WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on Tuesday at a U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the Department of Defense Health Program with Rear Admiral Bruce L. Gillingham, Surgeon General of the Navy, and Dr. Lester Martínez-López, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. This is Murphy’s first hearing as a member of the subcommittee.

Murphy highlighted the tragic suicide of Connecticut native, Master of Arms Seaman Recruit Xavier Mitchell-Sandor, and the abhorrent conditions aboard the USS Washington: “This was obviously a ship that was going through a major refueling and complex overhaul. The conditions on board required a lot of these young men to be sleeping in their cars, to be making long trips home to get away from the chaotic scene, and the access to mental health was just completely inadequate. Sailors who were seeking routine care on a ship that had significant conditions affecting mental health were facing waits of up to two months for care.”

Murphy asked: “I know that there is still a final investigation that is outstanding, but what can you tell me today about how we're changing conditions for our seamen who are living under these kinds of conditions, and how we're making sure that they have access to mental health services?”

On an existing law that prohibits the Secretary of Defense from collecting any information regarding active duty members’ firearm ownership, Murphy asked: “I think this was due to some concerns about overreach, but I don't think that the drafters of that language contemplated the fact that it is just good medical practice if someone is in crisis to inquire as to whether they have a firearm at home, whether that is a firearm is properly stored and locked…[A]s a rule, is it good medical practice for there to be gag orders on physicians as to what questions they can ask their patients, what information they can try to solicit from their patients?”

In January, following the Navy’s report on the April 2022 suicides of three crew members of the USS George Washington, including Connecticut’s Master of Arms Seaman Recruit Xavier Mitchell-Sandor, Murphy sent a letter calling on the Navy to go further than the recommendations in the investigation report and reform requirements governing the shipyard lives of sailors.

You can read Murphy’s full exchange with Sherman and Ratner:

MURPHY: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It is an honor to join this prestigious subcommittee, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. Thank you all for being here today.

“I'm really grateful for the Chairman and the Ranking member’s focus on the suicide epidemic and for all the work that you've put into it. I wanted to talk to you, Rear Admiral, about a very specific case that I've become intimately and tragically familiar with, and that's the death of seven sailors on the USS George Washington just last year. One of them was a Connecticut resident. Seaman Recruit Xavier Sandor took his own life with a service-issued firearm.

“And by now you know that the conditions on this ship, the conditions for the sailors was frankly just unacceptable. This was obviously a ship that was going through a major refueling and complex overhaul. The conditions on board required a lot of these young men to be sleeping in their cars, to be making long trips home to get away from the chaotic scene, and the access to mental health was just completely inadequate. Sailors who were seeking routine care on a ship that had significant conditions affecting mental health were facing waits of up to two months for care.

“Members of Seaman Recruit Sandor’s division reported that they were often hesitant to seek mental health treatment through Navy channels because they were under the impression that it would affect their future career opportunities. Obviously, this is exceptional that we had so many individuals take their life in a short period of time, and I know that there is still a final investigation that is outstanding, but what can you tell me today about how we're changing conditions for our seamen who are living under these kinds of conditions, and how we're making sure that they have access to mental health services?

GILLINGHAM: “Thank you, Senator Murphy. From the Secretary of Navy on down, we have taken this issue very seriously as we have taken the general issue of mental health and suicide prevention seriously. I can tell you that our immediate response was to send a special psychiatric response team that was to counsel those who are directly affected by these instances, these tragic incidents. We've learned also that it's important not only to respond acutely, but to have a prolonged response. And so all of the members of George Washington are enrolled in what's called ORION, which is a periodic check in to assess how they're doing and ask if they need help.

“Historically, when we've done this on five previous occasions, we have about a 20% take rate, and we directly do a warm handoff for those individuals. But the larger issue sir, is ensuring that we're creating a resilient force. GW certainly is an example of a challenging situation to be in shipyard like that, but our Sailors and Marines face challenging situations worldwide and so developing force resilience is key.

“Toward that end, all of our recruits now go through Order Toughness Training, they learn stress reduction techniques, as well as meditation. These are reinforced through their training. In addition for the GW and for the greater Navy, though we haven't expanded it, an operational stress control program. This is a train the trained model. In addition as well, our Office of Navy Culture and Force Resiliency just rolled out mental health playbook, which provides tools for unit level leaders and beyond, ways to prevent suicide, ways to recognize an individual in distress.”

MURPHY: “Thank you very much, I look forward to following up with you. And I just want to sneak in one more question, and that's to you, Mr. Assistant Secretary.

“We talked a lot about this independent review committee report. One of their urgent recommendations was to address Section 1057 of the 2011 NDAA, which prohibits the Secretary of Defense from collecting any information regarding firearm ownership by active duty members. I think this was due to some concerns about overreach, but I don't think that the drafters of that language contemplated the fact that it is just good medical practice if someone is in crisis to inquire as to whether they have a firearm at home, whether that is a firearm is properly stored and locked.

“So I'm not going to ask you for your view on the law, that's a question for us. But as a rule, is it good medical practice for there to be gag orders on physicians as to what questions they can ask their patients, what information they can try to solicit from their patients?"

MARTINEZ-LOPEZ: “As a physician, the relationship between my patient and I is kind of sacred. I mean, we talk and I expect him to be truthful to me so I can help him. So, anything that interferes with that interferes with good medical care. So my position is that. I mean anything that interferes with a good open discussion between the patient and a physician or provider is not good for either of the two parties. If I don't know, I cannot help you, and if you cannot tell me, that's even worse. So we need your help to facilitate that process.”

MURPHY: “Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

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