Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao disclosed in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that eight sailors assigned across the Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during the deployment, although none died by suicide, according to a letter from the service’s acting secretary, CNN reported on Wednesday.

The figure covers personnel aboard the carrier, its airwing, strike-group and destroyer-squadron staffs, escorting destroyers and embarked aviation squadrons.

Between 6,000 and 7,000 sailors served with the group across roughly six ships, while the carrier remained out of port for more than six months amid intensive acts of aggression against Iran.

“Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group,” Cao wrote, adding that the figure includes the entire range of personnel assigned to the group.

The Navy has attempted to present the number as broadly consistent with overall service rates, but one US military official told CNN that eight attempts were exceptionally high compared with recent carrier deployments, which had typically recorded one or two a year.

“Eight attempted suicides is incredibly high,” the official said, adding, “The strain of combat ops is much higher than normal deployments. No port calls, constant alerts, etc.”

The deployment included five chaplains, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, an integrated prevention counselor, behavioral-health technicians and a facility dog, yet serious incidents continued.

The newly disclosed figures also shed light on several incidents involving sailors going overboard. Two sailors previously reported by CNN - one from the Lincoln and another from a different ship in the group - jumped overboard and were rescued, while other sailors were reportedly stopped from doing so.

Cao confirmed that an airwing sailor went overboard in early August but was “quickly recovered” and treated aboard the carrier, while another sailor attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by shipmates before receiving medical care and returning home.

The Navy had previously insisted, “We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. We take every service member’s well-being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise.”

A US official also said the Navy saw no established link between deployment length and self-harm and argued that man-overboard incidents were not unique to the group.

Accounts from sailors, however, portrayed a force under severe strain after months of war without normal port calls. One Lincoln crew member told CNN that morale was extremely low and that suicidal thoughts among fellow sailors were repeatedly discussed. Basic amenities also frequently failed, with toilets and water fountains out of service and hot water often unavailable.

“Every day we wake up and listen to our captain speak, we are desperately hoping and anxious for updates on our return,” the sailor said before the carrier was ordered home.

Gillibrand sharply criticized the administration, saying, “What [US President Donald] Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth dismissed as ‘fake news’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members.”

He said that the government was willing to spend taxpayer money on “bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires” while failing to adequately care for troops and their families.

Other sailors aboard the Lincoln told CNN that they faced far harsher conditions than on previous deployments because sustained combat prevented port calls where ships could resupply and crews could rest.

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 found that US Navy personnel aboard ships experienced higher rates of “serious psychological distress” than troops in other military branches.

Since the US and Israel launched their illegal, unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on February 28, the geopolitical calculus of the region has shifted dramatically.

While Washington attempted to use overwhelming air and naval superiority to force Iran into capitulation, the Iranian Armed Forces successfully transitioned to a decisive asymmetric offensive posture.

By seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz, executing precise retaliatory strikes on US regional bases, and deploying advanced indigenous technologies, including hypersonic missiles and advanced air defense systems, Iran has effectively neutralized the US military’s traditional advantages.