Sailor Went Overboard From USS Abraham Lincoln as Shipboard Conditions Prompt Lawmakers to Demand Answers

Editor's Note: This story contains discussion of suicide. Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the U.S., call or text 988 for help. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world.

A sailor assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln went overboard on Aug. 3 in rough seas, according to three U.S. officials, an episode that has intensified scrutiny of the carrier's crew after months of uninterrupted deployment.

The sailor was rescued within about an hour, one official said, and was wearing a life vest and uninjured. The Navy considered the incident a mental health episode, a second official said. A third official said the sailor was assigned to the carrier's air wing, was picked up by an air wing search-and-rescue helicopter, treated by the Lincoln's medical department and transferred off the ship for follow-on care.

The previously unreported incident adds to a growing list of concerns about life aboard the Lincoln, which left San Diego in November, has been deployed for more than 250 days and was redirected to the Middle East to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, now in its sixth month. With more than 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, the carrier has gone more than 200 days without a port call, a modern-day record, according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the acting Navy secretary on Wednesday to express "serious concern" about the increasing length of carrier deployments and to demand answers about conditions aboard the Lincoln. His letter cited widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns and disruptions in the mail system that have delayed care packages for months.

"If the Administration intends to maintain a prolonged military campaign or an elevated carrier presence in the region," Blumenthal wrote, "it must explain how it intends to ensure today's operational requirements do not create tomorrow's readiness crisis."

The concerns were amplified on Thursday in San Diego, where roughly 200 family members of Lincoln crew members met with acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, Vice Adm. Joseph Cahill and other senior officials. According to Stars and Stripes, one spouse tearfully told officials she had received a message that day from her husband saying "he hopes he doesn't wake up tomorrow." Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) posted that families described "moldy showers, broken toilets, no hot water for weeks, meals that came down to half a cup of rice and two tortillas," and one family member said a ship's doctor had warned that without a port call soon, people would "start losing their minds."

Cahill, commander of Naval Surface Forces, acknowledged the strain on sailors and their families. "We hear you loud and clear," he said. But officials at the meetings would not say when the carrier would return home, citing operational security.

The Navy said in a statement that it has not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. One U.S. official said the Navy's internal tracking of reports of suicidal ideation had gone down in recent months, and that the service does not believe there is a correlation between the length of deployment and thoughts of self-harm. Hegseth, speaking to reporters Thursday, said conditions on the Lincoln had been "completely misrepresented," though he did not specify which reports he disputed. "Some deployments are longer than others," he said, "and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody."

In recent days, Stars and Stripes and Navy Times have reported multiple attempts by crew members to jump overboard. Stars and Stripes cited interviews with active-duty sailors and family members, and dozens of public social media posts by crew, describing exhaustion, declining morale, suicidal thoughts and at least one instance in which a crew member was prevented from jumping. The Navy Times quoted Annabelle Loma, the wife of a sailor aboard the Lincoln, who said her husband had tried to jump overboard during the deployment. "He's scared," Loma said. "He thinks he'll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year career is ruined, just like that."

Natalie Oliverio, the Navy Times reporter, told CNN that Loma had not heard from Navy representatives in weeks and is "extremely worried and concerned about how her husband is actually doing." Another wife described a separate incident in which a sailor was prevented from jumping by a crewmate, the Navy Times reported.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a Marine veteran on the House Armed Services Committee, called the reports "horrific" and said the committee would investigate. "Sadly I'm not surprised," he told CNN. "We have a president, a Commander-in-Chief, who's made fun of troops for mental health issues. We have a secretary of defense who's more focused on testosterone tests than actually keeping our troops alive." He added that there is "no one who believes in" the Iran mission, a fact that he said is taking an additional toll on morale.

July interviews with crew members also pointed to low morale before the latest reports. One service member told CNN's Pamela Brown in July that morale was "pretty low" because they had not left the ship in months. "It's hard on your mental state," the sailor said. "It takes a toll on you."

The episode has become a political flashpoint. A July CNN poll found a record-high 73% of U.S. adults said President Donald Trump has not paid enough attention to the country's most important problems, and 67% think his decisions about military action in Iran have hurt the U.S. Retired Navy Capt. Armen Kurdian, who served aboard the Lincoln, told CNN affiliate KFMB that during deployments "it's not uncommon" for a strike group to see someone attempt suicide or jump overboard. "The fact that it's happening during this deployment is not surprising," he said.

The broader Navy has also been struggling with burnout. Multiple sources familiar with internal Navy discussions told CNN that aviation personnel, from pilots to maintainers, are leaving the service at elevated rates. Earlier this year, the USS Gerald R. Ford set the record for the longest carrier deployment since the Vietnam War, and a fire in its laundry department left roughly 600 sailors without access to their bunks.

The USS George Washington carrier group, which finished a port visit in Vietnam on Aug. 5, is headed to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln, a U.S. official told CNN. The official said the swap had been previously planned, though it was not clear when the Washington would arrive.

"The men and women aboard the Lincoln have answered the call to serve their country," Blumenthal wrote. "The Department owes them not only adequate supplies, maintenance, and support during this deployment."

This story has been updated with additional information and to clarify the date when the sailor went overboard off the USS Abraham Lincoln.