A 19-year-old sailor who leapt from the USS Abraham Lincoln in what has been described as an apparent suicide attempt earlier this month is now facing disciplinary action from Donald Trump’s Navy after spending months stuck at sea during the Iran war.
The servicemember, who is married and has two young children, is being subjected to non-judicial punishment for alleged violations of the military code, his wife said, according to charging documents reviewed by MS NOW.
According to the account, the sailor went overboard during a mental health crisis, apparently trying to drown himself as conditions aboard the aircraft carrier continued to worsen.
Crew members on the Lincoln have reportedly been living with mold in showers, malfunctioning toilets, laundry service failures, limited food supplies and extended periods without hot water.
Navy charging documents accuse the sailor of “intentionally faking an illness or hurting themselves to avoid work, duty or service.” A separate allegation says he did not report to his assigned place of duty during the mental health episode.
“I think they’re insane for doing this to people who need mental help,” the sailor’s wife told MS NOW. “Instead of giving them help, this is just another huge stressor.”
She said her husband had repeatedly asked for paternity leave so he could meet his newborn daughter for the first time, but every request was denied. His case is now set to be handled at a “captain’s mast,” where his commanding officer could withhold up to half of his pay, according to the documents.
The sailor was pulled from the water after going overboard on August 3 and was medically evacuated, his wife said. He returned to San Diego 10 days later.
The 19-year-old US servicemember, a married father of two children, faces non-judicial punishment for violating the military code, according to his wife and charging documents. Earlier this month, he hurled himself overboard in an apparent attempt to drown during a mental health crisis as living conditions aboard the ship deteriorated
Since the start of Trump’s war, reports have surfaced of food shortages and rationing aboard the Lincoln, accompanied by grim images of sailors’ meals
The Lincoln has spent more than 250 consecutive days at sea, with conditions worsening after the Iran war diverted the carrier to the Middle East
Sailors aboard the Lincoln are said to have endured moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry outages, food shortages and long stretches without hot water
He then spent five days at Naval Medical Center San Diego, known locally as Balboa, where staff monitored his vital signs but never had him evaluated by a psychiatrist or therapist, she said.
He was ordered back to work immediately after his release and did not receive his first therapy session until this Wednesday, nearly two weeks after arriving home.
The Navy is pursuing the case through non-judicial punishment, an internal disciplinary process generally used for lower-level misconduct that avoids a formal court-martial and criminal conviction.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
The Lincoln has spent more than 250 consecutive days at sea, with conditions worsening after the Iran war diverted the carrier to the Middle East.
An Iranian attack destroyed a crucial supply hub in Bahrain, forcing provisions to travel 2,200 miles from Diego Garcia.
Amid mounting public outcry, the Navy is sending additional counselors and social workers to the Lincoln, while giving its exhausted crew a rest-and-recovery stop in Thailand next week before the carrier returns home.
The Navy also dispatched the USS George Washington from Japan to take over the Lincoln’s mission in the Middle East.
Pete Hegseth has waved off concerns about the USS Lincoln’s living conditions for troops as a complete mischaracterization
Both Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have repeatedly denied reports of severe conditions aboard the Lincoln.
While taking questions from reporters earlier this month, the president dismissed concerns from sailors’ families before declaring the Lincoln’s record deployment was ‘not nearly long enough.’
Hegseth called reports of poor conditions ‘completely misrepresented’ and insisted the Navy gives every crew ‘everything we can provide them at every single moment.’
A bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers, meanwhile, has demanded greater oversight and transparency over living conditions aboard the carrier.
