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Karoline Leavitt Leaving White House; Mental Health Burdens of Extended Military Deployments?. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 13, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:01:38]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: Two soldiers are dead after their Apache helicopter crashed into a field. Investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong here.

Plus, new information about that secret flight to keep the president, his staff, and members of the press safe after a reported threat from Iran.

And, as first responders search for survivors of that deadly Colombian earthquake, people who have lost everything are trying to figure out how their lives will go on. We will speak with an organization answering their desperate calls for help.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Will Blitzer has the day off. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we begin this hour with the breaking news. A U.S. official tells me that, last month, a sailor on the USS Abraham Lincoln went overboard. That official says the sailor was quickly rescued from the waters and was medically evaluated. The official goes on to say that the circumstances are not immediately clear, and it's unclear if that sailor returned to duty or was evacuated from the ship.

But all of this comes as CNN has learned that several Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers after families of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln expressed major concerns about deteriorating living conditions and worsening mental health amid a record number of days at sea.

Several outlets, including "The Military Times," report that there have been multiple crew members who have tried to jump overboard, citing interviews with sailors and families. The USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego in November. It's home to roughly 5,000 sailors, Marines. You also have the air wing with the pilots.

It's been away for more than 250 days. That's a record deployment amid the war with Iran, given the limited regular port calls. Last month, I had the opportunity to spend a few days aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as it sailed through the Arabian Sea, and I was able to see firsthand the living conditions on board the ship and speak with several sailors about their experience and the psychological toll.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What have been some of the challenges being out here at sea for so many consecutive days?

BOATSWAIN'S MATE SEAMAN BRYAN CAMACHO, U.S. NAVY: Honestly, the only thing challenging is in, like, mental challenges, like, trying to manage my sleep, stuff like that.

BROWN: What are you most looking forward to when you get home?

CAMACHO: Oh, seeing my family, my brother, my dad, and my mom.

BROWN: What do you want American people to know about you and the other sailors on board this ship and the work you're doing?

CAMACHO: Don't be scared. You're part of the best Navy and you're going to be safe.

LT. CMDR. JOE CAPSTAFF, U.S. NAVY: It's something hard. I think there are some resources now that help out a lot. I think the Wi-Fi has been huge.

BROWN: Yes.

CAPSTAFF: Obviously, it's tough. We're doing operational stuff. You've got to kind of bring that down. But being able to text my wife every day, get pictures, it's been huge.

AO3 BRIAN SCHOENBORN, U.S. NAVY: I miss both my daughters, Everly (ph) and Eloise (ph). My daughter turned 4 while I was out here. And I have an almost 2-year-old back home. So, I miss both of them.

AVERY WINGER, U.S. NAVY: I miss my family, and I'm ready to go home. It's like -- you know when you wake up and you're like, this is like another day? It's like, oh, my God, again, you know?

BROWN: Does that feel like Groundhog Day?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's Groundhog Day literally every single day, same thing every day, yes.

RANDALL STONE, U.S. NAVY: I wish I could tell you it's a blast, but it's pretty repetitive work.

[11:05:00]

So, it's hard, you know, it's hard in your mental state, you know, to sea for eight months without being on dry land. It takes a toll on you. You have to mind your P's and Q's even when the days are long and you're not running on a lot of sleep. Sometimes, the sleep is rough out here. You try to rest as much as you can. I hope one day we can make it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: They will make it back. I told them they will make it back to land. When that will be is unclear.

With us now are Navy veteran Natalie Oliverio, Pentagon correspondent for "The Military Times," and Keith Hotle, CEO of Stop Soldier Suicide.

Good morning to you both.

Natalie, I want to go to you first. I want to read the statement that a U.S. official gave me and then discuss on the other side of it.

So, this statement says -- quote -- "We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. We take every service member's well-being seriously and have religious, medical, and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise."

You have some new reporting that talks about multiple USS Abraham Lincoln sailors who have tried to go overboard during this extended deployment, according to their family members, including a woman who said her husband had some issues and was put on medical hold. So talk to me about all of that, if you would.

NATALIE OLIVERIO, "THE MILITARY TIMES": Thanks so much for having me, Pamela, and thank you for covering this important story.

The families are hearing alarming reports from their loved ones, attempts that were unsuccessful, thankfully. However, the underlying reason why sailors are being pushed past their threshold is the real question.

So, the response from the Navy, citing that there has been no increase in attempts, but we're unsure of what that baseline looks like, what's the window of reporting and where were we before we didn't see an increase?

So I fully believe that the sailors' well-being is the utmost importance. And combat operations definitely make that more complex, as you well know. However, these families don't know that. They don't get a manual on how to process, how to deal with the fear of deployment on its own.

Then getting a phone call that your spouse reached their breaking point is absolutely terrifying for these family members.

BROWN: Oh, absolutely.

And I have been hearing from a lot of the family members as well from my time on board and after, and they want their loved ones home, right?

Keith, when I was on the Lincoln, I was just struck by how honest these sailors were. I -- when I was there, it actually crossed the threshold into setting the record for the longest days at sea without a typical port visit.

And so pretty much all the sailors I spoke to, I asked them, how is the morale? How are you doing? How tough is it to be out here for so long at sea? So let's take a listen to what some of them said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: How do you keep the morale up when you have to do work like that feels repetitive day in, day out? You have been at sea for so long.

STONE: Thank you. That's a that's a great question.

And, actually, I would say morale's pretty low, and not just in the division, like, in the ship entirely, you know? Personally, what helps me is, I go to the gym. I'm trying to better myself every day, but it's hard.

SCHOENBORN: Each deployment, it comes with its different challenges. You know, first deployment is about 8.5 months. We didn't have Wi-Fi at first, right? We hit four ports. Second deployment, we got Wi-Fi, but no ports. And this one's been kind of the same.

Each deployment, like I said, different challenges.

BROWN: It's been the longest deployment in terms of consecutive days, I'm told. So very short port visits not equaling a full day means all of these days at sea. What has that been like?

SCHOENBORN: Yes, just getting a brief stop in Guam early on in deployment and then this last stop. I had duty the first day, so I didn't to get off the first day, and, second day, just had a handful hours.

So I felt like the first port visit, but it's been -- it's been, I think, an OK deployment for the most part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So you see there, there are different reactions based on folks I spoke to.

And I will say one of the differences that was pointed out in almost every interview was the fact that they do have Wi-Fi. It's not always great. They are at sea, but that is a difference in this deployment.

I'm wondering, Keith, what factors about a deployment contribute to this feeling of burnout? And how common is it to hear about service members trying to end their lives while on their deployment, particularly one like this, where they're on an aircraft carrier out at sea for so long?

KEITH HOTLE, CEO, STOP SOLDIER SUICIDE: Yes, I think it's terrible to hear these stories about low morale and some of the family stories.

[11:10:02]

But I would say it's entirely expected when you consider the environment under which they're operating. I mean, it's a fraught situation to be on an aircraft carrier with 5,000 people largely confined below decks, with your sleep being disrupted, anxiety. I mean, It's a risk factor, in and of itself.

And then when you consider some of the reporting around the shipboard conditions and the lack of food and some of the other challenges they're going through, I think that really creates an environment where you would expect morale to be low. You would expect anxiety and mental challenges to rise and then suicidal ideation and behaviors as well.

And I think one of the amplifying factors in all this is, as you noted in the intro, the length of this deployment and the amount of time at sea, certainly, even on a big ship, you feel isolated from family. You lack that kind of constant support. You're homesick.

And then I think one of the other confounding factors is simply the fact they don't know when they're coming home.

BROWN: Yes.

HOTLE: And so that kind of uncertainty can create a situation where you feel really helpless and despairing, and that really is, know, a red flag for suicide risk.

BROWN: And I actually talked to some of the -- those in charge on board, and they told me that they had learned -- they had said before that we're going to come home by this date or this date, and then they surpassed that. And so they didn't want to give false hope again. That was sort of a lesson that they learned.

But the uncertainty is really tough. They also tell me about the resources they have. I saw some of them when I was on board, the Abraham Lincoln. They say they have a chaplain, several chaplains actually. They have a psychologist. They have this therapy dog. His name is Captain Fathom, and he was adorable.

HOTLE: Right.

BROWN: I had the privilege of meeting him right here, as you see.

How much has the navy stepped up in terms of offering those mental health resources on board these aircraft carriers, and where do you see the gaps, Keith?

HOTLE: Well, I mean, I think across all the different branches, they're doing the best they can in terms of offering mental health support and resources.

I would flag, though, for those in service, raising your hand and identifying yourself at risk, there's a stigma around that and there's also fear of what those repercussions might look like, even though your leadership may be reassuring you that everything is confidential and it won't affect your job or your privileges.

So I would say, if I could charge the military with more, it's just recognizing that being mentally well is part of being mission-ready, and trying to bring to bear some of the resources that can help these individual sailors and soldiers in the other branches to be able to deal with that stress when the moment comes and you're really struggling with things.

And there are practices and mindfulness and things that you could actually learn that are skills to get you through those really difficult times.

BROWN: And, Natalie, I want to bring you back into this conversation because you have been talking to so many family members. I spoke to several sailors and pilots who have had children born during this deployment that they have never met.

Let's take a listen to one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What kind of toll does that take on you personally?

CAPSTAFF: It's tough. Like I said, I had my first kid born in February.

BROWN: Oh, wow.

CAPSTAFF: So I'm very excited to get home and meet her.

BROWN: You have never met your daughter?

CAPSTAFF: Nope.

BROWN: She was born right around when this conflict started.

CAPSTAFF: Luckily, she was born February 6, so I was able to get on FaceTime, watch the birth, talk to my wife before everything went down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So that's obviously been a dynamic, Natalie. I'm wondering what you're hearing from the family members when it comes to just children being born, their loved ones not meeting them.

And, also, I do -- I want to get your reaction to what this U.S. official told me today, in terms of the length of the deployment. This person I spoke to said that actual -- actually, when you look at the data that they have -- and, again, not everything is reported to them, but what they have reported is that suicidal ideations have actually gone down, not up.

So, this official basically said that typically right after the a ship leaves port, there's an increase in the number of suicidal ideations, and then they go down, and that is the trend they have seen on the Abraham Lincoln. I want to get your reaction to that as well.

[11:15:01]

OLIVERIO: That's interesting as a data point. I would love to see the actual math behind that metric. That's definitely interesting. I think one major point that seems lost on a lot of people, this is not just a story about a deployment being extended. It's not just about sailing towards nine months of being deployed.

It's that those sailors have not had their boots on the ground in any capacity since December 12 of last year, a short stop in Guam, and every day since then has been at sea. That is something that people can hardly understand.

At 10:00 p.m., when taps call, it goes dark, red lights only. You have watertight doors throughout. So the hallways are not only interior. You're opening and closing times four every time you go through a different hallway. There is a loss of time, sense of reality as far as what day it is, what's the weather like. A lot of the sailors don't see the sky on a regular day-to-day basis.

These are the things that are hard to understand unless you have literally lived it. So when measuring the flow, the lulls, the highs of suicidal ideation or measuring the last time there was an attempt, I'm not sure that we have full transparency in how those data points are constructed.

And I can tell you, I cannot imagine a mother, a child, a spouse not being together for such a long time. I do know from Shelby Sanders (ph) that she's really struggling going into her senior year of high school. She hasn't got her homecoming dress. She was waiting for her mom to take her. She didn't do her senior pictures yet.

And maybe these are First World privileges and ancillary luxuries, but she's 17 years old going into her senior year. We don't understand the level of resilience that military kids and military families have, but just because they have it doesn't mean they want it.

BROWN: I think that's a really good point.

And I also want to point out they did have a very brief stop at Duqm. They were limited to that area, but it was cut short because of the conflict escalating again. So they didn't get the time they thought they were going to have in July.

And, also, to your point about some of them not seeing the sky, what I found interesting was that some of the enlisted sailors, they're not allowed on the air wing. They don't go on the air wing, which is where you see the flights take off and a lot of the action on the ship happens.

So it was really interesting being on board, and I'm really glad that you both could come on to have this conversation to shed further light on the psychological toll on our service members out at sea on deployment. Thank you both.

OLIVERIO: Thank you.

BROWN: And if you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, including depression or suicidal thoughts, help is always available. You can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit them online at 988lifeline.org.

We will be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:22:40]

BROWN: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM.

Another shakeup in the Trump administration. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will be leaving her post by the end of the month.

CNN's Alayna Treene has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Donald Trump is losing his chief messenger. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, announced on Wednesday that she is going to be departing the role at the end of the month.

Now, this is arguably a major loss for this White House and particularly for the president himself. Karoline Leavitt is a part of a very small group of loyal and trusted advisers that serve the president. She's often part of the most sensitive conversations that involve him.

She's also someone that he trusts greatly, and she often has his ear on a number of important issues. It's also a role that has been a key one for this White House and one that the president really struggled to fill in the beginning when thinking about who he wanted to be the person to go and speak from the podium.

Now, both the president and Leavitt posted lengthy statements about her departure on social media, and the reason they gave for her leaving was so that she could spend more time with her family. I'd note that Leavitt actually had her second child, a daughter, born on May 1. She only took about a month of maternity leave before coming back to the White House.

And through the course of my reporting and speaking with sources, they told me that, even then, even when she was out on her short maternity leave, the president would often call her up, trying to check in with her and at times even asked when she was coming back, so clearly a very demanding job for the press secretary here.

Another thing I think to keep in mind is the timing of this decision. It's only three months until the midterm elections. That's a very difficult time to lose your chief messenger. So, unclear as of Wednesday evening who would be replacing her.

I will say I spoke with some White House staffers who said that they were surprised at the decision and also that there was no immediate realization, no immediate plans on who would be the one to replace her. So we will be standing tuned to see who is going to fill her shoes.

Alayna Treene, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Up next: President Trump's health, a prominent cardiologist says he has questions.

[11:25:00]

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, there are some new details coming into THE SITUATION ROOM about the effort to get President Trump safely out of Turkey amid an Iranian security threat.

Multiple news outlets reported this week that he secretly switched planes, shuttling on a catering truck to a smaller aircraft before departing the NATO summit last month. Now a source tells CNN that fighter jets accompanied both planes, the original Air Force One without President Trump aboard and the plane he snuck onto.

And we're also learning who was on each aircraft. Several close personal aides joined the president aboard the smaller plane, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stayed on the larger decoy plane, along with other staff and White House press corps, unaware of the ruse.