The wife of a sailor who went overboard last month aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln is now speaking out about disturbing details.
Navy sailors on the ship have described deteriorating conditions, as their deployment has been twice extended with no end in sight as it relates to the president’s Iran war. Many family members of sailors on board have voiced concerns about potential exhaustion and increasingly low morale on board.
Tensions onboard came to a climax last month as several sailors went or attempted to go overboard in an attempt to take their own lives. One sailor who went overboard was in the water for an hour before he was rescued and eventually medically evaluated.
His wife, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to MS NOW, described her husband’s mental state just before he went overboard, as he divulged in a text message to her that the poor conditions were finally getting to him.
“I think the boat is finally getting to me and I really don’t think I can keep up my peace act anymore,” the message read.
He continued, saying, “You are right about it all not being OK. We were supposed to leave 5th Fleet on July 15th, but then something had to come up, and my last hope of being home soon was gone.”
“I’m really trying to not feel negative or hopeless, but between the wifi and not knowing when I will come home and not knowing what is happening back at home, it’s really getting me. I don’t think I can do another deployment after this, and I don’t even know if I can finish this deployment,” he continued.
The wife told MS NOW that her husband went to his chain of command and the ship’s medical team to express his concerns about his mental health. She says they brushed him off.
She also noted that her husband’s contact prescription had expired, and that he was having trouble seeing and doing his job well.
“Every single time he would make a mistake, they would yell at him, and he would get into a lot of trouble,” she said. “He would explain to them that he can’t see because his prescription was expired, but they still allowed him to work.”
She continued, “I think that also had a big toll on him because he could have injured a lot of people and he could have injured himself, because that’s what they kept yelling at him every time he made a mistake.”
“I just really don’t know what to say about all this, because it’s so, because it’s so, it doesn’t feel real to me,” she told MS NOW.
Another spouse of a sailor, Annabelle Loma, told the Military Times she had been told by the ship’s ombudsman that her husband had attempted to jump overboard. She said she has only been able to speak to him a handful of times since, and that he was now in a medical hold.
“He’s scared,” she 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. That’s not fair, that’s not right. That’s not what he should be worrying about right now.”
Sailors have reported that the ship does not have working toilets, and that they have been served undercooked chicken and beans. They have also said they do not have adequate hygiene products. More than 5,000 sailors and Marines are onboard.
The USS George Washington is currently headed to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln. Officials have maintained that the swap had been preplanned, CNN reported.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed on Thursday that the situation involving conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln has been “completely misrepresented.”
“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama, where he is attending a forum. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.”
“What they do in those high seas...it’s incredible,” he added. “Americans don’t understand what it’s like to do that...I want them home as soon as everybody else.”
In official statements, the U.S. Navy has downplayed the concerns of family members, saying it “has not observed an increase in suicidal ideations aboard the ship.”
“We take every service member’s well-being seriously and have medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise. Our medical professionals continually monitor for trends to ensure issues are identified and addressed early. To protect patient privacy, we will not discuss individual service members or their medical information,” a Navy spokesperson said.
The Navy has not given a precise number of service members who have attempted to go overboard or harm themselves, but said the ship’s leadership was constantly assessing the well-being of those on the carrier.
Several Democratic lawmakers have been calling for answers about the concerns raised by families of sailors onboard.
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.
