Cracks in the Carrier: 30 US Sailors Reportedly Attempt Suicide Aboard USS Lincoln

Collapsing morale and supply chain failures expose the limits of US military overextension.

A startling revelation has emerged about the deteriorating conditions aboard US naval vessels, highlighting the hidden human and logistical costs of Washington’s prolonged military confrontations in the Middle East.

During a recent broadcast of The Great Standoff: Iran and the World on Al Mayadeen, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson and University of Tehran professor Mohammad Marandi painted a stark picture of a US military increasingly strained by its own overreach—and an Iran that is steadily preparing to seize the strategic initiative.

The Human Cost: Collapsing Morale Aboard US Warships

While initial media reports casually mentioned that six sailors had attempted to jump overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln, Johnson revealed a far more alarming reality. Citing a recently retired US military officer, Johnson stated that the true number of suicide attempts is likely closer to 30.

This psychological breaking point is not an isolated incident. It is the direct result of deteriorating conditions aboard US vessels, including severe shortages of food and personal hygiene supplies, malfunctioning sanitation systems, and deepening despair among personnel. “The longer this goes on, the more it wears on the personal morale of individual soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen,” Johnson warned, emphasising that these crises extend across all branches of the US military.

The Supply Chain Illusion: US Dependence on Chinese Manufacturing

Beyond personnel pressures, the US military is facing a structural nightmare: it is heavily dependent on its primary strategic adversary for the very materials needed to wage war.

Johnson highlighted that nearly 80% of US weapons systems are exposed to Chinese supply chains. Critical materials required to manufacture advanced munitions—including Tomahawk and JASSM cruise missiles, PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot systems, and THAAD missiles—are controlled by Beijing. This reliance leaves Washington vulnerable to severe production bottlenecks as it struggles to replenish advanced weapons deployed in the region.

Logistical Nightmares and the “Economic Tsunami”

The US Navy’s ability to sustain its forward-deployed forces is also rapidly declining. The number of fast combat support ships available to resupply aircraft carriers, destroyers, and cruisers has dropped considerably over the past decade. Compounding this issue, Iranian strikes on warehouses in Bahrain and Oman—previously used to resupply US forces—have further crippled American logistical networks.

Meanwhile, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is sending shockwaves through the global economy. Johnson compared the situation to the receding water before a tsunami, warning that the disruption of diesel and aviation fuel flows is already being masked only by the drawing down of strategic petroleum reserves. “Those reserves cannot be depleted indefinitely,” Johnson noted. “The economic realities are going to hit the United States hard, and the consequences will be global.”

Marandi echoed this, pointing out that rising gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices will place unbearable pressure on an already fragile US economy, fueling domestic opposition to endless military adventurism.

Tehran’s Strategic Shift: Preparing to Go on the Offensive

While the US grapples with internal decay and logistical paralysis, Iran is demonstrating profound national resilience. Marandi emphasised that the Iranian population, viewing itself as the victim of an illegal war aimed at destroying the country, possesses a far greater capacity to endure hardship than the American public.

More importantly, Tehran is no longer content to merely absorb pressure. Marandi pointed to the appointment of Major General Mohsen Rezaei as the chair of the Supreme National Security Council and the representative of the Supreme Leader in that council as a definitive signal: Iran is preparing to go on the offensive.

Johnson echoed this assessment, noting that Rezaei’s decades of experience in building the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) into a central pillar of Iran’s national security apparatus should be taken very seriously by US intelligence.

“War is war,” Marandi concluded. “But Iran is determined to make sure that Washington fails, not only with regard to Iran, but also across the region in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq.”

The Bottom Line

Time is no longer on the side of the United States. Between collapsing troop morale, fragile supply chains, and an “economic tsunami” brewing in the Gulf, the foundations of US military dominance in the region are cracking. As Iran consolidates its alliances and prepares to press its advantage, the era of unchallenged American aggression is meeting its inevitable limits.

Reference: Al-Mayadeen