Sailors Try to Jump Overboard as Trump Declares Victory
250 days at sea, more than 200 without touching land — a modern Navy record. The Navy gave families no return date.
Multiple sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have tried to go overboard, their families say, and Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday demanded the Navy explain how a nine-month deployment in Trump's Iran war broke a 5,000-member crew.
Annabelle Loma told Military Times her husband attempted to jump after repeated extensions of the carrier's deployment. He sits on medical hold now, afraid for his job. "He's scared," Loma said. "He thinks he'll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year career is ruined."
A second sailor stood watch when he spotted a shipmate preparing to go overboard. He grabbed the shipmate's arms and hauled him back onto the deck. "He said he hadn't felt adrenaline like that in his life," his wife, Maria Rodriguez, said. Stars and Stripes and Navy Times first reported the attempts, citing sailors and families aboard the carrier.
The Lincoln left San Diego on Nov. 21 with roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, due home in May. Trump's war held the carrier in the Gulf instead: more than 250 consecutive days at sea, 40 of them in continuous combat operations, and more than 200 days without a port call — a modern Navy record. Sailors normally touch land every 30 to 45 days. Families describe moldy showers, broken toilets, no hot water for weeks, and meals that shrank to a ration.
Half a cup of rice. Two tortillas.
