Democratic senators say Navy response to suicides on board aircraft carrier is unacceptable

By Oren Liebermann, CNN

The Navy’s response to a series of suicides on board a US aircraft carrier was unacceptable, according to two Democratic senators, who called on Navy leadership to improve the living conditions for sailors working in shipyards and provide better mental health care.

There were “multiple mistakes” that led to three suicides within one week in April on board the USS George Washington, as well as warning signs that “should have prevented” the loss of life, Sen. Chris Murphy and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats from Connecticut, wrote in a letter to Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro.

Conditions on board the aircraft carrier were “simply not habitable” while the ship was going through an overhaul process in the Newport News, Virginia, shipyards, they wrote. Sailors living on board the ship had to deal with repeated power outages, a lack of hot water and air conditioning.

Yet the ship’s leaders were “unaware” of the challenges facing the crew, the letter states.

At the same time, mental health resources for the crew were not readily available because the staff was “over-whelmed, under-resourced and separated from the ship’s crew,” the senators wrote.

“It is completely intolerable for the Navy to place sailors onboard a ship with these conditions and tremendous barriers to accessing care and support,” they warned. Blumenthal is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is responsible for oversight of the Defense Department.

CNN has asked the Navy for comment on the letter.

A Navy investigation released last month into the suicides found that they were “not related or connected” and were the result of “unique and individualized” stresses for each of the sailors.

The investigation found the same issues with living conditions and access to mental health care, and it recommended additional training on suicide prevention for the USS George Washington.

“Every death by suicide is a tragedy that impacts our people, our military units, and our readiness,” Adm. Daryl Caudle, the commander of Fleet Forces Command, wrote in the investigation.

But Murphy and Blumenthal said the Navy’s steps did not go far enough. They called on Navy leadership to limit the time a sailor lives on board a ship going through overhaul in a shipyard “until strictly necessary.” The two also said sailors whose entire tour of duty is in the shipyard should be given permanent housing off the ship.

In addition, the senators insisted that the Navy should require mental health screening and access during extended shipyard maintenance.

The two senators have been in contact with the family of Master-at-Arms Seaman Recruit Xavier Mitchell-Sandor, a crewmember who shot and killed himself with his Navy-issued weapon on board the USS George Washington. Mitchell-Sandor was also from Connecticut and in the weeks before his death, he would frequently drive up to see his family and friends, possibly as a means of escaping the shipyard, the Navy found in its investigation.

“No sailor should even have been living on that ship in those conditions,” John Sandor, Mitchell-Sandor’s father, told CNN after his death.

Editor’s Note: If you or a loved one have contemplated suicide, call The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to connect with a trained counselor.

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