Sen. Gillibrand confirms 8 suicide attempts on USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group

The Guardian, September 24 — New York State Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has confirmed that eight suicide attempts have occurred among U.S. Navy personnel deployed with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.

According to Gillibrand, who confirmed a previous CNN report to The Guardian, Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao informed her in a letter dated September 22 that eight suicide attempts had taken place among personnel assigned to the strike group since the beginning of their extended deployment, which is part of U.S. operations against Iran. Gillibrand also provided The Guardian with a copy of Cao's written responses to her inquiries.

Senator's Questions and Navy's Response

Gillibrand had asked:

• Whether any suicides had occurred aboard the ship during the deployment
• How many cases of identified suicidal ideation or self-harm attempts, including attempts to jump overboard, had been recorded by the Navy Department

The U.S. Navy Department replied:

"No suicides have occurred aboard the ship during this deployment. Since the beginning of the Lincoln's deployment, there have been eight suicide attempts across the entire strike group. This number includes crew members of the Lincoln, staff of the carrier air wing, strike group, and destroyer squadron, personnel on escort destroyers, and sailors from all embarked aviation squadrons."

Contradictions in Navy's Statements

However, in responses to other questions, the Navy Department contradicted itself by stating that medical staffing aboard the ship had been sufficient throughout the deployment to "address all medical, surgical, and mental health needs of the entire crew." It further noted that five U.S. Navy chaplains were also on board, which it said was "adequate to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of the crew."

Food and Health Conditions

When asked about "sanitary conditions and the availability of healthy food" aboard the ship, the Navy Department stated that food supplies were adequate. However, due to major combat operations and limited resupply opportunities in the operational environment, the main course options during regular meal periods had been "temporarily reduced from two to one." The Navy described this measure as being taken to "optimize endurance and ensure sustained presence."

Senator Gillibrand's Statement

In a statement to The Guardian, Gillibrand said:

"What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as 'fake news' has turned out to be a serious and worsening situation facing our service members. Our troops and their families make enormous sacrifices every day, yet the president publicly scorns them. It is completely unacceptable that this administration can find endless taxpayer funding for bombs, banquet halls, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members."