Eight Navy Sailors Reportedly Tried To Kill Themselves During Iran War Deployment
The U.S. Navy confirmed eight of its sailors on a deployed aircraft carrier have attempted suicide while at sea.
Elizabeth Bandelin · Sep 24, 2026 · 3 min read
The U.S. Navy confirmed eight of its sailors on a deployed aircraft carrier have attempted suicide while at sea.
One of the eight sailors on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group 3 “went overboard” but was rescued while another attempted to do so but was stopped, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao wrote in a letter to Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York Times reported Wednesday. The strike group has supported combat operations against Iran drying its near record-breaking deployment of 307 days.
Certain family members of the deployed Navy service men and women onboard have expressed concerns over emotional reports of food shortages, decline in morale, burn out, and long waits for mental health appointments, according to the Navy Times.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, came under scrutiny for their comments about the naval vessel’s lengthy deployment time and questioned about the deteriorating mental health reports.
Trump referred to the situation as “fake news reporting from CNN” while speaking to reporters on Aug. 17, days after he said the striker had been deployed, “not nearly long enough.” Hegseth on Aug. 13 called reports of the mental health crisis “misrepresented.”
“What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as ‘fake news’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members,” Gillibrand wrote on X Thursday morning. “Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the Department of War and the Navy for comment but did not get an immediate response.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Brad Cooper visited the ship in August to assess the situation and alleviate worry.
“Of the U.S. Navy’s 11 active carriers, the Lincoln currently has the lowest number of cases related to mental health,” Cooper said in an Aug. 16 statement to X.