India, Aug. 16 -- More than 5,000 American sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln have spent over 250 consecutive days at sea, the longest stretch without a port call by a US carrier in the modern era.

Multiple sailors have tried to jump overboard, according to reports by Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, two publications that closely cover the US military. Families have told US lawmakers of crumbling morale, and one sailor's wife said he had texted her that he "hopes he doesn't wake up tomorrow".

The crisis, unfolding as the US war with Iran keeps extending Lincoln's deployment, has put into focus what months of confinement, motion, disrupted sleep and isolation actually do to a person.

The Lincoln left Sa...