Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Vol. VIII
Est. 2019

The Mind Shield

News · Opinion · Politics · Analysis

Sailors on USS Abraham Lincoln tried to jump overboard amid months-long deployment.

Sailors on USS Abraham Lincoln tried to jump overboard amid months-long deployment.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier now deployed off Iran in formation during Rim of the Pacific exercises in July, 2022. Photo: Canadian Armed Forces.

Sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln are reportedly trying to jump overboard amid the extended deployment at sea due to Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

Sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have been at sea for more than 260 days as of Wednesday, making this one of the longest aircraft carrier deployments.

Now military families are sounding the alarm about the deteriorating living conditions and intensifying mental health crisis on board the Lincoln.

According to Stars and Stripes, worried family members vented their frustrations at a town hall meeting with Navy leaders in San Diego last week. Families say their loved ones complained about deteriorating conditions on the ship, including clogged toilets, mildew in the showers, and food shortages.

The extended deployment and conditions on the ship are taking a toll on the sailors’ and Marines’ mental health. An attendee at the meeting said her husband texted her that “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.”

There are also reports of thwarted suicide attempts.

Annabelle Loma told The Navy Times that her husband is on medical hold because he tried to jump overboard after his deployment was extended.

“He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year career is ruined, just like that,” she said.

Another spouse, Maria Rodriguez, told the outlet that her husband was involved in a separate incident where he managed to catch a fellow sailor before they could jump.

“He said he hadn’t felt adrenaline like that in his life, and he was just so thankful he was able to get to [the sailor] in time to stop them from going overboard,” Rodriguez said.

More than 5,000 sailors and Marines left San Diego on November 21 on the ship, which was originally intended for the Pacific. But it was redirected to the Middle East once the US-Israel war with Iran began.

The deployment was scheduled to end in May but has been extended multiple times amid the war. Crews on board the ship have had only two days on land, in Guam in December and Oman in July, MS NOW reported.

Shelby Sanders, a high school student whose mom has been serving on the Lincoln, said her mother is “definitely down” during their email conversations.

“I think they’ve had five weeks of non-stop combat operations or something like that, so that makes it really tough to communicate consistently or even know if we’ll be able to. It sucks,” she said, adding that she is worried her mom would miss crucial moments of her senior year.

“I don’t know how to enjoy starting my senior year when my mom isn’t here, you know?” Sanders said. “Will she be back before homecoming? My birthday? Christmas? I have no idea, and that’s all that I think about.”

Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed reports about deteriorating conditions on the ship, including water shortages, moldy showers, and broken laundry machines. Photos also emerged of rationed and poor-quality food.

“More fake news,” Hegseth wrote at the time.