Navy Discloses 8 Suicide Attempts on USS Abraham Lincoln During 9-Month Deployment
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 24
Navy Discloses 8 Suicide Attempts on USS Abraham Lincoln During 9-Month Deployment
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 24
Summary
Eight sailors assigned across the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during the carrier’s extended Middle East deployment, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in a letter.
The disclosure followed mounting complaints from families about deteriorating mental health and harsh shipboard conditions during a mission that began last November, was due to end in May, and was repeatedly extended.
Cao said five chaplains and multiple mental health professionals were available, while denying a broader mental health crisis and widespread reports of broken plumbing and fresh-food shortages; he acknowledged temporary piping, desalination and meal disruptions.
Gillibrand said the Trump administration had wrongly dismissed the reports as “fake news” and called the treatment of service members unacceptable.
The Lincoln, carrying about 5,000 crew, is now heading home after being replaced in August; Navy shipboard service has been linked to some of the military’s highest rates of psychological distress.