ABOARD THE USS LINCOLN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN — After spending more than 300 days at sea, service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln will finally return home this week.
The beleaguered aircraft carrier with about 7,500 personnel is scheduled to dock Thursday in San Diego, amid sharp criticism over its prolonged deployment in the Middle East.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged to crewmembers on Wednesday that he was the “only thing standing between you and home” and that he had been the one “who signed that orders book twice” to extend the ship’s deployment.
On Wednesday, the evening before they were set to dock, the mood seemed far more jovial aboard the ship; sailors were chatting and laughing, some were running a 5K around a deck now free of aircraft. A band played in the setting sun.
Navy reports eight suicide attempts on USS Lincoln
The Lincoln left San Diego in November and was initially expected to return before the summer months. Its deployment was extended after the Iran war began in February. The ship was at sea without a port of call for 286 days until early September, when it docked in Thailand for a handful of days. By that point, family members of those on board had raised concerns about dwindling food supplies and low morale.
At least eight service members attempted suicide during the many months at sea, according to a letter sent last month to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., by a top Navy official. The letter, obtained by NBC News, prompted concerns about the impact to mental health that such a lengthy deployment can have on service members. No deaths on the ship have been attributed to suicide.
Some family members of those on the ship said the extended time at sea was “wreaking havoc” on sailors’ mental health, and one described it as a “scene out of the ‘American Horror Story’” television show.
“Where he had been very positive, he started getting very dark,” one woman told NBC News about her son’s time at sea. Another parent said that she and her daughter, who is serving aboard the ship, grew increasingly frustrated as the Trump administration continued to push back the ship’s arrival date.
According to U.S. officials, a sailor assigned to the air wing on the Lincoln went overboard in early August and was quickly rescued and treated. That sailor was transferred off the ship for further medical care, the official told NBC News.
Navy officials initially said leadership had not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship.
According to the letter, suicide attempts occurred among crewmembers and sailors from the carrier air wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons.
