US admits 8 suicide attempts aboard USS Abraham Lincoln amid Iran war | GRAVITAS

Over the last few months, concerns were raised over the prolonged deployment of sailors aboard US USS Abraham Lincoln. While US President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had dismissed these concerns, the US Navy has now admitted that eight sailors aboard this warship attempted to commit suicide since the beginning of the Iran war.

USS Abraham Lincoln spent 286 days at sea at a stretch, including a lengthy stint in West Asia for the Iran war, before having a brief layover at Thailand. The living conditions of Navy personnel aboard this warship have been under scrutiny, with sailors reportedly running out of something as basic as food, toothpaste and soap. Complaints also surfaced that they are working very long shifts, and some are rarely even getting a day off.

Now, this is the first time US has formally acknowledged suicide attempts by military personnel during the Iran war. This disclosure was made in US Navy Secretary Hung Cao's letter to Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who had raised questions about the well-being of sailors.

While Cao maintained that the warship has adequate food supply, he admitted that some meal options were reduced for a 'short time'. He also acknowledged problems with the ship's problems with R-O desalination units. The vessel’s expected U.S. arrival timeline remains a secret.

Gillibrand, who is a member of the US Senate’s Armed Forces Committee, hit out at Trump and Hegseth for downplaying these concerns earlier.

She said, “Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them, with open disrespect”.

While the US Navy Secretary had stated in August that a small number of health issues were treated with no loss of life, Trump went to the extent of saying that USS Abraham Lincoln’s deployment was not long enough.

Initially, Hegseth had dubbed reports of poor living conditions and suicide attempts aboard this warship as completely misrepresented. He said, “We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide ​them at every single moment.”

While the US Navy remains silent on whether disciplinary action was taken against the sailors who attempted suicide, American news portal MS NOW had reported one such case. According to the report, a Navy personnel who attempted suicide by jumping from this warship on August 3, due to mental stress, was charged for intentionally hurting himself to avoid service. He could reportedly end up losing half of his normal pay.

Now, the Pentagon has also been accused of hiding US troop casualties during the Iran war. Last week, a Washington Post report claimed that 22 to 23 US personnel have died during the war, which is more than the official records. While Hegseth described this as a ‘complete lie’, the Pentagon quietly added a new fatality to its database on Monday, taking the official death toll of US soldiers to 19.

As the Iran war drags on, the suicide attempts by US military personnel are also seen as a reflection of the sheer fatigue within the US military and the prevailing sentiment.