The Trump administration acknowledges eight suicide attempts on the Lincoln aircraft carriers

The US government has acknowledged eight suicide attempts by American service members during the long-awaited and unprecedented deployment of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, mobilized in the Middle East for the war in Iran waged by Donald Trump.

In a letter from Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao responding to questions from Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, seen Wednesday by AFP, the Trump administration wrote that "since the start of the Lincoln's deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts" among the aircraft carrier's crew, as well as those of all the aircraft and ships accompanying it.

"There were no suicides on board during this deployment," he emphasizes.

"A sailor (...) went overboard in early August" and "was quickly rescued (...) and taken off the ship for further treatment," the minister said.

Another sailor "tried to throw himself overboard in March" but "was prevented by his comrades" and "returned to his home port," he adds.

When asked about the resources made available to military personnel on board, the minister listed, among other things, "five chaplains, a psychologist, a social worker and an emotional support dog".

The very long-term deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been dragging on for more than ten months. The ship and its thousands of sailors left San Diego on November 21, 2025 for a mission in the South China Sea before being redirected to the Middle East in support of the joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran on February 28.

It finally made a stopover in Thailand in early September after 286 days at sea.

In August, military families and elected officials reported alarming conditions for the crew, citing suicide attempts, other serious mental health issues, food shortages, and poor hygiene. These reports were dismissed outright by Donald Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the situation had been "blurred out of proportion."

However, the aircraft carrier was relieved in the Middle East during the same period.