Sailors Are Trying to Jump Off a Navy Ship That Hasn't Stopped in Months

Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a massive Navy aircraft carrier, have tried to go overboard as their time at sea has stretched into its ninth month, according to reporting by Military Times on August 11, 2026, and Stars and Stripes. Family members of the more than 5,000 sailors and Marines on board have raised alarms about a mental health crisis, sinking morale, and sailors having thoughts of suicide.

The carrier left San Diego in November 2025 and has been at sea for nearly seven months without stopping at a single port — longer than any US aircraft carrier has ever gone without a break, according to Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. The ship's last scheduled stop was Guam on December 11, 2025. The mission was supposed to end in May but kept getting extended because of the US-Israel war with Iran, Blumenthal said.

Normally, a Navy ship on a long deployment pulls into friendly ports along the way. The crew gets to step off the ship, rest, and pick up supplies. Think of it like a road trip where you stop at rest stops every few hundred miles to stretch and refuel. The Lincoln has had none of that for about seven straight months.

The reports of sailors trying to jump off the ship came from detailed accounts in Navy Times and Stars and Stripes. Navy Times talked on the record with Annabelle Loma, the wife of a sailor who said her husband tried to jump overboard because he was burned out. A woman named Maria Rodriguez told the publication her husband told her about stopping a shipmate who was "preparing to go overboard." Newsweek reported that family members have cited at least two such incidents. CNN reported separately that a sailor went overboard from the ship last month and was rescued quickly. Forbes reported on August 12 that families warned of the mental health crisis as sailors passed 260 days at sea.

Blumenthal wrote a formal letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth describing worsening conditions on the ship. He cited reports of shortages of basic supplies, contaminated water, more safety incidents, and problems with mail delivery. Blumenthal demanded that a group of lawmakers from both political parties be allowed to visit the ship. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego backed the demand, saying the Navy must allow an investigation. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy officer and astronaut, called the reports of sailors trying to jump into the sea "disturbing." The Hill reported that Senate Democrats are demanding answers directly from Hegseth. The New York Post reported on August 13 that Democrats pressed the Pentagon about the conditions.

The issue came up during a town hall meeting with acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao in San Diego, the city the ship last departed from, according to Stars and Stripes.

This deployment is highly unusual. Past missions of the Abraham Lincoln included regular port visits. The ship previously returned to San Diego in December 2024 after operations across three Navy fleet regions, logging more than 9,000 flights, 21,000 flight hours, and 28 resupply missions at sea. During that deployment, the carrier visited Port Klang, Malaysia, in November 2024. An earlier mission in 1998 included stops in Perth and Hobart, Australia.

The demands of the US-Israel war with Iran have apparently made port visits impossible this time. The crew has stayed at sea under constant pressure since the mission was extended past May.

The bigger picture is that lawmakers are now pressuring the Pentagon and the acting Navy secretary to deal with two things at once: the military need to keep the ship deployed and the growing evidence that its crew is in crisis. The push for lawmakers to visit the ship directly suggests they want to see conditions for themselves rather than trusting reports from the Navy's own chain of command. What happens next could change how the military handles long deployments — including rules about when ships must stop at port and how sailors get mental health support during intense operations in the Middle East.