More than 200 sailors moved off aircraft service after multiple suicides

The sailors are shifting to a neighborhood Navy set up because the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier continues to undergo a years-long refueling and overhaul course of on 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 tradition on board the Nimitz-class carrier.

The commanding officer of the provider, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the decision to permit sailors residing on board the ship to maneuver to other accommodations, based on an announcement from Naval Air Drive Atlantic. On the first day of the move, which started Monday, greater than 200 sailors left the carrier and moved to a nearby Navy facility.

"The transfer plan will continue till all Sailors who want to move off-ship have executed so," the assertion mentioned. Although the service does not have its full complement of roughly 5,000 sailors, the ship still has between 2,000 and three,000 sailors residing aboard through the overhaul course of.

The ship's command is working to determine sailors who could "profit from and want the help services and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) applications" which can be obtainable on native Navy amenities. The Navy is in the means of establishing "non permanent lodging" for these sailors, in accordance with an earlier assertion from Naval Air Force Atlantic.

"Leadership is actively implementing these and pursuing various extra morale and private well-being measures and support companies to members assigned to USS George Washington."

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

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

The investigation is one in all two the US Navy is conducting. The second investigation has a "a lot broader scope" and focuses on "command climate, command tradition," Meier said.

To respond to the three suicides in April, the Navy added assets to the ship, including a "ship psychologist," "resiliency counselors," and "a 13-person dash crew, which is a particular intervention workforce for instances like this," Meier said.

The dash workforce was "on board for a whole week, they usually put out a report that identified some things so as 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 a number of army services, to jot down a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding fast motion to ensure the security of the crew.

"Every of those 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 quick and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote last week, noting that her workplace has received complaints about the high quality of life aboard the ship and a toxic atmosphere.