Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a deployment that stretched past 250 days at sea, a disclosure that raises hard questions about the cost of extended combat operations on the men and women who carry them out.
Cao laid out the figures in a four-page letter to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Hill obtained the letter on Wednesday. Cao wrote that he was responding on behalf of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to an Aug. 15 letter Gillibrand had sent raising concerns about conditions aboard the carrier.
The eight suicide attempts occurred across the strike group, including sailors on the carrier itself, its air wing, strike group staff, and destroyer squadron staff. No service members died by suicide during the deployment, Cao wrote. But the number alone marks a grim chapter in a deployment already shadowed by reports of poor living conditions, strained food supplies, and deteriorating crew morale.
More than 250 days at sea with one five-day port call
The Lincoln left San Diego last November and spent more than 250 days at sea in the U.S. Central Command theater, supporting military operations against Iran. The ship received a single five-day port stop in Laem Chabang, Thailand, before heading back toward the United States. Just The News reported the deployment exceeded 300 days total, with the ship still roughly two weeks from returning to San Diego as of this week.
That kind of sustained time at sea, with virtually no shore leave, puts enormous strain on any crew. The Lincoln carried roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines. Two specific incidents detailed in Cao's letter illustrate how bad things got: in March, one sailor attempted to go overboard and was stopped only because shipmates intervened. That sailor received immediate medical care and was sent back to homeport. In early August, another sailor, assigned to the air wing, actually went overboard from the carrier and was recovered by a search-and-rescue helicopter.
The Lincoln is not the only vessel where sailors have faced difficult conditions in recent months. Families of crew members aboard the USS Boxer have publicly disputed the Navy's account of supply levels on that ship, painting a picture of shortages the service initially denied.
Reduced meals, broken pipes, and failing water systems
Cao's letter acknowledged several material hardships aboard the Lincoln. During combat operations against Iran, the number of main entree options served at regular meal hours was cut from two to one for what he called a "short time." Cao framed the reduction as a step to ensure "optimized endurance" and "sustained time on station." The ship continued to serve four meals daily, and Cao said all meals were "nutritionally balanced" with adequate calories.
The carrier also experienced what Cao described as "localized piping failures" and "temporary" problems with its reverse osmosis desalination units, the systems that turn seawater into drinking water. He attributed those failures to high ambient seawater temperatures and the demands of continuous operations. The letter did not specify how long the water issues lasted or how many sailors were affected.
Reports of food and supply shortages aboard the Lincoln have drawn congressional attention for weeks. At least one sailor has publicly said he plans to leave the Navy after the deployment, citing hunger and exhaustion during the record-length time at sea.
Cao noted that the Lincoln deployed with mental health resources: five chaplains, one embedded integrated prevention counselor, one psychologist, one clinical social worker, three behavioral health technicians, and one expeditionary facility dog. Each escort vessel in the strike group also had an organic chaplain embedded. Whether those resources were adequate for a crew of that size, under those conditions, is a question the letter does not answer.
Administration officials defended conditions before the disclosure
Before the suicide attempt figures became public, President Trump, Hegseth, and other senior officials defended conditions aboard the Lincoln. Hegseth said last month that the military ensures every ship has "everything we can provide them at every single moment."
Hegseth added:
"Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas and those austere conditions with less port calls, it's incredible."
Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, visited the Lincoln last month and called the experience "awe-inspiring." He said Americans would "beam with absolute pride" watching the crew in action. Fox News reported that Cooper said the Lincoln had among the lowest mental health case numbers of all 11 active U.S. aircraft carriers, though he acknowledged the challenges were real.
Cooper addressed the mental health question directly:
"I've long believed that mental health is another aspect of individual health and requires our attention just like physical health and spiritual health."
He also praised the ship's senior enlisted leadership for making crew resilience a priority. But Cooper conceded that extended sea duty "isn't for everyone," telling Fox News: "This doesn't mean that all is perfect. Find any of the nearly 4 million Navy veterans in America today and they will likely tell you that service at sea for long periods isn't for everyone."
The USS George Washington has reportedly been dispatched from the Pacific to replace the Lincoln in the Central Command theater, a move that should finally bring the carrier home.
Gillibrand called the situation "completely unacceptable"
Gillibrand, whose Aug. 15 letter prompted Cao's response, did not hold back. Breitbart reported her reaction to the disclosure:
"Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect. That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable."
Cao's letter stated that the Navy "shares your deep commitment" to the safety, health, and morale of service members. He also wrote that a congressional delegation is in the "planning stages" to embark the Lincoln for oversight once the carrier returns to the United States. No timeline or member names were specified.
The Navy has faced a string of readiness and personnel welfare concerns beyond the Lincoln. Earlier this year, the USS Benfold lost all power in the South China Sea, stranding 300 sailors for four days, another incident that raised questions about whether the fleet is being pushed past its limits.
Cao praised the crew's "exceptional resolve"
Despite the difficult disclosures, Cao's letter struck a tone of respect for the sailors who endured the deployment. He wrote that "the men and women of Carrier Strike Group THREE have demonstrated exceptional resolve under demanding conditions."
On the question of why the deployment lasted so long, Cao was direct: "Operational decisions to extend deployments are never made lightly; they are driven by dynamic global security environments and absolute necessity of protecting U.S. national security interests and our personnel and our allies abroad."
That explanation may satisfy the strategic case. But eight suicide attempts, a sailor pulled from the ocean, another tackled by shipmates before going over the side, broken pipes, water system failures, and reduced meals tell a story of a crew stretched to its limit. The Lincoln's sailors did what their country asked of them. The question now is whether the institutions responsible for their welfare did the same.
Defense Secretary Hegseth has shown he values the service and sacrifice of those in uniform, his recognition of Abbey Gate Marines made that clear. Applying that same standard to the Lincoln's crew means more than praise. It means answers.
Sailors who volunteer to serve in austere conditions for months on end deserve leadership that matches their sacrifice, not talking points that come after the damage is done.
