USS Abraham Lincoln sailors pushed to the brink as families raise alarm over exhaustion, low morale and alleged attempts to jump overboard during an extended deployment near Iran.
According to First Post, 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.
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).
As per 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.”
Brown said the crew is enduring severe supply shortages, moldy showers, and a lack of basic hygiene products like deodorant and toothpaste while eating poor-quality rations.
He further emphasized 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.
