Eight members of the US Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during the war against Iran, according to a letter from acting US navy secretary Hung Cao.
The letter, released on Wednesday local time, was obtained by the US broadcaster CNN. In it, responding to questions from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Cao gave details about the mental health and morale of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s personnel.
Cao wrote that there had been eight suicide attempts across the whole strike group since the start of the Lincoln’s military operations. No sailor died by suicide during this period.
The figure covers sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln as well as members of the carrier air wing, the strike group and destroyer squadron staff, the accompanying destroyers and all the aircraft squadrons, he said.
About 6,000 to 7,000 US sailors were deployed on around six ships in the Lincoln strike group. During extensive military operations against Iran, the aircraft carrier stayed at sea for more than six months without stopping at any port.
“Eight suicide attempts is extremely high,” a US military official told CNN.
In recent deployments of other carrier strike groups, one or two such incidents a year has been typical, the official said.
The strain of wartime operations is much greater than that of normal military operations, the official added. Going a long time without a port call, being on constant alert and conducting continuous military operations put added pressure on sailors.
The USS Abraham Lincoln docked at Thailand’s Laem Chabang port on September 2 after a total of 286 days at sea.
If you or someone you know is struggling, please seek help from a mental health professional or a local helpline.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report