More than 200 sailors moved off aircraft service after a number of suicides

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

The commanding officer of the carrier, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the decision to permit sailors residing on board the ship to move to other lodging, according to a press release from Naval Air Power Atlantic. On the primary day of the transfer, which began 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 transfer off-ship have accomplished so," the assertion 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 residing aboard during the overhaul process.

The ship's command is working to identify sailors who may "benefit from and desire the support services and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) applications" which are out there on native Navy services. The Navy is within the process of setting up "temporary lodging" for these sailors, based on an earlier assertion from Naval Air Power Atlantic.

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

Results from the Navy's investigation into the deaths are anticipated this week, Admiral John Meier, the commander of US Naval Air Drive Atlantic, instructed reporters throughout 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 anticipate that to report out this week, and I won't presuppose the end result of that report," Meier stated.

The investigation is considered 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 stated.

To respond to the three suicides in April, the Navy added assets to the ship, together with a "ship psychologist," "resiliency counselors," and "a 13-person dash team, which is a special intervention workforce for situations like this," Meier stated.

The dash crew was "on board for a whole week, and they 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 military services, to write down a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding rapid motion to ensure the safety 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 very own lives, raises vital concern that requires instant and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote final week, noting that her workplace has received complaints concerning the high quality of life aboard the ship and a toxic atmosphere.