Greater than 200 sailors moved off aircraft service after multiple suicides

The sailors are transferring to an area Navy installation as the nuclear-powered aircraft provider continues to undergo a years-long refueling and overhaul process at the shipyard in Newport Information in Virginia. Over the previous 12 months, seven members of the crew have died, including 4 by suicide, prompting the Navy to open an investigation into the command climate and culture on board the Nimitz-class service.

The commanding officer of the carrier, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the decision to allow sailors living on board the ship to maneuver to other lodging, in keeping with a statement from Naval Air Power Atlantic. On the primary day of the move, which started Monday, greater than 200 sailors left the service and moved to a nearby Navy facility.

"The move plan will continue until all Sailors who want to move off-ship have accomplished so," the statement stated. Though the service doesn't have its full complement of approximately 5,000 sailors, the ship nonetheless has between 2,000 and 3,000 sailors dwelling aboard throughout the overhaul course of.

The ship's command is working to determine sailors who might "profit from and want the assist services and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) packages" which are available on native Navy facilities. The Navy is within the technique of establishing "momentary lodging" for these sailors, in keeping with an earlier assertion from Naval Air Pressure Atlantic.

"Leadership is actively implementing these and pursuing plenty of extra morale and personal well-being measures and support services to members assigned to USS George Washington."

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

"We have assigned an investigating officer to look into that and to essentially to look into the proximate cause. Was there a right away trigger? Was there a linkage between those events? I count on that to report out this week, and I will not presuppose the end result of that report," Meier said.

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

To answer the three suicides in April, the Navy added resources to the ship, including a "ship psychologist," "resiliency counselors," and "a 13-person sprint crew, which is a particular intervention workforce for situations like this," Meier stated.

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

The deaths aboard the carrier prompted Rep. Elaine Luria, a 20-year Navy veteran whose district encompasses multiple navy amenities, to jot down a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding rapid motion to ensure the security of the crew.

"Every of these deaths is a tragedy, and the number of incidents inside a single command, which includes as many as four sailors taking their own lives, raises vital concern that requires immediate and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote last week, noting that her workplace has obtained complaints concerning the quality of life aboard the ship and a toxic atmosphere.