The U.S. Navy will begin the process of allowing sailors to live off-ship following a number of deaths and complaints about conditions aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, including three suicides in the month of April alone.
Most of the ship’s around 2,700 crew already sleep off-ship, with 422 crew living aboard. From Monday, around 260 sailors were eligible to opt-out of living aboard, with an additional 50 beds per week opening up thereafter, a Naval Air Force Atlantic official told ABC News.
Lt. Cmdr. Rob Myers, a Naval Air Force Atlantic spokesperson, confirmed the move with The Hill, saying sailors had started to shift to naval barracks-like accommodations on Monday, and that the process would continue “until all Sailors who wish to move off-ship have done so.”
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