The US Navy's top enlisted officer has told sailors aboard troubled USS George Washington that 'beating suicide is like beating cancer' after 10 sailors killed themselves on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier over the last 10 months.
Master Chief Petty Officer Russel Smith admitted at an all-hands meeting with 2,700 personnel still on the ship that the Navy is struggling to address the problem.
'I'm gonna tell you that I understand that we still have a problem and the department has been focusing on it, but the problem is beating suicide is like beating cancer,' Smith said. 'There are many different causes, many different reasons.'
It took the Navy weeks to admit that three sailors - Retail Services Specialist 3rd Class Mika'il Sharp and Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Natasha Huffman, both 23, and Master-at-Arms Seaman Xavier Hunter Mitchell-Sandor, 19, -took their own lives in the month of April alone.
Sandor's father, John Sandor, said his son had complained about the conditions on the ship, which has been docked in Virginia since 2017, and was sleeping in his car after completing 12-hour shifts.
'This can't happen to any other sailors, it's not fair that when these boys and girls enlist to serve their country. It's not fair,' he told Good Morning America on Monday.
In an earlier interview, Sandor told NBC: 'He always said it sucked, and I'd always say to ask for help. He'd say, 'Dad, they don't give a f***. They don't care.' That was always his response to me.'
He added that conditions were so bad, his son would make an eight-hour drive every other weekend to visit the family in their Connecticut home in order to get far away from the ship.
Xavier Hunter Sandor (above) killed himself on April 15. His father said the sailor slept in his car and drove 8 hours home every other weekend from Virginia to Connecticut to get away
Natasha Huffman, 23, (above) killed herself on April 10. Friends said she repeatedly asked for help but was provided with little assistance before ending her life
Mika'il Rayshawn Sharp, 23, (pictured) killed himself on April 9. His mother said the youngman was excited to start a family with his new wife
Aside from the seven others who died, still more sailors tried and failed to kill themselves while assigned to the dry-docked ship which is undergoing a mid-career overhaul, according to two female sailors interviewed by NBC.
They cited deplorable conditions onboard the ship, which is under 24-hour construction while docked in Virginia Beach for the past 3 years, as one of the primary causes of mental strain aboard the ship.
'They live in a construction zone,' one sailor told Military.com. 'There's grinding, needle gunning, there's always problems with ventilation, there's always problems with hot water.'
Hannah Crisostomo, of Menifee, California, took 196 pain relievers last year because she couldn't take life on the ship. She was put on life-support for eight days and eventually survived the attempt and was discharged.
'The command pushes you to that point,' Crisostomo, now 20, told NBC.
Last week, Captain Brent Gaut, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier's chief officer, announced that all crew members who wished to live off of the ship while it undergoes its renovation may do so starting Monday, according to Military.com.
Currently 260 sailors have asked to leave the carrier for the 'off-site barracks-type living arrangement,' the publication reported.
Master Chief Petty Officer Russell Smith acknowledged problems on the ship and said that beating suicide is like beating
