1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

Military families are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as its 5,000 sailors and marines endure a record-breaking deployment at sea tied to the war with Iran. Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes are reporting that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as poor conditions and mental stresses on the Lincoln reach the breaking point. The crew is in its ninth month at sea, and has spent 250 days consecutively without making land – a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times. Worried families vented their anxieties about loved ones onboard the Lincoln at an emotional town hall meeting with navy leaders. One spouse among the 200 or so family members said that her husband had texted her that day saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow”. A woman at the meeting told Cao that the navy had “broken trust between us and the leadership”, the paper reported. The Navy Times gave details of thwarted suicide attempts onboard the aircraft carrier during the current deployment. Annabelle Loma told the outlet that her husband had tried to jump overboard after his spell at sea kept being extended. “He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out his 13-year career is ruined, just like that,” she said. The paper quoted another sailor’s wife whose husband was involved in a separate incident onboard the Lincoln in which he prevented a fellow crew member from jumping, grabbing them and bringing them back on deck. Reported by The Gardian. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WTH IS GOING ON? IT’S DISGUSTING THAT tRUMP HAS GOT US INTO A WAR WITH IRAN AND LEFT OUR MILITARY COMPLETELY STRANDED AND CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE BECAUSE THIS SO CALLED WAR DEPT LED BY DISGUSTING PETE HEGSETH (who has NO BUSINESS being in that position) IS LEAVING OUR SERVICE MEMBERS TO ROT!!!! And right now, I don’t need more political talking points. I don’t need spin. I need YOU demanding answers to some very specific questions: WHAT IS THE PLAN? Which ship is being sent to relieve them? When is that ship leaving? When will the Lincoln be relieved? WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HELP THEM NOW, WHILE THEY WAIT FOR RELIEF? WHEN ARE THESE MEN AND WOMEN COMING HOME? Anything beyond those answers, at this point, is chatter to me. RELIEVE THEM AND SEND THEM HOME. END THIS BS WAR WHILE YOU’RE AT IT!!!