WASHINGTON: Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said eight sailors across the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during its lengthy deployment, according to a letter obtained by CNN.
Cao gave the figure in written responses to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and confirmed that no service member died by suicide during the deployment.
The eight cases involved personnel from the carrier, air wing, destroyer squadron staff, escort ships and embarked aviation squadrons.
CNN reported that between 6,000 and 7,000 sailors served across roughly half a dozen ships in the strike group. The carrier spent more than six months without a port call while conducting combat operations against Iran.
Cao said the Lincoln carried five chaplains, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, three behavioural health technicians and other support staff during the deployment.
Read: USS Abraham Lincoln Claim: US Denies 7 Sailor Deaths
The US Navy had previously said it had not observed an increase in suicidal ideation or attempts aboard the ship. It said medical, religious and mental health professionals were available to crew members. Cao also rejected claims of widespread plumbing failures and fresh-food shortages, according to the BBC.
He acknowledged temporary localised piping problems, disruptions involving reverse-osmosis desalination units and a short-term reduction in meal options.
Read: Casualties Reach 18 Deaths, 774 Wounded in US-Iran War, Pentagon Data Shows
Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised the administration’s earlier response to crew concerns. She said reports had shown “serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members”.
The carrier left California in November 2025 and was redirected from the South China Sea to the Middle East before operations against Iran in February. Its deployment was repeatedly extended before the USS George Washington replaced it in August.
