Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao reported in a letter disclosed on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a recent deployment to the Middle East. The letter, sent to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and dated Tuesday, September 22, stated that no service members died by suicide during the rotation, which included military operations against Iran.
The disclosure follows congressional inquiries and reports from crew families regarding living conditions and mental health on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The Lincoln strike group recently completed more than 250 consecutive days at sea without port visits, which a U.S. military official told CNN set a modern Navy record. During this period, the vessel faced reports of faulty plumbing, food shortages, and limited opportunities to resupply due to active combat operations.
According to Cao's letter, the suicide attempts involved crew members from the aircraft carrier, its air wing, strike group staff, destroyer squadron staff, and escorting destroyers. A defense official told CBS News that two of the eight attempts occurred during active fighting with Iran. Cao noted that the strike group deployed with mental health resources, including five chaplains, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, three behavioral health technicians, and a facility dog.
Personnel on the USS Abraham Lincoln experienced concrete changes to their daily lives, including a "short time" where main entree options were reduced from two to one and instances where localized piping failures disabled hot water and toilets. These conditions coincided with the record-setting 250-day stretch at sea without the breaks typically provided by port calls. The reported mental health incidents, including a sailor who went overboard in August and another who was stopped from doing so in March, highlight the specific stresses cited by crew members who described high levels of anxiety regarding their return dates.
The situation has created a policy precedent for increased congressional oversight of Navy deployment lengths and shipboard conditions. Sen. Gillibrand criticized the administration's earlier dismissal of reported problems, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth maintained that the Navy provides every available resource to crews in "austere conditions." The USS Abraham Lincoln was relieved by the USS George Washington in late August 2026 and is currently navigating toward its home port in San Diego. A congressional delegation is in the planning stages to board the vessel for an oversight visit once it returns to the United States.