NORFOLK NAVAL BASE, Va. — What is the Navy doing to address concerns about quality of life?
To learn more, I sat down for a one-on-one interview with a top Navy admiral: Wes McCall, Commander of the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Region.
"Now in the Navy, more than any time I think I've been in the service, there's a focus on quality of life," said Admiral McCall.
He says there's a huge focus on mental health support.
"I think certified credentialed clinicians are high on the list. I'm talking about counselors for our fleet and family support centers," he said.
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Just this week, News 3 reporter Brendan Ponton examined a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which details how service members are still facing long wait times for mental health appointments. McCall says the Navy is dealing with a shortage.
"We're in a battle for talent. College campuses need counselors, our communities need counselors, there's just not enough of them. So we struggle just like they do and try to keep these highly qualified people to help out with our Sailors," he said. "So, with a lot of help from higher headquarters in Washington D.C., we've looked at retention bonuses... up to 25% of their salary, to try to retain some of the best and the brightest. Recruitment bonuses up to $25,000 are available to bring credentialed counselors on board."
Admiral McCall tells me other quality of life issues involve housing for Sailors. He says it's a big concern straight from the top, namely form the new Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti.
"Admiral Franchetti is all in," said Admiral McCall. "When she was having initial conversations with our leadership, she was saying: could we put 100% funding into our unaccompanied housing? — which is our barracks. And the obvious answer was yes."
Just last month, we told you the Navy is providing free Wi-Fi in 12 barracks at Naval Station Norfolk. I asked McCall why that was important.
"Our leadership's asked the Sailors how can we do better. More often than not, Wi-Fi comes up. So, we're starting a pilot right here locally; it's gonna touch about 4,000 or so Sailors. We're gonna get their feedback over a six-month run time. My personal hope is the Sailors will embrace it [and] say, 'this is something we want' and take it fleet-wide."
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The Navy is also examining ways to broaden food options for Sailors, like food trucks on base, as well as easier access for ride-share drivers on base.
I had one final question for Admiral McCall: what does he hope the takeaway is from our conversation?
He answered, "that your audience will come away with the sense that we're actually trying to make a difference. You know, we're not going to solve these challenges overnight. But given the level of leadership support we have right now, I think we have momentum to make real change."
Admiral McCall says the recent Sailor suicides were a wake-up call for the Navy.
"We've learned some lessons and today's Sailors are going to see change," he said.
