"Moldy Showers" After Nine Months of Deployment... Ultimately Leading to a Suicide Attempt

As the deployment of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed to the war in Iran, is prolonged, concerns are growing over the mental health of its crew members.

Citing a report by the naval specialty publication Navy Times, the UK's Guardian reported that there were attempts by some crew members to jump overboard from the Lincoln, which has been at sea for nine months.

At a meeting between Navy officials and crew members' families held in San Diego last week, the wife of one crew member said she received a text message from her husband saying, "I hope I don't wake up tomorrow."

The wife of another crew member said her husband, exhausted by continuous deployment extensions, tried to jump into the sea, while the wife of yet another crew member shared that her husband pulled a fellow crew member who attempted to jump overboard back onto the flight deck.

The USS Lincoln, carrying approximately 5,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, is currently performing a deployment mission for its ninth month. Having operated at sea for 250 consecutive days without making a single port call, it has set a record among modern US aircraft carriers for the longest deployment without a port visit.

The deployment of the Lincoln, which departed San Diego on November 21 of last year, was originally scheduled to end last May, but has been extended multiple times as the war in Iran has protracted.

Families claim that the stress levels of the crew members have reached their limit due to the prolonged deployment combined with poor living conditions.

Crew members' families also raised issues such as poor conditions including moldy showers and broken toilets, suspension of hot water supplies, and shortages of food and daily necessities.

Democratic Representative Mike Levin criticized, "We must at least provide warm water, properly functioning toilets, and normal meals to our service members who serve the country."

In response, the Navy refuted that it has not been confirmed that suicidal impulses or suicide attempts have increased on the Lincoln, stating, "Currently, the Lincoln is being provided with normal food, including clean water and air conditioning."

Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Lee Dain | Graphics by Yang Hyemin | Produced by SBS Digital News

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