U.S. President Donald Trump often attacks Democrats as being unsupportive of the military — a claim they aggressively push back against. But five and one-half months into the war with Iran, officers serving in the U.S. Navy are, according to i Paper reporter Simon Marks, feeling increasingly frustrated and feel like Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are turning their backs on them.
"Families say the mental health of sailors is now at immediate risk," Marks reports in the UK-based i Paper. "They reported at least one incident in which a crew member was prevented by his colleagues from jumping overboard."
Marks describes conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a warship where the crew is "plagued with a potentially deadly morale problem."
"Back in April, barely a month into Donald Trump's war with Iran, sailors serving on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier started grousing on social media about dwindling food supplies," Marks explains. "Images sent to spouses and parents were leaked to the media and appeared to support claims that the ship's supplies were coming under growing pressure. Some 'meals' consisted of little more than a handful of boiled carrots and two dried-out slices of unidentifiable meat. Sailors aboard the nearby USS Tripoli were also lodging similar complaints. At the time, Hegseth denied any problems existed, claiming that the vessels had more than 30 days of food supplies for their crews ... But four months later, the crisis has intensified."
Marks, noting recent reporting from the Stars and Stripes, points out that families of U.S. Navy members addressed their worries during a recent town hall event in San Diego.
"Families reportedly warned Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao that they were increasingly fearful of suicides among the men and women serving aboard the carrier, which has been at sea for more than 250 consecutive days, more than 40 of them engaged in combat with Iran," Marks writes. "Last month, the Lincoln set a new record, having spent longer continuously at sea without a port call than any U.S. aircraft carrier in history…. The 5000 men and women aboard the carrier say food and basic hygiene supplies are running low, physical and mental exhaustion is setting in, and letters and care packages sent from home have failed to reach the ship for months."
A U.S. Navy member quoted in the Stars and Stripes warned, "Our mental health and physical health is in danger. We need help."