More than 200 sailors moved off plane carrier after multiple suicides

The sailors are transferring to a neighborhood Navy set up because 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 decision to allow sailors living on board the ship to maneuver to different accommodations, based on a statement from Naval Air Drive Atlantic. On the first day of the move, which started Monday, more than 200 sailors left the carrier and moved to a close-by Navy facility.

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

The ship's command is working to establish sailors who could "profit from and want the support companies and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs" which are available on local Navy amenities. The Navy is in the technique of establishing "temporary accommodations" for these sailors, based on an earlier statement from Naval Air Power Atlantic.

"Management is actively implementing these and pursuing a lot of additional morale and private well-being measures and support 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 Power Atlantic, told reporters during a media roundtable on Tuesday.

"We've assigned an investigating officer to look into that and to really to look into the proximate cause. 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 stated.

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

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

The sprint team was "on board for an entire week, and so they put out a report that recognized some things 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 a number of navy amenities, to write down a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding quick action to ensure the safety of the crew.

"Every of those 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 important concern that requires rapid and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote last week, noting that her workplace has obtained complaints about the high quality of life aboard the ship and a poisonous environment.