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

The sailors are transferring to a neighborhood Navy installation as the nuclear-powered plane provider continues to go through a years-long refueling and overhaul course of on 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 local weather and culture on board the Nimitz-class provider.

The commanding officer of the provider, Capt. Brent Gaut, made the decision to allow sailors dwelling on board the ship to maneuver to other accommodations, in keeping with a press release from Naval Air Pressure Atlantic. On the primary day of the transfer, which began Monday, more than 200 sailors left the carrier and moved to a nearby Navy facility.

"The transfer plan will proceed until all Sailors who wish to move off-ship have performed so," the statement said. Though the provider does not have its full complement of approximately 5,000 sailors, the ship still has between 2,000 and 3,000 sailors living aboard throughout the overhaul course of.

The ship's command is working to determine sailors who might "profit from and desire the support providers and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) packages" which are out there on native Navy services. The Navy is in the process of setting up "temporary lodging" for these sailors, based on an earlier statement from Naval Air Power Atlantic.

"Leadership is actively implementing these and pursuing plenty of further morale and private well-being measures and assist companies 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 Pressure Atlantic, advised reporters throughout 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 a direct trigger? Was there a linkage between these events? I expect that to report out this week, and I will not presuppose the end result of that report," Meier stated.

The investigation is one in all two the US Navy is conducting. The second investigation has a "a lot broader scope" and focuses on "command local weather, command culture," Meier mentioned.

To respond to the three suicides in April, the Navy added sources to the ship, together with a "ship psychologist," "resiliency counselors," and "a 13-person sprint group, which is a special intervention group for situations like this," Meier mentioned.

The sprint staff 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 service prompted Rep. Elaine Luria, a 20-year Navy veteran whose district encompasses multiple navy facilities, to put in writing a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, demanding immediate action to ensure the safety of the crew.

"Each of those 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 speedy and stringent inquiry," Luria wrote last week, noting that her workplace has obtained complaints about the quality of life aboard the ship and a toxic atmosphere.