The acting secretary of the United States Navy, Hung Cao, has revealed that eight members of the corps assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, involved in the war against Iran, were involved in suicide attempts during a period that encompasses both combat operations and the phase in which the ship reached a record-length deployment.
"Since the beginning of the Lincoln's deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group," Cao noted in a letter sent to Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and verified by Europa Press.
In the letter, the Navy official details that "this figure includes the crew of the Lincoln and the sailors of the air wing of the aircraft carrier, personnel from the strike group and the destroyer squadron, from the escort destroyers and from all the embarked aviation squadrons."
Furthermore, Cao specifies in another part of the letter that "a sailor assigned to the air wing fell into the water from the ship in early August," although he was "quickly rescued by a search and rescue helicopter from the air wing, attended to by the medical department of the Lincoln and transferred off the ship for further care."
"Additionally, a sailor attempted to throw himself into the water in March, but was stopped by his fellow crew members," after which "he received immediate medical attention and subsequently returned to the home base," the acting secretary added.
The document responds to several questions raised by the opposing congresswoman regarding what Cao describes as a "historically demanding deployment." In this context, the high command explains that the aircraft carrier set sail for its mission with "five chaplains, a social worker specialized in prevention integrated into the crew, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, three behavioral health technicians, and a therapy dog."
According to his defense, their presence "has been sufficient to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of the crew," and he added that, "to ensure equitable care across all units, each escort ship of the strike group also carries a chaplain assigned to its own crew."
"These professionals offer completely confidential pastoral assistance, supervise the resilience and well-being of the crew, and act as an immediate link with specialized medical and psychological resources, ensuring that our personnel receive continuous support both at sea and upon returning home," Cao explained.
The prolonged deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln also had repercussions on daily logistics aboard. Cao acknowledged that "the number of main course options served during regular meal times was reduced from two to one for a brief period," a decision that, he indicated, aimed to "ensure sustained presence in the operational area."
He emphasized that "four meals were served daily and all of them were nutritionally balanced, providing the appropriate daily caloric intake for each sailor" and meeting "the portion standards required by military regulations." At the same time, he stressed that, given "the intense operational pace and the state of the sea," the Navy "prioritized the delivery of hygiene products, fresh provisions, and critical spare parts."
The secretary also acknowledged "localized failures in the pipes and temporary issues in their reverse osmosis desalination units" at the beginning of the deployment, caused "due to the high temperatures of the seawater and continuous operations," although he assured that both incidents have already been resolved.
Likewise, he highlighted that both the aircraft carrier and its embarked air wing "continue to maintain their deployment certifications and the required readiness levels."
In this context, Cao indicated that the families of several military personnel assigned to the strike group "expressed their concerns to Navy leaders during a recent informational meeting about many" of these issues. According to him, the commanders, including himself, provided "all possible information in response, while respecting operational security."
Finally, the acting secretary confirmed that "a visit from a bipartisan delegation of Congress is being planned to the 'Lincoln' after the ship returns to its base," following the holding of a classified informational session before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week.