Greater than 200 sailors moved off aircraft carrier after multiple suicides

The sailors are shifting to a local Navy installation as the nuclear-powered aircraft service continues to undergo a years-long refueling and overhaul process on the shipyard in Newport Information in Virginia. Over the past 12 months, seven members of the crew have died, including four by suicide, prompting the Navy to open an investigation into the command climate and tradition on board the Nimitz-class carrier.

The commanding officer of the carrier, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the choice to allow sailors residing on board the ship to maneuver to other lodging, in accordance with an announcement from Naval Air Force Atlantic. On the first day of the move, which started Monday, more than 200 sailors left the service and moved to a nearby Navy facility.

"The move plan will proceed till all Sailors who want to move off-ship have accomplished so," the statement stated. Although the service doesn't have its full complement of approximately 5,000 sailors, the ship nonetheless has between 2,000 and three,000 sailors dwelling aboard through the overhaul process.

The ship's command is working to identify sailors who may "benefit from and need the help companies and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) packages" which might be out there on local Navy services. The Navy is within the strategy of establishing "short-term lodging" for these sailors, in response to an earlier statement from Naval Air Power Atlantic.

"Management is actively implementing these and pursuing numerous extra morale and private well-being measures and support providers to members assigned to USS George Washington."

Outcomes from the Navy's investigation into the deaths are anticipated this week, Admiral John Meier, the commander of US Naval Air Drive Atlantic, advised reporters during a media roundtable on Tuesday.

"We've assigned an investigating officer to look into that and to essentially to look into the proximate trigger. Was there an instantaneous trigger? Was there a linkage between these occasions? I expect that to report out this week, and I won't presuppose the outcome of that report," Meier said.

The investigation is one of two the US Navy is conducting. The second investigation has a "a lot broader scope" and focuses on "command local weather, command tradition," Meier stated.

To reply to the three suicides in April, the Navy added sources to the ship, together with a "ship psychologist," "resiliency counselors," and "a 13-person dash crew, which is a particular intervention team for situations like this," Meier mentioned.

The sprint team was "on board for an entire week, and so they put out a report that identified some issues to add to our investigative work," Meier added.

The deaths aboard the service prompted Rep. Elaine Luria, a 20-year Navy veteran whose district encompasses a number of navy services, to put in writing a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding instant motion to ensure the protection of the crew.

"Each of these deaths is a tragedy, and the number of incidents inside a single command, which includes as many as 4 sailors taking their own lives, raises significant concern that requires fast and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote last week, noting that her workplace has obtained complaints about the quality of life aboard the ship and a toxic environment.