Trapped at Sea for 9 Months, "8 Suicide Attempts"…Confirmed True

The Trump administration has officially acknowledged that eight crew members attempted suicide aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which was deployed to the Middle East for an extended period.

While reports regarding the worsening mental health and suicide attempts of the Lincoln crew have surfaced multiple times, this marks the first time U.S. Navy authorities have confirmed the specific number of suicide attempts.

According to foreign media outlets including CNN and AFP, Acting U.S. Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao stated in a written reply to Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that a total of eight crew members attempted suicide within the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group during this deployment period.

However, he noted that no crew members died from suicide.

The Lincoln carrier strike group typically consists of 6,000 to 7,000 U.S. Navy personnel distributed across multiple vessels.

The USS Abraham Lincoln departed San Diego, U.S., in November of last year and remained in the Middle East for over nine months, carrying out combat operations related to tensions with Iran.

In particular, concerns regarding the accumulated fatigue and mental health of the crew have been continuously raised as operations continued for over six months without a port visit.

The condition of the Lincoln, which appeared in Thailand earlier this month, also sparked controversy.

Images showing parts of the hull covered in rust and algae after long-term operations were made public.

An active-duty U.S. military official interviewed by CNN stated that while a typical deployment of a carrier strike group sees about one to two suicide attempts per year, eight attempts is "a remarkably high number."

However, there is also an interpretation that this level is not significantly different when compared to the entire U.S. Navy.

Among approximately 337,000 active-duty U.S. Navy personnel in 2024, there were 356 recorded suicide attempts. CNN explained that considering the size of the personnel, the occurrence rate within the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is not significantly different from the overall U.S. Navy rate.

The U.S. Navy stated that it has deployed mental health support personnel, including psychological counselors and chaplains, to the USS Abraham Lincoln.

It also maintains the stance that a direct causal link between the long-term deployment and self-harm incidents has not been confirmed.

Reported by An Hyemin | Video by Jeong Yong-hee | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.