A monthslong investigation into a series of Navy suicides last year found the service failed to provide a basic quality of life for sailors, housing them in unacceptable living conditions and failing to provide adequate mental health resources.
The investigation concluded that the issues were compounded on the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier going through overhaul in the Newport News shipyard in Virginia, because of the lengthy refit process, which was delayed as the Navy shifted its priorities to other ships.
Ultimately, sailors from the ship told CNN they were forced to move on board the ship before it was ready, leaving the crew facing power outages, a lack of hot water, and unbearable temperatures.
“It was pointedly obvious that the Navy had failed the George Washington through a host of things that we put that ship into,” said Navy Fleet Forces Commander Adm. Daryl Caudle in a briefing to reporters Thursday.
The Navy’s top leaders said the blame for the suicides on board the carrier and at a separate facility in Norfolk late-last year did not fall on any single commander or leader.
“Collectively, Navy senior leadership, officer and civilian, let our standards slip – and in doing so we let our people down,” wrote Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Navy Chief Adm. Michael Gilday in a memo following the conclusion of the investigation.
In response, the Navy’s top leaders committed to addressing quality of life issues for sailors – first at shipyards, then across the service.
In April of last year, three sailors from the USS George Washington crew died by suicide within one week. A Navy investigation found that the deaths were “not related or connected,” but were the result of “unique and individualized” challenged facing each individual sailor, coupled with a “readily…
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