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Overboard on USS Lincoln
A sailor went overboard earlier this month off the USS Abraham Lincoln, and CNN reported the incident occurred on August 3 amid reports of worsening mental health for crew members during an extended deployment for the Iran war.
“One of the officials described the seas as rough and specified that the incident had occurred on August 3.”
CNN said the sailor was rescued within an hour, medically evaluated, and recovered “by an air wing search and rescue helicopter, treated by Abraham Lincoln’s medical department, and transferred off ship for follow-on care.”
A different CNN official said the sailor went overboard wearing a life vest and was not injured, and that the Navy considered the incident a mental health episode.
The USS Abraham Lincoln has more than 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard and has been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East, according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal as cited by CNN.
Democratic lawmakers are calling for answers after families raised concerns about deteriorating living conditions and worsening mental health during the ship’s record-breaking time at sea, CNN reported.
Lawmakers press, Navy denies
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and a member of the Armed Services Committee, wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the acting Secretary of the Navy to express “serious concern” about the increasing length of deployments and to demand answers about living conditions aboard the carrier.
In the letter, Blumenthal said there were “widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns” and disruptions in the mail system that caused care packages to be lost in transit for months.
NBC News reported the USS Abraham Lincoln was set to head home amid concerns about living conditions, while the BBC said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called reports of conditions “completely misrepresented.”
The BBC reported that CBS News, its US partner, cited two unnamed officials saying a sailor went overboard earlier this month and was recovered by a helicopter, treated by the medical department, and transferred off the ship for further care, with the circumstances under investigation.
The Navy, in a statement to CNN, said it “We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship,” and said it has religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise.
Replacement and deadline
The BBC and The Hill reported that the USS George Washington would replace the USS Abraham Lincoln as part of a previously scheduled rotation plan, with the BBC noting the Lincoln had been at sea for more than 250 days and that no return date had been announced.
“The USS George Washington, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, departed a port in Vietnam last week”
The Hill said the USS George Washington, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, departed a port in Vietnam last week and was spotted crossing the Strait of Malacca, while the Pentagon declined to comment.
ABC News reported that Blumenthal’s letter to Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao demanded more information about the extended deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and raised questions about the Navy’s ability to preserve service members’ well-being while sustaining its “operational tempo.”
The Guardian reported that Blumenthal gave officials until 27 August to respond and said the letter posed six questions to Pentagon leadership, including what metrics the navy uses to track fatigue and morale.
In the same reporting, Jason Crow said, “The strain being put on our sailors and their families is completely unacceptable,” while the Navy told the BBC it had not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.
