Two main specialized military publications, “Navy Times” and “Stars and Stripes,” report that sailors on the aircraft carrier tried several times to jump overboard because poor conditions and inhumane psychological pressure reached a critical point.
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Military personnel and sailors have already spent 9 months on the ship: during over 250 days, they had the opportunity to go ashore only two days. This is a modern anti-record.
As the portal “Stars and Stripes” writes, concerned families of the crew on board expressed their anxiety about their loved ones during an emotional meeting with the Navy leadership in San Diego, which took place last Thursday.
One woman from about 200 gathered family members confided that her husband sent her a frightening message that day, stating: “I hope I don’t wake up tomorrow.”
The complaints of the gathered families were heard by the Navy leadership, represented by Acting Secretary Hung Cao and other high-ranking officials.
According to the article, one woman told the secretary that the Navy “has destroyed the trust between us and the leadership.”
Meanwhile, the “Navy Times” portal shared detailed information that several suicides were prevented on the aircraft carrier.
Annabelle Loma told journalists that her husband tried to jump overboard when he learned that his sea service would be extended again.
“He is afraid. He thinks he will be dishonorably discharged, and just because he was exhausted, his 13-year career will be ruined, just like that,” the woman said.
The wife of another sailor said that her husband managed to prevent a crew member of the aircraft carrier “Abraham Lincoln” from jumping into the sea. According to her, her husband grabbed his colleague at the last moment and pulled him back onto the deck.
“People will start losing their minds”
California Democrat, Congressman Mike Levin, expressed disappointment about the conditions on the warship, which has been conducting operations against Iran for the fifth month.
“Moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry not working for weeks, long days without hot water, food consisting of half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant, or toothpaste,” he described the crew’s living conditions on the aircraft carrier on the social network “X.”
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“The crew is so exhausted that, as one family member said, the ship’s doctor warned that they must reach port as soon as possible, or else people will start losing their minds,” he added.
On Wednesday, Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and member of the Armed Services Committee, wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Deputy Secretary of the Navy, expressing “serious concern” about the increasingly long deployment periods and demanding answers about living conditions on the aircraft carrier, according to CNN.
“There are widespread reports on the ship about shortages of essential supplies, contaminated water, plumbing problems, deteriorating mental health, and safety issues on the deck,” he wrote, also mentioning “mail system disruptions, causing many packages sent to the ship to go missing during transit and remain unaccounted for for months.”
Jason Crow, a Democratic Congressman from Colorado, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, warned that the stress experienced by the families of soldiers and sailors serving on the “Abraham Lincoln” aircraft carrier “is intensifying week after week.”
As noted by “The Guardian,” the current crisis has been brewing for several months. The warship left San Diego on November 21 and was initially ordered to sail to the Pacific Ocean, but with the start of the US and Israel war against Iran, the aircraft carrier was redirected to the Middle East.
The news portal “MS Now” noted that since then, more than 5,000 crew members had only two days ashore – in December in Guam and in July in Oman. The mission was supposed to end in May, but due to the prolonged war against Iran, it was extended several times.
In April, there was public uproar over the appalling living conditions on the aircraft carrier. Photos were published showing poor quality and rationed food, as well as reports of water shortages, moldy shower cabins, and broken washing machines.
In turn, Pentagon chief P. Hegseth dismissed these stories as “more fake news.”
Democrat M. Levin responded this week to Hegseth’s earlier remarks: “These men and women enlisted to serve their country. The least their country owes them is hot water, a working toilet, and real food. Hegseth can’t even guarantee that, yet he has the audacity to look their families in the eye and call them liars.”
“The Guardian” journalists contacted the US Navy and asked for comments on the situation. After their article was published, a Navy official responded that they understand “long-term deployments place great strain on service members and their families, and we are grateful for their resilience and sacrifices.”
According to the official, the health and well-being of every “Abraham Lincoln” crew member is a priority: “Based on information available to leadership, we have not identified an increase in reports of suicidal thoughts or attempts on the ship.”
