Investigation into suicides on US Navy ship reveals service failures, turns eyes toward leadership 

An investigation into a string of suicides of U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the USS George Washington has revealed failures in the working and living conditions at naval shipyards, leading to recommendations for improvements in mental health services, food and housing.

“The conditions experienced by those assigned to the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON and MARMC are not the result of any act or inaction by any single leader. Collectively, Navy senior leadership, officer and civilian, let our standards slip — and in so doing we let our people down,” said Navy Chief Adm. Michael Gilday and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in a memo.

The investigation looked into the “Quality of Service” — which the report defines as both “quality of life” and “quality of work” — aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which was undergoing Refueling and Complex Overhaul.

The Navy’s probe follows the deaths of seven sailors assigned to the ship over a 12-month period. Four of the deaths were confirmed suicides, three of which occurred within a week in April of last year. Two more

An earlier probe found that the sailors’ deaths were independent events “with no direct correlation between them,” but identified “some common quality of life challenges” for crews of aircraft carriers undergoing the Refueling and Complex Overhaul process and directed the more wide-ranging quality of service investigation, according to the report. 

“In 2021 and 2022, the Inspector General received seven complaints relating to USS George Washington to include allegations of uninhabitable living conditions, safety violations, unfair treatment, mistreatment of Sailors, mishandling of a sexual assault case, BAS (pay and entitlements), and fraternization,” reads the report. 

Gilday and Del Toro’s memo outlines the Navy’s priorities for improving quality of service, including that “every sailor deserves” free high-speed WiFi in housing and recreation centers, affordable and nutritious food, and “a deliberate strategy for strengthening their mental and physical health.” 

Sailors also deserve “the opportunity to go to sea” and “the opportunity to live off the ship while in an industrial environment,” according to the memo. 

“Our success will be dependent on every leader, at every level, asking one question every day: Are we asking our people to overcome something they shouldn’t have to overcome?” Gilday and Del Toro wrote.

The national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.