Eight US Navy personnel onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier attempted suicide during its extended 286-day deployment at sea, the Pentagon told a lawmaker in a written response to questions, CNN reported.
The nuclear-powered Lincoln was deployed during the US naval blockade and combat operations in the US-Iran war. The revelations about the alleged suicide attempts were reportedly made by acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao in written responses to questions posed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand about the morale and mental health of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew.
It set a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea, according to Democratic lawmakers, cited by Reuters. No service members had killed themselves during the deployment, Cao said in his response. Sailors from the carrier – both male and female – took pedicures at the Colour Nail salon and visited brand stores in a mall, purchasing “simple stuff like new socks”, according to one of them, according to a report in The Guardian.
