As if this story weren't horrific enough, it just took an even uglier turn. As we've discussed here, with Trump and Whiskey Pete failing our Sailors and Marines so miserably that we're seeing our troops throwing themselves off of the sides of aircraft carriers, which, of course, has been dismissed by Dear Leader, Republicans, and their enablers on their right-wing propaganda network Fox.
Now they're going after the Sailor who threw himself off the side of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
As Chris Hayes explained in the segment above:
HAYES: We've all been involved in following the story of the American aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, the conditions for the Navy sailors on board. That ship has been deployed for nine months straight at sea. It left San Diego in November 2025. It has been in the Mediterranean since Trump started this debacle war with Iran.
Its deployment has been extended multiple times, and reports from the families of sailors have been absolutely harrowing, both the physical conditions and their mental health.
Well, tonight, MSNOW has new exclusive reporting on the Sailor who earlier this month jumped off the side of the aircraft carrier, and how the Navy is going after a sailor who served aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
MSNOW is reporting the wife of that Sailor saying he is now being punished by the Navy for his attempted suicide. The wife, was granted anonymity for privacy, said her husband is facing non-judicial punishment for violating articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The charging documents, which have been reviewed by MSNOW, show the Sailor has been accused of violating Article 83 for malingering, which is defined as a service member, "intentionally faking an illness or hurting themselves to avoid work, duty or service."
The Navy is also charging the Sailor with violating Article 86 for "absence without leave," which means the service member failed to be at their required place of duty without proper authority.
Now, according to the charging documents, the Sailor could end up losing half his normal pay. When asked about the decision to discipline a sailor for suicide attempts, a Navy official said "The Navy is fully committed to the health and well-being of every Sailor."
The wife told MSNOW, "I think they're insane for doing this to people who need mental health help. Instead of giving them help. This is just another huge stressor."
Hayes followed up with one of the reporters that broke the story. Here's more from that article: Navy sailor who jumped off USS Lincoln faces disciplinary charges:
The couple, who are both 19, share a 3½-year-old son and welcomed a daughter in February, while the Sailor was deployed. His wife said he has repeatedly requested paternity leave and been denied each time.
Her husband jumped overboard on Aug. 3, she said, and was medically evacuated and returned to San Diego on Aug. 13, where he then spent five days at Naval Medical Center San Diego, known as Balboa. During that stay, she said medical staff monitored his vital signs, but he did not see a psychiatrist or a therapist. He was told to report back to work immediately after his release. His first therapy appointment came on Aug. 26, nearly two weeks after he arrived back in San Diego.
The Sailor is now facing non-judicial punishment, which is typically used by commanders to reprimand service members for minor rule-breaking. It also allows them to avoid a more formal and lengthy court-martial process, which could result in an official conviction.
The Sailor will ultimately end up in what’s called a “captain’s mast,” where a commanding officer will decide the punishment. According to the charging documents, the Sailor could end up losing half their normal pay.
The handling of the suicide attempt by the Navy is raising serious questions about how mental health is dealt with in the military, especially as deployments are hitting record lengths.
So much for "respecting our troops." Trump and Hegseth are destroying our military. Add this disgusting debacle to the reporting that there is a "skyrocketing" number of troops that want out of Hegseth's military. Who can blame them?
