Eight US Navy sailors deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln during the Iran war attempted suicide, the acting secretary of the service claimed. 

More than 6,000 sailors were on board the vessel for 280 days before docking in September amid complaints of brutal conditions during the record-setting deployment. 

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, who has been nominated for the full time position by Donald Trump, confirmed the attempts in a letter written Tuesday responding to questions from Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about the vessel's conditions. 

None of those attempts, which consist of sailors from several ships traveling with one another, ended in deaths, Cao told Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Armed Services committee.   

'Since the beginning of Lincoln's deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group,' he wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Daily Mail Wednesday night. 

There had been multiple reports during the deployment of some sailors opting to jump from the ship as a way out, according to their distraught loved ones. 

'This number includes the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier airwing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons.' 

In the most recent year in which the Pentagon released suicide data, 2024, there were 356 suicide attempts among the 337,000 active sailors. 

'Additionally, one sailor attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by his shipmates. That sailor was also provided immediate medical care and subsequently returned to homeport,' Cao added. 

A US military official told CNN the number was 'incredibly high.' 

Cao said that a bipartisan Congressional delegation will embark on the USS Abraham Lincoln when it returns home as part of an investigation.

'What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as 'fake news' turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members,' Senator Gillibrand told The Daily Mail. 

'Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect. That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable.' 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Navy for comment. A spokesperson for the Pentagon referred us back to the Navy. 

Changes are already being made as the Pentagon took notice to the toll being placed on sailors during the extended military deployment.

The US Navy announced tweaks to onboard operations as the military prepares the next aircraft carrier for deployment after complaints of brutal conditions.

The USS Abraham Lincoln patrol included 280 days at sea and 200 in combat zones, playing a crucial role in Operation Epic Fury and the US blockade of Iranian ports.  

During their time at sea, sailors onboard reportedly faced alarming conditions that family members said led some service members to experience mental health crises. 

As the ship now heads home, US Navy officials made a point to thank the crew members for their service while signaling a series of changes being implemented going forward. 

'You answered the call, you got the job done and just as importantly, the lessons you bring home are helping us better prepare the next team to deploy,' Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman said.

Perryman and Admiral Daryl Caudle added that families should prepare for a longer deployment when the USS Theodore Roosevelt departs from its home port of San Diego. 

The decision to do so comes as the Defense Secretary extended troop deployments in the Middle East, including for warship crews, air defense units and paratroopers. 

The Roosevelt will carry extra supplies and at the same time, the Navy is 'focused on quality of life' issues.

Crew members are also 'converting available spaces into additional storage, building the ability to remain self-sufficient for longer periods, especially when resupply may be difficult,' Perryman announced.

'That means new entertainment equipment on the mess decks, more durable fitness equipment, spare cardio machines ready for our replacement, and even holiday materials purchased ahead of time,' said Caudle.

Additionally, efforts are underway to provide families with 'reliable, consistent communication throughout the deployment,' the admiral said.

'Small things matter during a long deployment because taking care of our sailors is part of maintaining combat readiness,' Perryman concluded.

'As one carrier returns home, we listen to its sailors and families. We capture what worked and what didn't and we make it better the next time.

'To the Lincoln team, thank you for what you accomplished and for what you taught us,' he continued. 'And to the Roosevelt team, we're doing everything we can to make sure you are ready for the mission, for you and your families.' 

The sailors described to the Wall Street Journal how they had to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week amid cramped conditions.

They had been allocated extra time off after their deployment was extended beyond its original end date in May, and crew members tried to keep up morale with activities such as spelling bees or lip-syncing competitions.

But at times, their meal portions became smaller to ensure there would be sufficient rations as the fighting made resupplying the vessels more difficult.

Sailors also said that early on in the deployment, the WiFi onboard the ship was turned off for nearly two months for operational security, which made it more difficult to communicate with friends and family back home.

Despite these challenges, the sailors said they were proud of what they accomplished – including shooting down more than 200 Iranian drones and flying more than 10,000 operational missions. 

Since the beginning of the war in Iran, reports have surfaced of food shortages and rationing aboard the Lincoln, accompanied by photographs of sailors' meals. 

Sailors aboard the Lincoln are also said to have endured moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry outages and long stretches without hot water.

The wife of one even described the ship as a 'floating metal prison' with appalling conditions, claiming her sailor husband described the experience aboard the aircraft carrier stationed in the Middle East as 'the worst deployment he's ever been on.'