Greater than 200 sailors moved off aircraft carrier after a number of suicides

The sailors are transferring to an area Navy set up as the nuclear-powered plane carrier continues to go through a years-long refueling and overhaul process at the shipyard in Newport Information in Virginia. Over the past 12 months, seven members of the crew have died, including 4 by suicide, prompting the Navy to open an investigation into the command local weather and culture on board the Nimitz-class provider.

The commanding officer of the service, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the choice to permit sailors living on board the ship to move to different accommodations, based on a press release from Naval Air Drive Atlantic. On the primary day of the move, which started Monday, greater than 200 sailors left the carrier and moved to a close-by Navy facility.

"The transfer plan will continue until all Sailors who wish to move off-ship have completed so," the statement stated. Though the carrier does not have its full complement of roughly 5,000 sailors, the ship still has between 2,000 and 3,000 sailors dwelling aboard throughout the overhaul course of.

The ship's command is working to identify sailors who might "profit from and want the support companies and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs" which might be obtainable on native Navy facilities. The Navy is within the technique of setting up "momentary accommodations" for these sailors, according to an earlier assertion from Naval Air Force Atlantic.

"Leadership is actively implementing these and pursuing numerous additional 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 expected this week, Admiral John Meier, the commander of US Naval Air Power Atlantic, told 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 cause. Was there an immediate trigger? Was there a linkage between those events? I expect that to report out this week, and I won't presuppose the result of that report," Meier said.

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

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 workforce, which is a special intervention staff for situations like this," Meier mentioned.

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

The deaths aboard the provider 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 fast action to make sure the safety of the crew.

"Each of these deaths is a tragedy, and the number of incidents within a single command, which incorporates as many as four sailors taking their very own lives, raises significant concern that requires quick and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote final week, noting that her office has acquired complaints concerning the quality of life aboard the ship and a toxic environment.