Sailors Tried to Jump Overboard from USS Abraham Lincoln Amid Grueling Conditions and War with Iran

Several US Navy and Marine Corps service members reportedly attempted to jump overboard from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during a prolonged combat deployment linked to the war against Iran. The reports, citing families of service members, come from military outlets Navy Times and Stars and Stripes.

Roughly five thousand sailors and Marines are aboard the carrier. It set sail on November 21 and was initially meant to operate in the Pacific, but after the war with Iran broke out, it was redirected to the Middle East.

A Deployment With No End in Sight

The carrier's return to the US was originally planned for May, but the deployment has since been extended repeatedly, and relatives say the return date remains unknown. Throughout the entire deployment, the crew has set foot on land only twice — for one day in Guam in December and one day in Oman in July.

Last week, worried families voiced their concerns for loved ones during a meeting with Navy leadership in San Diego, attended by around 200 relatives. One woman said her husband had texted her: "I hope I don't wake up tomorrow."

Suicide Attempts Aboard

Navy Times detailed instances of suicide attempts on the carrier. Annabelle Lomao said her husband tried to jump overboard after his time at sea was extended again and again. "He's desperate. He thinks he's going to lose his rank and that his entire 13-year career has collapsed simply because of burnout," she said.

Another sailor's wife described a separate incident in which her husband grabbed and pulled back a crewmate who was trying to jump into the water.

Mold, Spoiled Food, and Criticism of the Pentagon

California Democratic Congressman Mike Levin drew attention to the poor conditions aboard the warship, which has now been engaged in combat operations against Iran for five months. "Moldy showers, broken toilets, a laundry system that doesn't work, long stretches without hot water, meals consisting of half a cup of rice and two corn tortillas. No soap, no deodorant, no toothpaste," he wrote on X on Monday.

His fellow Democrat Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, warned of a growing "strain on our service members and their families" that he said is intensifying by the week.

Criticism of conditions aboard the ship first surfaced back in April, when photos of rationed food and reports of water shortages, moldy showers, and broken washing machines emerged. At the time, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the reports as "more fake news."

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz