Families of soldiers and members of Congress raised their voices as the crisis intensified mental health on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for 250 days on operations related to the war with Iran, writes "The Guardian".
Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and the Stars and Stripes, report that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as the poor conditions and mental stress on board reach the breaking point. The crew has been at sea for nine months and has gone 250 consecutive days without calling ashore - a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times.
Families showed their deep concern for loved ones aboard the Lincoln at an emotional town hall meeting with Navy leaders in San Diego last Thursday, the Stars and Stripes newspaper reported. About 200 family members were on board, and one woman said her husband texted her that day saying he "hoped he didn't wake up tomorrow".
The families took their fears directly to the Navy leadership, who were represented at the town hall by the acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, and other senior officials. One woman at the meeting said the Navy had "broken trust."
The Navy Times detailed the foiled suicide attempts on the aircraft carrier. Annabelle Loma told the paper that her husband tried to jump into the water after his stay at sea kept getting longer.
"He's scared. He thinks he's going to get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he's burned out, his 13-year career is ruined, just like that," she said.
Moldy showers and rotten toilets
Mike Levin, a Democratic member of Congress from California, warned about conditions on the warship, which is in its fifth month of combat operations against Iran. He described the fate of the crew on board X as "moldy showers, rotten toilets, laundry left unwashed for weeks, long periods without hot water, a meal reduced to half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant or toothpaste."
Jason Crowe, a Democratic member of Congress from Colorado, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, warned that the pressure on service members and their families in Lincoln is "increasing week by week."
The current crisis has been brewing for months. The warship left San Diego on November 21 and was originally destined for the Pacific, but was diverted to the Middle East when the US-Israeli war with Iran began.
Since then, MS Now revealed, the crew of more than 5.000 have spent just two days ashore, in Guam in December and Oman in July. The deployment was supposed to end in May, but was extended several times amid the ongoing war.
In April, there was a wave of public criticism over the harsh conditions on the carrier. Photos of poor quality and limited food emerged, and there were reports of water shortages, moldy showers and broken washing machines.
Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, dismissed the reports as "another piece of fake news".
Source: The Guardian
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