really wanted to commit suicide, just jump overboard at night, done.

Militare has always had a high suicide rate. While and after serving.

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Attempted suicide ... hmm. Sounds more like, 'can I get a medical (mental) discharge', since obviously not cut out for military, especially long stretches of navel duty.

If they really wanted to commit suicide, just jump overboard at night, done.

Militare has always had a high suicide rate. While and after serving.

Agree, I'd say many corporal Klinger's on board. Same, same but not wearing Drag 😊

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

We have more suicides here in Pattaya weekly

Pattay's version of man overboard.

Anyone who fails in a suicide bid on a ship in the middle of the ocean is a special kind of idiot.