The U.S. Navy has launched an investigation into a number of confirmed or alleged suicides among sailors by the USS George Washington crew. Three sailors died within a week of each other, the Navy confirmed to CBS News. The investigation will aim to determine if there were any underlying reasons that caused the crew members to take their own lives.
Class 3 retailer Michael Sharp and Class 3 electrical communications technician Natasha Huffman were found dead on April 9 and 10 in some locations away from the aircraft carrier. The Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Virginia confirmed to CBS News that both deaths were defined as suicides.
The third sailor, the gun captain, rookie Xavier Hunter Mitchell-Sandor, was found unanswered aboard the ship on April 15 and transported to Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, Virginia, where he died.
The 2017 USS George Washington is moored at Newport News Shipbuilding for a major overhaul. It employs a reduced crew of about 2,500 people.
The USS George Washington aircraft carrier was seen during its mission in the eastern Mediterranean on February 5, 2017. USS George HW Bush / Handout via Getty
According to a Navy official, a total of seven USS crew members George Washington have died in the past ten months, including three recent deaths. The official said some, but not all, of the four additional deaths were also suicides.
This is not the first time a series of suicides have been reported in such circumstances. In 2019, three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush died from suicide in a week when it underwent major repairs.
Servicemen and veterans who are in crisis or have suicidal thoughts, as well as those who know a serviceman or veteran in crisis, can call the Military Crisis Line / Veteran Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. , 365 days a year. Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 or write to 838255 or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
– David Martin and Eleanor Watson contributed to the report.
Add Comment