Eight US sailors assigned to USS Abraham Lincoln attempted suicide, Navy says

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has said that eight crew members who were assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during their lengthy deployment.

The disclosure was made in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York on Tuesday in response to questions from the Democrat on the well-being of sailors onboard following mounting concerns.

Family members of sailors had raised alarm about deteriorating mental health and grim conditions. The carrier, which has been deployed since last November, is now returning to the US.

The BBC has contacted the US Navy for comment.

In his letter, Cao said that there were five chaplains and multiple mental health professionals available on board to meet the "spiritual and emotional needs of the crew".

He said the eight included "the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier airwing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons".

While the US Navy has previously acknowledged supply challenges on the carrier, it denied that a mental health crisis was taking place on the Lincoln, which had some 5,000 crew aboard.

Cao's letter also denied widespread concerns about broken plumbing and shortages of fresh food, but acknowledged temporary "localized piping failures" and problems with the reverse osmosis desalination units, and that "main entree options" at meals were reduced to one from two for a "short time".

In August, the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier, was sent to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln following its nine-month deployment.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article, details of organisations offering information are available at BBC Action Line or you can call the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988.