Trump and Hegseth dismissed sailors' suffering as 'fake news' — now eight USS Lincoln crew have attempted suicide
From the Newshound archive · first published 20 September 2026 · last updated 24 September 2026.
The USS Abraham Lincoln docked in Thailand after a record Iran deployment during which eight sailors attempted suicide, the acting Navy secretary has confirmed in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a D-Day ceremony. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly his country is ready for dialogue "but without the language of force," as peace talks remain…
Eight sailors in the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during a nine-month deployment centred on Iran war operations, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The carrier spent over 250 consecutive days at sea without a port call — the longest such stretch in modern US Navy history — while crew endured combat missions, plumbing failures, food shortages and no shore leave. Gillibrand said Trump and Pete Hegseth had previously dismissed accounts of the deteriorating conditions as 'fake news'. A US military official called eight attempts 'incredibly high', noting that one or two per year is typical across a strike group deployment.
Two of the eight attempts took place while the strike group was conducting combat operations against Iran.
One sailor went overboard in early August and was pulled to safety by helicopter; a second was prevented by shipmates from jumping in March.
Gillibrand accused Trump of 'open disrespect' toward troops while finding 'endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms and billionaires'.
