Yesterday, a report claiming that there had been a violent clash aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, killing seven sailors and wounding many more, emerged from Iranian news media. Tasnim, in a report on its Farsi site, cites an unidentified military source claiming that following widespread protests by the families of the crew of the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, one of the advisors to Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), “entered the ship to calm the tense atmosphere and was booed by the crew as they protested and threw water bottles at him while he was giving a speech to a group of employees.
“This incident led to a clash between the staff and the crew with knives and cold weapons, which resulted in the death of seven crew members and the injury of many more, and the situation on the ship remains tense and unstable,” Tasnim said.
There’s no confirmation of the clash or deaths from non-Iranian sources, but families of crew members say multiple sailors have attempted suicide because of the stresses from a grueling deployment that has no end in sight. In one case, a spouse tearfully told officials that she received a message that same day from her husband saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.” The spouse was speaking at an Aug. 6 “town hall” meeting in San Diego between acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao flanked by two top Navy commanders and about 200 family members of sailors aboard the Lincoln, during which the family members vented at Navy officials for not providing properly for the crew’s needs, reported Stars & Stripes.
