Sen. Gillibrand blasts administration after eight sailors in Lincoln strike group attempted suicide
by Mike Glenn · The Washington TimesSen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted the Trump administration Thursday for overlooking deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier during its marathon deployment to the Middle East and for dismissing press reports as “fake news.”
Ms. Gillibrand, New York Democrat, said U.S. troops and their families make immense sacrifices every day, only to have President Trump dismiss their concerns with open disrespect.
“What Trump and [Secretary of Defense] Pete Hegseth dismissed as ’fake news’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members,” she said Thursday in a statement to The Washington Times. “That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable.”
A congressional delegation is expected to meet with USS Abraham Lincoln sailors and inspect conditions aboard the warship when it returns to its home port in San Diego, officials said.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told Ms. Gillibrand that eight personnel from the Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during the lengthy deployment that included military operations against Iran.
The strike group includes the carrier, the attached air wing, a destroyer squadron accompanying the carrier, and embarked aviation squadrons.
“There have been no suicides onboard [the Lincoln] during this deployment,” Mr. Cao said in a Sept. 22 letter to Ms. Gillibrand.
Family members of sailors and Marines deployed with the USS Abraham Lincoln made public complaints about the carrier’s extended deployment to the Middle East that stretched well beyond the standard 6-month timeline to more than nine months of continuous operations.
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“While the Navy does not design or characterize any mission as indefinite, crews are advised prior to underway periods that deployment timelines must remain flexible to meet dynamic global security needs,” Mr. Cao said.
The Pentagon makes every effort to limit at-sea extensions, and they are ordered only when critical national security requirements leave no other viable alternative, Mr. Cao said.
Sailors aboard the Lincoln strike group could avail themselves of mental health resources aboard the carrier. The carrier deployed with five chaplains, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, a counselor, three behavioral health specialists, and even a therapy dog.
“The assigned complement of medical personnel remained able to take care of all medical, surgical, and mental health needs for the crew throughout the entirety of the deployment, to include all routine and emergent health care needs,” Mr. Cao wrote. “The ship has encountered no medical supply issues.”
Despite complaints from some sailors about the food, Mr. Cao said the Abraham Lincoln maintained “adequate food supplies” during the deployment. But he acknowledged that “for a short time” the entree options were reduced from two to one because of the limited opportunities for resupply during combat.
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“Four meals were served daily, and all meals provided were nutritionally balanced with adequate calories per day made available to every sailor,” Mr. Cao wrote. “All meal options met the portion standards required by military regulation.”
He confirmed that a sailor assigned to the Lincoln air group went overboard in early August. He was picked up by a search and rescue helicopter, treated by the carrier’s medical personnel, and later transferred off the ship for follow-on care.
In March, another sailor was stopped by shipmates from going overboard. He was also treated aboard the carrier and sent back to the Abraham Lincoln’s home port in San Diego.
There have been no elevated mishap rates for the Lincoln during the current deployment when compared to other carriers, Mr. Cao said.
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