Friday 13 May 2022 10:46 PM USS George Washington sailor attempted suicide by swallowing hand sanitizer trends now
Another sailor on the USS George Washington attempted suicide, after seven deaths in the last year and three in a week in April.
The young serviceman's mother, who spoke to DailyMail.co m, said she was furious with Navy leadership who failed to inform her that her son had been hospitalized after drinking large amounts of hand sanitizer.
Despite this being his second alleged attempt to kill himself, the sailor was not among around 200 offered a chance to move off the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the mother said.
After waking up in a Newport, Virginia, military medical facility on Tuesday her son told her he was ordered to return to his duties on the ship Friday.
The mother asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by the Navy for speaking out.
'His words from Wednesday night are still haunting me,' she said. 'He said that his plan was that in 30 days, he will be separated from the Navy. He said if it's longer than 30 days, then his next attempt will not be a failure. It will be a success.
'He's like, ''they can send me anywhere in the world. I will not care. I just don't want to go back to that ship.'''
Seven sailors are confirmed to have died on the USS George Washington in the past year – though parents say the number could be as high as 10. DailyMail.com spoke to one mother, who wished to remain anonymous, who said her son - a sailor on the ship - attempted suicide
The mother said she was furious with Navy leadership who failed to inform her that her son had been hospitalized after drinking large amounts of hand sanitizer. A spate of three suicides in one week last month finally spurred action from Navy commanders, who said they would be moving up to 260 sailors off the ship
The woman said that the first she heard of her son's suicide attempt was a brief call from him on Tuesday.
'My son was in the hospital, they were trying to save his life, and I was not given any phone call,' she said.
'And this is not his first attempt. He said that he did it around January.
Navy Petty Officer Third Class Brandon Caserta, 21, killed himself in 2018 by walking into a chopper tail rotor. His death prompted the passing of the Brandon Act by the Biden administration, which added a requirement for a mental health evaluation as soon as a service member 'self-reports'
'He told me that he's been researching ways to go. I guess the internet told him one way to go is to drink hand sanitizer. If you drink too much of it, it'll make you go to sleep and you don't wake up.
'He's like, ''I just can't with this place. There's something evil here.'''
The mother said his commanders promised to provide mental health services for him after his first alleged suicide attempt, but did not follow through.
'To this day, they haven't put them in outpatient classes that I know of,' she said. 'He requested to get an apartment when they were handing out other places to live. But no, he got denied a transfer off the ship.'
Seven sailors are confirmed to have died on the 30-year-old Washington in the past year – though service members' parents say the number could be as high as 10.
The massive vessel has a flight deck of four-and-a-half acres and carries up to 90 planes. It is manned by up to 6,250 crew members.
The George Washington has been moored at Newport, undergoing a four-year overhaul, which should have been completed this month. However an earliest completion date of December has now been set by the Navy.
A spate of three suicides in one week last month finally spurred action from Navy commanders, who said they would be moving up to 260 sailors off the ship.
Last week DailyMail.com exclusively revealed accounts from parents of 10 USS George Washington sailors who said their children
