Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao disclosed the figure in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, while saying no suicides occurred during the deployment.
Web Desk: The US Navy has disclosed that there were eight suicide attempts across the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group during its extended deployment, according to a letter from Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao.
The disclosure was made in response to questions from Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about conditions and morale among personnel assigned to the carrier strike group. The Navy said there were no suicides during the deployment.
Navy provides details of attempts
Cao’s letter said the eight attempts involved personnel across the wider Lincoln strike group, which includes the carrier, its air wing, destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and embarked aviation units.
One sailor assigned to an air wing went overboard from the ship in early August and was quickly recovered by a search-and-rescue helicopter before being taken off the vessel for follow-up care.
Another sailor attempted to go overboard in March but was stopped by fellow service members and later returned to the homeport.
Extended deployment of USS Abraham Lincoln
The USS Abraham Lincoln left California in November 2025 for a deployment that initially included operations in the South China Sea. It was subsequently redirected to the Middle East amid escalating tensions involving Iran.
The carrier remained at sea for an extended period and made a stop in Thailand in early September 2026 after 286 days of deployment, according to the AFP report carried by Geo News.
The deployment included operations during the US-Israeli war against Iran, according to reporting on the carrier’s mission.
Earlier concerns over conditions
The latest disclosure follows reports in August about living conditions and morale aboard the carrier.
Military families and lawmakers had raised concerns about reported suicide attempts, mental-health problems, food shortages and hygiene conditions. President Donald Trump dismissed those concerns at the time, while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the situation had been misrepresented.
The Navy’s latest letter provides an official figure for suicide attempts during the deployment but does not establish that the reported attempts were caused by any single factor.
