Eight sailors in USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide, Navy says

Eight US Navy personnel assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during the carrier’s lengthy deployment, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has told Congress.

Cao disclosed the previously unreported figure in written responses to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s questions about the morale and mental health of the strike group’s crew, CNN reported. The letter was first obtained by CNN.

“Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group,” Cao wrote. He said the figure covered the Lincoln’s crew plus sailors from the carrier air wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons.

Cao said no service members had died by suicide during the deployment. Between 6,000 and 7,000 sailors were deployed across roughly half a dozen ships, with the carrier kept out of port for more than six months during a period that included combat operations against Iran, according to CNN.

The Lincoln, which left San Diego in November 2025, has been at sea for more than 300 days and is now en route home, USA Today reported. CNN said the attempt rate was roughly consistent with the active-duty Navy’s 2024 figures. The Navy had previously said it had “not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship,” CNN reported.

If you are affected by this story, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 in the UK; in the US, call or text 988.

Sources

• CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/23/politics/eight-sailors-lincoln-carrier-group-iran-war-attempted-suicide
• USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/09/23/uss-abraham-lincoln-sailors-suicide-attempts/91912428007/
• The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/sep/23/donald-trump-xi-jinping-ai-china-us-politics-latest-news-updates
• The Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-909504