US Navy sailors jumping off USS Abraham Lincoln?
Reports are emerging that lower morale among the sailors on board USS Abraham Lincoln has pushed some to even attempt jumping overboard.
File image/ReutersWhat’s going on aboard USS Abraham Lincoln?
Families of those on board the USS Abraham Lincoln complain of poor conditions on the vessel.
In April, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied reports of food shortages on board the USS Abraham Lincoln and Tripoli, calling it “fake news”.
The US Navy is reportedly struggling to support its sailors. Reports have emerged that six US Navy troops on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed in the Arabian Sea in support of operations against Iran, tried to jump overboard owing to their overextended stay on the vessel. Moreover, families of these seamen have complained of food shortages and a lack of daily hygiene products
The US-Iran war continues to drag on. And it seems that battle fatigue is now setting in with US troops. Rumours are circulating that six US Navy sailors have tried to jump off the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is currently stationed in the Arabian Sea in support of operations against Iran, owing to a mental health crisis brewing on the vessel.
While the US Navy remains mum on this issue, multiple reports have emerged of a growing resentment among the loved ones of those on board the vessel. In fact, families of those deployed on the vessel even squared off with the US Navy’s acting secretary, Hung Cao, last week over difficult conditions aboard the USS Lincoln as its combat mission against Iran stretches onward with no clear date to return home.
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So, what’s going on? We try to understand.
US Navy sailors jumping off USS Abraham Lincoln?
On Tuesday (August 16), The Cradle, an online news magazine, reported that six sailors have tried to jump off the USS Abraham Lincoln, with the most recent case occurring last Monday (August 3).
According to producer Andrew Brown, this is because of the extreme conditions the crew is facing. “They’ve been deployed a total of 271 days, 250 without a port of call. That’s unheard of ... They have not been to port in 38 weeks.”
According to Brown, the crew is enduring severe supply shortages, mouldy showers, and a lack of basic hygiene products like deodorant and toothpaste while eating poor-quality rations.
He further emphasised the severe psychological toll of the deployment, revealing, “Six people have tried to jump off that ship. The most recent was last Monday. When you have not touched land in 38 weeks, in over 200 days, things start to happen to you mentally.”
The claims made by The Cradle are backed by another report published by the Military Times. In it, they have cited a sailor’s wife as saying that he tried to jump overboard. A resident of San Diego claimed that she received a call from the US Navy’s ombudsman after the incident, but nothing else is known.
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“He’s scared,” she was quoted as saying. “He thinks he’ll get a dishonourable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year career is ruined, just like that. That’s not fair, that’s not right. That’s not what he should be worrying about right now.”
Another sailor’s wife was also quoted as saying that her husband had helped to pull back another member of the vessel.
Reports are emerging that lower morale among the sailors on board USS Abraham Lincoln has pushed some to even attempt jumping overboard. File image/Reuters
What’s going on aboard USS Abraham Lincoln?
While the US Navy has remained entirely quiet on the issue of sailors reportedly jumping off the USS Abraham Lincoln, parents and loved ones of those on board have even raised the issue of poor conditions on the vessel.
Last Thursday (August 7), angry military families challenged the acting secretary of the US Navy, Hung Cao, over difficult conditions aboard the USS Lincoln. And according to a report by MS Now, tensions boiled over again during a separate virtual meeting later that night between the US Navy leadership and family members of the 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the Lincoln.
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In both of those meetings, family members expressed concerns about the well-being and safety of their loved ones after the aircraft carrier has set a modern-day record during the ongoing Iran war for the most continuous days at sea — it has been at sea continuously for 208 days.
Family members complained that the morale of the sailors was dipping low as supplies on board are depleting. Many of those on the USS Abraham Lincoln told their loved ones that they were being served just a half-cup of rice and two tortillas for a meal, and the ship’s store often lacks soap, deodorant and toothpaste.
Families of those on board the USS Abraham Lincoln complain of poor conditions on the vessel. File image/AFP
Crew members are also worn out by working long, gruelling shifts, with some rarely getting a day off, and described broken toilets, mouldy showers without hot water and no laundry service for weeks at a time.
Bonnie York, whose stepson is on the Lincoln, told MS Now, “The morale is not good. Apparently, the ship’s doctor or therapist said they need to hit port soon, or people are going to start, you know, losing their minds.”
Another parent reportedly said his son described seeing holes that have worn through the ship’s deck.
Brett Snow, a US Navy veteran whose son is serving on the Lincoln, also noted that the conditions were difficult. “It’s the most dangerous place in the world already, and now you’re grinding it out, day in and day out, with no breaks,” he was quoted as saying. “It’s an environment that’s ripe for accidents.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that such complaints have emerged from the USS Abraham Lincoln. In April, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied reports of food shortages on board the USS Abraham Lincoln and Tripoli, calling it “fake news”.
Nicole Conrad, whose son is serving on the Lincoln, told MS Now she wanted Hegseth to personally check on the conditions there. “Go visit. If you want to sit here and you want to say that Trump is taking care of the soldiers, go yourself,” she said.
What has been the US Navy’s response?
On the difficult conditions that the sailors are having to endure on USS Abraham Lincoln, the US Navy’s acting secretary, Hung Cao, said that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group will be sent to West Asia soon, relieving Lincoln. However, it has not provided a date, citing operational security reasons.
Additionally, Vice Admiral Joseph Cahill and Vice Admiral Douglas Verissimo tried to placate the angry family members at the meeting last week. “I cannot even tell you how proud we are of them. They have executed with a level of precision and professionalism that just goes to the quality of our people that have chosen to put the cloth of our nation on our shoulder and answer this call,” Cahill was quoted as saying.
Verissimo added, We are working to finalise that (time frame for their return), and I can’t … I look forward to the day when we can have at least a date window for home port, and that means they’re heading in the right direction. But we don’t have that right now.”
Both the senior officials acknowledged the strains in supply but added, “We’re doing a better job with supplies and mail. It’s getting better; it’s still not good, and it was extremely bad for a little while,” Verissimo said. “But we are, we are as a nation doing the best we can.”
With inputs from agencies
