The mental health system aboard the USS George Washington is “overwhelmed” and sailors have a poor understanding of alternative resources, according to the Navy’s investigation into three sailor suicides.
In May, the Navy launched an investigation into the April deaths, interviewing senior medical officers and sailors aboard the carrier undergoing an overhaul at Newport News Shipbuilding. While the probe into three suicides of sailors assigned to the USS George Washington found the deaths were not connected, the roughly 60-page report released Dec. 19 found the Washington’s psychologist and behavioral health technician — Psych Boss and Psych Tech — were “overwhelmed” and struggled to keep up with the demand for services.
From January 2021 to January 2022, the ship reported about 2,600 mental health patient encounters with the psych boss, the behavioral health technician and two substance abuse rehabilitation program counselors. It was unclear how many sailors sought mental health services, as a “patient encounter” could mean one sailor was seen multiple times.
