Greater than 200 sailors moved off aircraft carrier after multiple suicides

The sailors are shifting to an area Navy installation as the nuclear-powered aircraft provider continues to go through a years-long refueling and overhaul process on the shipyard in Newport News 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 local weather and tradition on board the Nimitz-class carrier.

The commanding officer of the provider, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the decision to allow sailors residing on board the ship to move to different lodging, in line with a press release from Naval Air Pressure 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 continue until all Sailors who wish to transfer off-ship have carried out so," the statement stated. Although the provider doesn't have its full complement of roughly 5,000 sailors, the ship still has between 2,000 and 3,000 sailors residing aboard through the overhaul course of.

The ship's command is working to establish sailors who might "benefit from and want the assist services and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) applications" that are obtainable on local Navy amenities. The Navy is within the process of setting up "short-term accommodations" for these sailors, in keeping with an earlier assertion from Naval Air Pressure Atlantic.

"Leadership is actively implementing these and pursuing a variety of additional morale and private well-being measures and assist 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 Power 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 cause. Was there an immediate trigger? Was there a linkage between those events? I count on that to report out this week, and I will not presuppose the result of that report," Meier stated.

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

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

The dash workforce was "on board for a complete week, they usually put out a report that identified some issues so as 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 multiple military services, to write down a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding quick action to make sure the safety of the crew.

"Every of these deaths is a tragedy, and the variety of incidents inside a single command, which includes as many as 4 sailors taking their own lives, raises important concern that requires instant and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote last week, noting that her workplace has obtained complaints in regards to the quality of life aboard the ship and a toxic ambiance.