Eight US Navy Sailors Attempted Suicide During Iran War Deployment, Data Shows

By Staff, Agencies

Eight US Navy personnel assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a deployment marked by sustained combat operations against Iran, prolonged isolation at sea and deteriorating living conditions, newly disclosed Navy data shows.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao disclosed the figure in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, according to CNN.

The eight cases involved personnel across the carrier, its airwing, strike-group and destroyer-squadron staffs, escorting destroyers and embarked aviation squadrons. None of the sailors died by suicide.

Between 6,000 and 7,000 sailors served with the strike group across roughly six ships, while the carrier remained at sea for more than six months.

A US military official told CNN that eight attempts were exceptionally high compared with recent carrier deployments, which typically recorded one or two cases per year.

“Eight attempted suicides is incredibly high,” the official said, adding that combat operations imposed greater strain because of “no port calls, constant alerts” and other pressures.

The deployment included five chaplains, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, an integrated prevention counselor, behavioral-health technicians and a facility dog. Despite these resources, several serious incidents involving sailors going overboard were reported.

Cao confirmed that an airwing sailor went overboard in August but was “quickly recovered” and treated aboard the carrier. Another sailor attempted to go overboard in March but was stopped by shipmates before receiving medical care and returning home. Other sailors were also reportedly prevented from going overboard.

The Navy has maintained that it had not observed an increase in suicidal ideation or attempts aboard the ship and said there was no established link between deployment length and self-harm.

Sailors interviewed by CNN, however, described extremely low morale, repeated discussions of suicidal thoughts and deteriorating basic amenities, including broken toilets and water fountains and frequent shortages of hot water.

Gillibrand criticized the administration, saying conditions dismissed as “fake news” had instead proved serious and deteriorating.

The Lincoln left West Asia in August and is expected to return to San Diego in the coming weeks. A January 2025 study of 956 sailors also found higher rates of “serious psychological distress” among Navy personnel aboard ships than among troops in other branches.