NORFOLK, Va. - A Navy widow and licensed psychotherapist based in Hampton Roads, Dr. Sarah Williams, is reacting to the most recent Sailor assigned to the USS George Washington who died by suicide.
READ: 4th Sailor assigned to USS George Washington (CVN 73) dies by suicide: Police
“It feels like I’m losing a part of my family,” Dr. Williams said. “I think we’re at the extent of what our previous resources are, and it’s time for a very conscientious change and game plan.”
This Sailor is the fourth linked to the ship to take their own life in roughly a year.
Three Sailors were found dead last April.
The aircraft carrier has been docked in Newport News since 2017.
“The news about the most recent death by suicide was just a real gut punch,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D) said Wednesday,
Sen. Kaine spoke about this following a visit to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) in Norfolk two weeks ago to speak with Sailors about mental health.
Kaine has made multiple visits to MARMC after four apparent suicides linked to the center News 3 found about late last year.
“Every situation is different, so you have to be humble in generalizing, but what strikes me about the George Washington scenario, and the MARMC scenario, is that we’re dealing with a group of Sailors who’ve trained for a particular mission, but they’re carrying out activities that were sort of not what they trained for, and what they went into the Navy for,” Kaine said.
Kaine has previously said the 2023 National Defense Bill passed by the Senate will help provide servicemembers with access to mental health services.
He also mentioned there are issues that could be specific to Hampton Roads.
“Wait times to get a mental health appointment at Portsmouth Naval Hospital… the challenges with the med board process,” Kaine said.
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R), who represents Virginia’s 2nd District, is also weighing on this latest suicide.
“This is, unfortunately, an ongoing problem that we’re seeing,” Kiggans told News 3.
She said she's working on legislation to ensure mental health resources for servicemembers.
“We talk about availability and accessibility for mental health care. Do we have the providers that are needed,” Kiggans said.
Kiggans is also looking forward to serving on a congressional task force later this year.
She said this task force will address recruitment, retention, and quality of life.
“We can do so much better than what we’re doing, and I can’t wait to ask some hard questions,” Kiggans said.
Williams believes action from both Kaine and Kiggans is a good first step.
She’s also hopeful for changes.
“It’s beyond necessary, at this point,” Williams said. “I think we’ve definitely gone beyond any resource that we currently have. There needs to be a complete overhaul of what’s currently in place.”
Kiggans said the task force is set to start in June and could involve many visits to different bases.
However, she added specifics are still being fine-tuned.
As for Kaine, he said there are plans to have Navy leaders meet with the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss mental health.
Kaine added that it will soon be announced that he will be Chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee for this Congress.
“You can bet that, together with the Personnel Subcommittee, we’re going to tackle this during posture hearings,” Kaine said. “We’re also going to put some additional muscle and resources into the NDAA to try to address this.”
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