For the second time in a month, family members and sailors pressed top Navy officials for answers about the health and well-being of troops facing record-long deployments, such as the USS Abraham Lincoln.
During a carefully orchestrated town hall Monday at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle, the highest-ranking Naval officer, took questions about mental health among sailors, increasingly long deployments such as the one the Lincoln has faced and retention in the Navy.
Caudle acknowledged the challenges that come with lengthy tours at sea, but he said the Navy should expect more long deployments until it can build more ships.
He said the Navy is working to address the supply shortages and mental health issues that the Lincoln has faced on its tour that was repeatedly extended to fight the war with Iran.
Caudle said the Navy understands the importance of port calls that give sailors and Marines on aircraft carriers the time to “relax” and “rejuvenate,” and also get the carrier back up to speed again with needed maintenance.
The Navy is looking at what a port call in the Arabian Gulf region would look like so future carriers deployed in the region can have those opportunities the Lincoln did not have, Caudle said.
A major challenge sailors on the Lincoln had faced was not knowing when they would be back at their home port in San Diego.
“It is the uncertainty of the end date that I think is the biggest hardship,” Caudle said. “I think when sailors know how long they’re going to be away from family, they go plan their lives to that.”
A sailor in the town hall who was selected to ask a question described mental health challenges in the Navy as an “occupational hazard” and described knowing other sailors who have attempted to die by suicide, including one sailor who did die by suicide.
The sailor said the Navy has “made great strides” to help service members, but has also “stumbled occasionally,” and asked how Navy leaders plan to continue to make progress on mental health issues and ensure all sailors stay safe.
Caudle said the Navy tries to make sailors “as resilient personally as possible” during boot camp, which can help “improve warrior toughness in general.”
Operationally, the Navy works to ensure sailors have a “spectrum of care” once they get to the fleet that includes health technicians such as psychologists and psychiatrists, as well as chaplains, Caudle said.
Caudle also said he wants to strategically work to “remove friction” in sailors’ lives, helping with everyday stressors that may arise such as “daycare” or “things that we can do for your family and spouse.”
The town hall was streamed by the military on various social media platforms.
Caudle and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman, the Navy’s senior enlisted member, spoke to service members and Navy spouses gathered in person inside an auditorium at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, as well as service members joining virtually from Navy duty stations around the world, including Yokosuka, Japan; Rota, Spain; and Guam.
It is not clear how or why each specific service member was chosen to ask a question.
The measured tone of Monday’s town hall stood in stark contrast to the raucous, emotionally charged meeting on Aug. 6 in San Diego.
In that meeting, Navy leaders told family members the Lincoln would not be back home until December. Family members shouted down Acting U.S. Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao over the conditions sailors were facing aboard the ship.
Days after MS NOW reported on the boisterous confrontation and the shortages and mental strain sailors were facing, the Navy changed its plans, sending a different carrier to replace the Lincoln and turning the Lincoln toward home.
Questions about mental health
Family members of loved ones aboard aircraft carriers such as the Lincoln have expressed concerns to MS NOW for their service members’ mental health due to extended deployments and conditions aboard the carrier.
One sailor aboard the Lincoln jumped overboard in August in what his wife describes as a suicide attempt. The sailor is currently facing disciplinary charges over the attempt, which has raised questions about the military’s handling of mental health.
During Monday’s town hall, Master Chief Perryman said he is a member of the Navy’s “suicide prevention task force,” and that Navy leaders are looking at existing programs to evaluate which ones are working and which ones are not, as part of “efforts to get after some of the mental health issues in the fleet.”
Perryman noted, “We’ve been throwing a bunch of different things at mental health to try to solve them, and never really took a look at it holistically.”
Addressing long deployments
The Lincoln left its home port of San Diego on Nov. 21 and has been extended twice due to the ongoing war with Iran, surpassing the typical deployment length of seven months.
One sailor in the town hall, joining virtually from Rota, Spain, asked Navy leaders about the long and difficult deployment the sailors and Marines aboard the Lincoln have faced, asking if there are any plans in place to prevent or prepare for future deployments.
Caudle said he would like to keep deployment lengths limited to seven months, but until the Navy can build more ships, he thinks longer deployments are going to become more frequent.
Last week, Caudle told reporters in Norfolk, Virginia, that the Navy is looking into port calls in Kenya and India for carrier strike groups that are deployed in the war with Iran, as a safe place away from striking distance of Iranian missiles.
The Lincoln set a modern-era record for most continuous days at sea, 208, after making only two short port calls during its grueling nine-month deployment — one in Guam on Dec. 11 and another on July 7, when it briefly pulled into Oman.
Caudle said the Navy is a “learning organization” that has looked at the USS Gerald R. Ford — which recently set the record for longest total carrier deployment including port calls — and the Lincoln’s deployment “to understand what we can do to actually make those more effective.”
He cited “early learning” from the Lincoln on logistical processes, saying the situation is now in a good place for future carriers who may enter the region when it comes to ensuring they have proper supply parts and hygiene products to sustain both the aircraft carrier and its accompanying vessels.
The Navy leaders were also asked to address the perception that service members are committing war crimes and whether the military was having a hard time convincing sailors to sign up for additional tours.
One of the Navy spouses, who also volunteers as a liaison between Navy leaders and military families, said that while trick-or-treating with her children, a neighbor asked whether her husband — who was deployed as part of Operation Southern Spear, the military mission that has blown up alleged drug-smuggling boats over the past year — was going to stand trial for war crimes.
Describing the charged atmosphere of politics and social media, she asked what is the best way to combat disinformation with our families. Caudle noted people are going to say things online, and said the best way to figure out what is happening is to have strong communication with their service member.
Joining virtually from Naples, Italy, one sailor asked how senior leadership is measuring accountability across all commands to ensure honest feedback leads to meaningful resolution rather than dismissal.
Caudle cited a need for transparency and “good culture” to be developed on board from leadership down, so people feel they can voice any concern, complaint or issue and have it addressed “robustly, honestly and transparently.”
Another sailor who attended the town hall in person asked what Navy leaders would say to young sailors considering whether to reenlist.
Caudle responded that right now, the Navy is being utilized around the world and gives sailors an opportunity to be part of a combat team, but acknowledged that extended deployments and quality of life especially for families was a challenge that the Navy needed to improve to retain its force.
Selena Kuznikov contributed reporting.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
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