Investigating claim USS Abraham Lincoln sailors are trying to jump overboard

In August 2026, a rumor spread online that numerous sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln had attempted to jump overboard. The aircraft carrier had logged nine months at sea amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. 

Numerous reports claimed multiple sailors tried to jump overboard from the aircraft carrier due to mental health crises and poor conditions. 

The reports originated from military news outlets such as Navy Times, which reported that a sailor’s spouse said her husband attempted to jump overboard:

Annabelle Loma has spoken with her husband only a few times since he attempted to jump overboard from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during his current deployment.

Communication has been difficult to come by, and he is now on medical hold.

Loma, who lives in San Diego, said her husband had been repeatedly overextended before he tried to jump from the carrier.

“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, just like that. That’s not fair, that’s not right. That’s not what he should be worrying about right now.”

Loma said she initially received a call from the ship’s ombudsman after the incident but has not heard from anyone with the Navy in recent weeks.

Star and Stripes, another news outlet covering the U.S. military, spoke to family members of sailors — whom it did not identify — who expressed their worries over the crew’s mental health amid long months at sea.  

As of this writing, we were unable to independently confirm the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln or the mental health of its sailors. All the available media coverage relies on anonymous sources or secondhand reporting from sailors’ families who say they have sporadic communication with their deployed family members. Snopes does not rely on anonymous sources for its fact-checking and instead seeks out primary evidence, such as verified documentation or communications, to rate claims.

Short of going onboard the aircraft carrier or speaking to sailors directly, it is impossible for us to confirm firsthand the conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln. As such, we’ve left this claim unrated and will update our report if new information emerges.

In an email to Snopes, a Navy official said there had not been “an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship.” According to the official, one sailor had gone overboard but had recovered after treatment. The official did not confirm the circumstances in which the sailor went overboard, making it unclear whether the sailor had jumped.

According to the Navy Times, one woman said her husband was “overextended” and burned out when he tried to jump overboard, but was rescued. In a separate incident, another sailor’s wife said her husband saw his shipmate try to go overboard before he intervened. 

In August 2026, around 200 military family members gathered in San Diego to meet with Navy leadership to express their concerns about the sailors’ mental health. According to Stars and Stripes, a military spouse told Navy officials she received a message from her husband saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.” 

According to U.S. officials, the crew of the USS Lincoln has supported 40 days of continuous combat operations and logged 250 days at sea. A Navy spokesperson told Snopes via email:

We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. We take every service member’s well-being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) has five Navy Chaplains, one clinical psychologist, one clinical social worker, three behavioral health technicians and an embedded integrated prevention coordination (EIPC) counselor. The ship also has an expeditionary facility dog, CAPT Fathom, to support crew morale and emotional welfare. These resources are available to Sailors and Marines throughout the Strike Group 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sailors go through normal transitions throughout a deployment cycle. Adapting to life at sea can be difficult, so we’ve learned how to provide resources and help Sailors with these transitions. We are not experiencing an uptick in mental health issues aboard Abraham Lincoln.

The spokesperson said a crew member had gone overboard but declined to provide further details, including whether the sailor jumped:

A Sailor assigned to the air wing attached to USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) went overboard from the ship in early August. The Sailor was quickly recovered by an air wing search and rescue helicopter, treated by Abraham Lincoln’s medical department, and transferred off ship for follow-on care. The Sailor’s family was notified according to standing notification policies.

Numerous media reports also addressed purported food and supply shortages and low morale among the crew. We previously reported on the alleged deteriorating conditions aboard the aircraft carrier, including low supplies of toothpaste, deodorant and soap. In response to those claims, a Navy spokesperson said:

Lincoln is operating in a highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions. In response, leadership prioritized mission-critical supplies: first food, then hygiene items, then mail. Current reports from the ship confirm continuous access to clean water, functional AC, and healthy meal options.

For further reading, Snopes has covered Iranian media outlets’ claim that seven Navy personnel died in a brawl onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis or emotional distress, reach out 24/7 to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) by dialing or texting 988 or using chat services at to connect to a trained crisis counselor.