Jaimie Bethea took hundreds of photographs during her 11 months on the USS Fort Lauderdale, images that show a keen eye and add up to a kind of visual diary of daily life while deployed at sea. But a month before the USS Fort Lauderdale returned to Norfolk, Va., in July, the 21-year- old Navy communications specialist died by suicide.
"Nothing matters to me more than my sister," Arianna Calderon, her older sister, told NPR. "Nothing ever has. I lost my world, genuinely. I lost everything, and all I care about now is getting some semblance of justice."
The USS Fort Lauderdale was in the Caribbean, part of the Trump administration's operation around Venezuela. The mission included the capture of Nicholas Maduro and ongoing attacks on boats in the region suspected of carrying drugs, along with earthquake relief.
"It was constantly like getting texts like, 'Guys, you'll never f***ing believe it. We just got extended again,' and I think it happened four times. It's just that uncertainty and promises unfulfilled," Calderon said.
Calderon said they lost their mother three months before the ship deployed. Bethea was given shore duty for a month and she watched her mother die of cancer in a South Carolina hospital. She sought help and the Navy put her on antidepressants.
"Within a few months into her deployment, she was having nightmares about our mom. Definitely, I mean, I'm not a psychologist, but she was definitely experiencing symptoms of PTSD," Bethea's sister said.
The Navy has acknowledged that there has been suicide attempts among sailors, while contending with a pace that has pushed ships into deployments that have lasted nearly a year. Recently, the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln began its journey back to San Diego after spending over eight months at sea during the war with Iran, all without a port visit. The Navy confirmed one person jumped overboard, before being rescued. NPR has not confirmed media reports that other sailors attempted suicide.
The USS Fort Lauderdale, with a crew of 350 sailors, was part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, with a total number of 4,500 sailors and Marines. While carriers and large amphibious ships have dedicated mental health staff on board, most Navy ships do not. The USS Fort Lauderdale relies instead on a doctor and Navy corpsmen for all its medical care. Chaplains also receive some training, including in the Navy's protocol for suicide prevention.
Tiana Cook met Bethea while the two were in marching band together in high school. Cook said the two continued to talk and text nearly every day while Bethea was on the USS Fort Lauderdale. Bethea complained that supplies were tight and she couldn't get her medication consistently during the deployment to the Caribbean, Cook said.
"She would tell me a lot about days where she would just cry when she woke up all a lot, and she would take a lot of naps too from just being exhausted and sad," Cook added in an interview with NPR.
According to a string of texts throughout her deployment to friends and family reviewed by NPR, Bethea wrote that she had been having a panic attack that lasted hours and sought medical help on board. In another text she told friends and family she was surprised how easy it was to walk away from the ship's hospital.
"The last text she sent was around 12:30 a.m., and she said, "I love you guys. I need you to know that. That was it. That was the last I heard from her," Cook said.
She was found early in the morning on June 20. After her death, Cook and say one of her friends on the ship told her and the family that Bethea had previously attempted suicide three months into the deloyment. Calderon says the Navy should have done more.
"There just needed to be some sort of intervention. They should have removed her from the ship," Calderon said.
The Navy has not responded to a list of questions about Bethea's death.
A 2023 Department of Defense Inspector General's report cited a severe shortage in mental health professionals throughout the Navy, including on board ships. After a cluster of suicides on board the carrier USS George Washington in 2022, the Navy vowed to deploy more mental health counselors and practitioners, at least among its larger ships.
After questions emerged about mental health issues on USS Lincoln during its extended deployment in the Middle East, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced a new Suicide Prevention Task Force to take yet another look at Navy practices.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle has also emphasized the need for access to mental health care, while conceding the length of deployments is expected to remain long as the conflict with Iran continues.
Before the destroyer USS Stout left Norfolk this week, Capt. Bryan Carmichael, commodore of Naval Surface Group Mid-Atlantic, said sailors on board were told to have similar expectations.
"We're telling them the same thing," Carmichael said. "Be ready to deploy as long as we need you. What we found is we open up the lines of communication, so to decrease the amount of anxiety that may be associated with it. The sailors understand that the deployments could last up to a year based on some of the recent ones, but they know it could be shorter also."
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 9 8 8 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Copyright 2026 NPR