US sailors trying to jump overboard amid extended Middle East deployment: Report
Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have reportedly attempted to jump overboard amid mounting mental health concerns and an extended Middle East deployment, with military families and US lawmakers warning that conditions aboard the aircraft carrier are reaching a breaking point.The roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the carrier have spent 250 consecutive days at sea, in what Navy Times and Stars and Stripes have described as an unusually gruelling deployment. The ship was originally scheduled to return in May but has remained in the region as the US continues military operations linked to the war with Iran.Families flag ‘broken trust’According to reports cited by The Guardian and The Hill, there have been multiple incidents involving sailors considering or attempting to jump overboard. At least one crew member was prevented from doing so by another sailor, while families have also reported concerns over suicidal thoughts among those aboard.At a town hall meeting in San Diego attended by around 200 family members last Thursday, relatives raised their concerns directly with Navy leadership, including acting Navy secretary Hung Cao and senior naval commanders. One spouse told officials that her husband had texted her that day saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.” Another family member accused Navy leadership of having “broken trust between us and the leadership”, according to Stars and Stripes.Annabelle Loma told Navy Times that her husband had attempted to jump overboard after his deployment was repeatedly extended. “He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out his 13-year career is ruined, just like that,” she said.The Lincoln left San Diego on November 21 for what was initially planned as a Pacific deployment, but was redirected towards the Middle East after the war with Iran began. The ship has reportedly had only two days ashore during the deployment, in Guam in December and Oman in July.Families and sailors have also raised concerns about living conditions aboard the carrier, including food and water shortages, broken toilets and laundry facilities, mould and long periods without hot water. Democratic congressman Mike Levin described conditions as “moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry down for weeks, long stretches with no hot water, a meal that came down to half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant, or toothpaste.”Levin criticised Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth after he previously dismissed reports about conditions aboard the ship as “more fake news”. “These men and women signed up to serve their country. The least their country owes them is hot water, a working toilet and a real meal. Hegseth cannot even manage that, and he has the nerve to look their families in the eye and call them liars,” Levin said.US Navy disputes claimThe Navy, however, disputed claims of a rise in suicidal behaviour aboard the carrier. In a statement cited by The Guardian, a Navy official said: “Based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.”The official said sailors had access to “onboard deployment-resilience counselors and chaplains” and that their health and wellbeing remained a priority. The Navy also said the ship had “continuous access to clean water, functional AC and healthy meal options”.The crisis comes as the Lincoln continues combat operations in support of the US war effort against Iran, amid a wider confrontation centred on the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.Iran has rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that the US has “total control” over the waterway and said the strait will remain closed until Tehran’s conditions are met. Trump has described the US naval presence as a “WALL OF STEEL” and said, “there is nothing Iran can do about it”.With the conflict continuing and the Lincoln’s return date still unclear, concerns over the psychological toll of the deployment are likely to remain a major issue for the Navy and the families of those serving aboard the carrier.
