According to a letter from the acting secretary of the US Navy that CNN was able to obtain, eight US Navy personnel assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a time when the ships engaged in combat operations against Iran and the carrier set a modern record for its time at sea.

In written answers to questions from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand regarding the morale and mental health of the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao disclosed the figure, which has not been previously reported and includes crew members from multiple ships that travel together, including the carrier. No service members have committed suicide throughout the deployment, according to Cao.

In 2024, the most recent year for which the Pentagon has disclosed suicide statistics, the rate of suicide attempts among sailors in the Lincoln strike group was about the same as that of the entire active duty Navy. The Navy's estimated 337,000 active duty sailors attempted suicide 356 times that year.

In a letter dated Tuesday, Cao wrote to Gillibrand, a Democrat and member of the Senate Armed Services, saying, "There have been eight suicide attempts across the strike group since the beginning of Lincoln's deployment." "This figure comprises all embarked aviation squadrons, escorting destroyers, strike group and destroyer squadron personnel, Lincoln crew, and sailors from the carrier airwing."

As part of the Lincoln strike group, between 6,000 and 7,000 US Navy sailors were assigned to about six ships. The carrier was kept out of port for more than six months while carrying out a high volume of combat operations against Iran.

One US military insider told CNN, "Eight attempted suicides is incredibly high," pointing out that there had only been one or two per year throughout recent carrier strike group deployments. Combat operations are far more stressful than regular deployments. Constant notifications, no port calls, etc.

A request for comment regarding the letter was not answered by the Navy prior to publishing.

"What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as 'fake news' turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members," Gillibrand told CNN in a statement on Wednesday. "The president openly disregarded the enormous sacrifices that our troops and their families make on a daily basis. It is totally intolerable that this administration can find countless public dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires while failing to provide for our service members.

According to Cao's letter, the Lincoln deployed with a variety of mental health resources on board, such as five chaplains, one psychologist, one clinical social worker, one embedded integrated preventative counselor, three behavioral health technicians, and one expeditionary facility dog.

Two servicemen attached to the Lincoln strike group—one from the carrier and the other from another ship—had jumped overboard in recent months, according to an earlier CNN report. According to US sources, both were saved. The Navy Times and Stars and Stripes said that others were stopped from jumping.

A sailor assigned to the airwing slipped overboard from the ship in early August, but he was "quickly recovered" and treated by the Lincoln's medical department, Cao affirmed in his letter to Gillibrand. In March, a sailor also tried to plunge overboard, but his shipmates prevented him. After receiving emergency medical attention, the sailor was sent back to his homeport.

"We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship," the Navy previously told CNN in a statement. Every service member's well-being is important to us, and we have medical, mental health, and religious experts on hand to evaluate and handle any issues that may come up.

Additionally, a US official previously told CNN that man overboard occurrences are not specific to this group and that the Navy does not think there is a link between the length of deployment and thoughts of self-harm.

A crew member on the Lincoln earlier told CNN that the carrier's morale was extremely poor and that they had frequently heard about other crew members' suicidal thoughts. Additionally, the crew member reported that there were frequent closures of the ship's drinking faucets and restrooms, as well as frequent outages of hot water.

Before the ship was given the order to return to its home port in San Diego, the crew member told CNN, "Every day we wake up and listen to our captain speak, we are desperately hoping and anxious for updates on our return." The ship is scheduled to return to San Diego in the upcoming weeks after departing the Middle East in August.

Due in large part to the fighting that has prevented the carrier from stopping at friendly ports, those sailors on board the Lincoln who talked with CNN described situations that were different from their previous deployments. During periodic port stops, ships can take on fresh supplies and give their sailors time to unwind.