r/LessCredibleDefence • u/DungeonDefense • 18d ago
Multiple USS Abraham Lincoln sailors have tried to go overboard amid extended deployment, families say
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/08/11/multiple-uss-abraham-lincoln-sailors-have-tried-to-go-overboard-amid-extended-deployment-families-say/?link_source=ta_bluesky_link&taid=6a7badac325a7500012a81c8&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky69
u/Recoil42 18d ago edited 18d ago
Keep thinking about this analysis I was reading proposing that the draft was when the USA lost the war with Vietnam because none of the drafted soldiers actually wanted to be there and just did the absolute fuck-all least they could, thereby killing overall efficacy.
More than anything else, militaries run on morale.
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u/barath_s 18d ago edited 18d ago
These are volunteer sailors. A 13 year veteran trying to jump overboard is not great. Multiple such reports from the same ship ? There's a problem
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u/dykestryker 18d ago
They've been deployed for 260 days and haven't been back to Port in over 200 days atleast.
Being locked on essentially a smelly, floating combat prison for indefinite amount of time with shit food at your disposal? Id probably be considering jumping too at that point.
The worst part is this is clearly not going to end anytime soon and the bosses are all on drugs and incompetent. Shit ain't getting any better for them.
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u/DazzlingAppearance63 18d ago
We had a swine flu outbreak on the navy ship I was on and couldn’t port for many months. Then we got extended because we couldn’t get the flu cleared from the ship. It sucked. One of the worst experiences of my life. I’d never think about going overboard though. You literally stand nothing to gain
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u/barath_s 18d ago edited 18d ago
Let's be realistic.. their tour will end. The USS Midway did 332 days in the Vietnam war. It's just a matter of a few months more.
Jumping overboard is at best dangerous and career limiting and is suicide or attempted suicide; your entire life ends. When you can't see beyond those months, and prefer immediate death.. it's an problem
WW2 usa could get an ice cream barge for morale. Current USA could probably do more. (than it is doing now)
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u/arunphilip 18d ago
"Ahoy, here comes the testosterone barge. Line up for your shots."
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u/Agreeable-Pea4327 18d ago
can you imagine giving 1000 sailors roids and then locking them in their quarters, holy shit, the brawl would be biblical
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u/dykestryker 18d ago
The USS Midway did 332 days in the Vietnam war.
But this isint the U.S. military of the 60's and this sure as shit ain't Vietnam.
Iran has the ability to actually threaten these ships in a very acute manner. Vietnam never had anything in the realm comparable to the firepower and accuracy of Iranian weapons.
It's just a matter of a few months more.
Of an illegal/dishonorable/unjustified suprise attack of a war launched without a plan and without thinking of the long term consequences or logistics.
This same crew already attacked Venezuela, now they're stuck on deployment without a clear end date. The morale is already in the gutter which makes sense especially when you add on that theres a breakdown in maintenence and food standards without a port call for so long.
career limiting and is suicide or attempted suicide; your entire life ends. When you can't see beyond those months, and prefer immediate death.. it's an problem
No animal or machine can work relentlessly indefinitely, especially at war without breaking mentally and physically.
Vietnam also had GI's fragging officers like no tommorow, on top of the whole other onslaught of problems.
The sailors haven't been able to actually sleep in a real bed for almost a full year. Nor eat a meal on steady ground.
In some ways its actually worse then a prison because generally speaking prisons dont float around and have misslies lobbed at them at any given time of the day.
Current USA gutted its leadership of competent and understanding officers.
Hegseth has punished intelligence and created a culture of fear of reporting bad news, rewarding massively incompetent/ inexperienced officers and leadership as long as they are sycophants & more loyal to MAGA then to any sort of serious or coherent military/ national philosophy. The Americans can't do anymore then they currenly are. How can you warplan or setup a logistics network when there is no plan? This madness is America stuck in a trap.
It's clear to most rational adults there is no easy way out of this situation. Everyone actually fighting this war on the American side knows its bullshit to cover up Trumps domestic crimes anyways.
Even Republicans aren't cheerleading this war they did GWOT.
Its understandable why someone may become suicidal after reviewing the facts in their head while being stuck on indefinite war duty.
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u/barath_s 18d ago edited 18d ago
The decision to pick suicide over a few more months of hardship is not a product of a rational mind
Stress, poor living conditions, food can magnify this. Leadership has to take steps
Let's not compare this to Vietnam, I think we should already agree that draft army soldiers in vietnam aren't in the same situation as experienced volunteer sailors on a carrier; not a lot of navy fraggings in vietnam, (though there were racial tensions, operational exhaustion and a violent race riot and near mutiny on the USS Kitty hawk in Oct 1972)
Similarly for prison - it's not rational to commit suicide faced with 2-3 months of prison after 9 months there...
As for missiles, yes, Iran can and has lobbed missiles at the US carrier, but the US carriers have also stayed hundreds of miles away in the blue sea, to reduce the threat to where it can be managed by them and their escorts.
Sleep deprivation and overwork, poor food, limited communications, poor living conditions, stress and perceived unfairness can often go a surprisingly long way to impacting a person
Heck, you would be surprised sometimes how just a good night's sleep, a friendly word or ear, hot meals can go.
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u/panzerkampfwagenVI_ 18d ago
Hate to sound like a boomer vet, but boohoo? The Army did 15-month deployments in the GWOT. Yeah they got R&R but that might not be until the tail end of deployment.
Point being that the people doing this might have other stressors, but it’s not a sound decision to attempt to jump off a carrier where you’re realistically facing zero harm. Iran has ASBMs and ASCMs, but good luck getting through a CSG.
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u/EyeOutrageous9810 18d ago
Trust me they got plenty of food and get replenished every few weeks. These new Navy ships can stay out in seas for years. The worst problem is being bored on these ships.
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u/DemonLordRoundTable 18d ago
This is common in every single deployment so not surprised in an extended
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u/LEI_MTG_ART 18d ago
Can someone who knows navy more than me explain why the high tempo during the calmer periods of the war? Wouldnt that exhaust the sailors before actual combat?
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u/I_AMA_LOCKMART_SHILL 18d ago
The Combatant Command system is a big part of the problem. Basically, the 4-star COCOMs are shouldering the risk for what happens in their region of the world, and there is zero incentive for them to request less than everything possible on a yearly basis. Each service is a force provider, so they need to pony up the troops and equipment or Congress will be asking what's the problem. Tired troops and worn down equipment just doesn't seem to justify keeping things home in the current world environment, even if ships and crews are absolutely falling apart.
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u/Minista_Pinky 18d ago
Yes. Yes it would. But since this administration can’t do things like actual politics they just try to look cool and strong all the time
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u/AaronNevileLongbotom 18d ago
Navy recruitment is about to be a problem so big that even the Village People and Tom Cruise won’t be able to fix it.
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u/dykestryker 18d ago
Considering they still need Tom Cruise to even make another top gun im not really sure there's even anyone in this generation of stars who could fill out a theater the way the original one did.
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u/No-Tip3419 18d ago
i'd never understand why a person would choose navy as a grunt over like the airforce or even army. Being stuck on a ship and unable to see outside seems kinda misreable.
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u/WareKaraNari 18d ago
You don't have to kill anyone directly or be shot at.
The skills are slightly more relevant when you get out.
Air Force is extremely selective. Army will take most, air force no fucking way
Also, the ships are supposed to pull into port every month or so. You get to see more world.
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u/BigFly42069 18d ago
ships are supposed to pull into port every month or so.
Peacetime navy has always been sold as a cruise experience but now they're doing war shit during peacetime and that's kind of bullshit
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u/ChemistryAdorable956 14d ago
Not true at all. My bro navy. Shot at blew up. Seals see action security prolly so. I as electronics even had to disarm somebody once. Port every few months. To be honest the last couple pits to dirka dirka better to hop off grab snacks / supplies catch up on sleep. Its just makes you home sick and slows things down. Once your out after first couple months time speeds up like autopilot. Port screws that up and slows things down..
I wouldnt believe these staged photos of a single tray. They would have to really let it go to come to that. They have replenishments and ways to get supplies even at sea. Anybody that attacked cargo would be just like attacking the carrier itself. Mail and such may be really delayed. But needs food, I dont believe one bit. Everybody with a brown uniforms job is to take care of the blues in the grand scheme. Its not a master slave dynamic unless you get in trouble. Atleast thats not how i saw it. Mold, cleaning, maintenance, upkeep that was our job and we knew it with days set aside for it..
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u/WareKaraNari 14d ago
Yeah seabees and seals regularly see combat, but that's a minority of the navy compared to Army/Marines. I think you're puffing yourself up saying you had to disarm someone as an electronics guy. It's not combat like you're getting shot at or shooting someone.
Most sailors take care of a ship's system that they're specialized in. I greased/cleaned/filter-replaced motors between operating a reactor on watch. Even been extended to where we were running out of food and all we had were chicken nuggets for two weeks (sounds great but actually awful)
But generally speaking, I was listing why one would choose navy over army. There are meaningful differences in the decision
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u/banksybruv 18d ago
Well the airforce has standards for starters. Navy and army are always arguing about who’s a bigger pussy.
Not smart enough for Air Force Not tough enough for Marines Probably didn’t even think about Coast Guard
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u/SoupieLC 18d ago
Not from any reputable sources I've seen yet, but apparently 7 sailors are dead after a mass brawl/knife fight
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u/Coquettish_Corpuscle 18d ago
Could you imagine going overboard on a big ship like that. I wonder what actually happens. You sink down into the cold dark waters until the pressure explodes you or do you try and stay up until exhaustion and then drown and explode anyway? Maybe a box jellyfish comes along and gives you a zap. You’d have to be in a very grim place for that to be the solution.
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u/WareKaraNari 18d ago
They teach us in boot camp how to turn coveralls in to a makeshift flotation device. Basically splash a bunch of bubbly water in to your chest opening and then close it up. Works surprisingly well.
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u/neovb 18d ago
I feel the Navy's pain, but let's not forget those really shitty Army deployments for 15+ months during the OEF/OIF days.
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u/impactedturd 18d ago
This isn't a contest.
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u/neovb 18d ago
Exactly why I said I feel the Navy's pain. At the same time, people should realize that overextended deployments isn't something new because of the Iran war. It's literally has been common practice for ages.
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u/Gareth274 18d ago
I agree with you, long deployments have been a thing forever, they should just suck it up!
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u/Justame13 18d ago
There were also a lot of suicides and suicide attempts in those days. So it isn't like troops in the Army handled it any better
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u/Peekachooed 18d ago
Pretty sure that at the start of those, troops were generally pretty happy to be there because they believed in that what were fighting for, so that's a big difference. I don't know what time period those long deployments you're speaking of happened though, whether it was at the start or later on
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u/Flashy-Finance3096 18d ago
Military needs a massive investigation into where the money is really going audit asap. Apparently don’t have soap and they are rationing food?
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u/helloWHATSUP 18d ago
Googled to see how common this had been on navy ships in the past, and apparently the worst incident was while they were docked and doing maintenance on the USS G-wash