NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Xavier Sandor was living on board USS George Washington when in April 2022 he took his own life.
At the time, the ship was being worked on at Newport News Shipbuilding. Sandor's parents told News 3 earlier this year he was working the nightshift and trying to sleep during the day at the busy shipyard.
"It could've been preventable," his father John said. "They knew what was happening."
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Following the suicide and others, the Navy has been looking at how to handle Sailors who are assigned to ships that are being worked on, called refueling, at shipyards.
Now, as work continues at USS John C. Stennis in Newport News, the Navy is making sure those Sailors have a place to stay off the ship.
"While they're in those maintenance availabilities, we at least ought to give them a suitable place to live and relax," said Rear Adm. Wes McCall, Commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.
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He told News 3 Friday this is top of mind for Navy leadership.
"I've been in the Navy for quite a few years," said McCall. "Right now, we have an opportunity to go after quality of life life I have not seen."
Sailors can live at the nearby Huntington Hall, which they say they've upgraded and reduced the number of Sailors to a room.
They're working to improve other things like adding Wi-Fi at the shipyard.
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The Navy is also working on a study to better address parking and help provide more food options.
"We owe better to ourselves," said McCall. "I feel like sometimes we've lost trust. We need to regain their trust. We're in a war for talent. We need to recruit and retain the best and the brightest."
The Navy is also looking at options for first term Sailors assigned to ships at shipyards, so they can more closely follow why they joined the Navy.
"Sailors in those yards did not join up to sit in a shipyard undergoing a lot of maintenance," he said. "They joined to serve something bigger than themselves to go see the world."
