Navy: 8 Suicide Attempts on USS Lincoln Deployment
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Eight suicide attempts across a strike group of 6,000 to 7,000 sailors tracks right in line with the Navy's overall rate, and not a single sailor died. Five chaplains, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, behavioral health technicians and counselors were aboard the Lincoln doing exactly what they were sent to do. Sailors shot down more than 200 Iranian drones and flew over 10,000 missions — that is a crew that answered the call.
Establishment-critical narrative
Eight suicide attempts on one deployment is alarming when a typical carrier strike group sees one or two a year, and pretending otherwise insults every sailor who suffered. More than 250 straight days at sea with no port calls, busted toilets, no hot water and shrinking food rations is neglect. Calling that record deployment "not nearly long enough" shows how little the strain on these crews registers at the top.
