More than 200 sailors moved off plane provider after multiple suicides

The sailors are transferring to an area Navy set up as the nuclear-powered plane service continues to go through a years-long refueling and overhaul course of at the shipyard in Newport News 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 climate and culture on board the Nimitz-class provider.

The commanding officer of the service, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the choice to allow sailors dwelling on board the ship to maneuver to different accommodations, based on an announcement from Naval Air Force Atlantic. On the first day of the move, which began Monday, more than 200 sailors left the provider and moved to a nearby Navy facility.

"The transfer plan will proceed till all Sailors who want to transfer off-ship have done so," the statement stated. Although the service doesn't have its full complement of approximately 5,000 sailors, the ship nonetheless has between 2,000 and three,000 sailors dwelling aboard through the overhaul course of.

The ship's command is working to identify sailors who might "profit from and want the support services and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs" that are accessible on local Navy facilities. The Navy is in the means of establishing "momentary accommodations" for these sailors, in keeping with an earlier statement from Naval Air Force Atlantic.

"Management is actively implementing these and pursuing numerous extra morale and personal well-being measures and assist services to members assigned to USS George Washington."

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

"We have 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 will not presuppose the result of that report," Meier said.

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

To respond to the three suicides in April, the Navy added resources to the ship, including a "ship psychologist," "resiliency counselors," and "a 13-person dash group, which is a special intervention staff for situations like this," Meier stated.

The dash workforce was "on board for an entire week, and so they put out a report that identified 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 multiple army services, to write a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding instant motion to make sure 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 4 sailors taking their own lives, raises vital concern that requires immediate and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote final week, noting that her office has acquired complaints about the quality of life aboard the ship and a poisonous environment.