One text message read: “i think the boat is finally getting to me and i really dont think i can keep up my peace act anymore, you are right about it all not being okay, we were supposed to leave 5th fleet on july 15th but then something had to come up and my last hope of being home soon was gone, im really trying to not feel negative or hopeless but between the wifi and not knowing when i will come home and not knowing what is happening back at home, its really getting me, i dont think i can do another deployment after this and i dont even know if i can finish this deployment.”

The wife said her husband went to his chain of command and the medical team on the ship and expressed concerns about his mental health, and reportedly told them he was not doing OK. The wife said her husband said they kept brushing him off.

She also said her husband expressed concern that his prescription contact lenses had expired and that he was having trouble seeing and doing his job properly. He works on helicopters on the carrier’s flight deck, and told her he believes it had led to accidents there.

“Every single time he would make a mistake, they would yell at him, and he would get into a lot of trouble,” she said. “He would explain to them that he can’t see because his prescription was expired, but they still allowed him to work.” Navy officials said they could not comment on the specific medical conditions of sailors.

The young couple, who are both 19 years old, met when they were in middle school, and share a 5-month-old baby girl, who was born while he was deployed on the Lincoln, and a 3 1/2-year-old son. She told MS NOW she hasn’t been able to process all of this because she is busy with her kids and does not want to break down in front of them.

She said her husband joined the Navy “because we had had our son at a very young age,” and “he wanted to be able to provide.” She said he has been enlisted for two years.

Damn.