NORFOLK, Va. — Two sailors assigned to USS George Washington were found dead, in separate incidents, within days of the ship arriving in Japan after deploying from Norfolk in April.
The aircraft carrier arrived in Japan on November 22.
According to officials from the Navy Office of Information at the Pentagon, on the same day as the ship's arrival in Japan, Petty Officer Second Class Cuyler Condon was found unresponsive in a hotel on base. He was pronounced dead by U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka medical staff. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is investigating the circumstances of their death.
Electrician's Mate Fireman Dimitri Morales was found unresponsive off-base in Yokosuka on November 25. Officials say local emergency responders declared him dead. NCIS and local authorities are investigating his death as well.
U.S. Navy officials said, regarding the deaths, "Grief counseling and support services are available as we focus on providing appropriate resources following the ship’s arrival to Japan." They added, "Our thoughts and prayers are with USS George Washington’s crewmembers and families following the loss of our Sailors."
NCIS confirmed to 13News Now the agency is investigating, but a spokesperson added, "Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing."
13News Now inquired about both sailors' ages and service records, but we have not yet heard back.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier departed Naval Station Norfolk in April with Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10 to deploy first to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations, which includes Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
A Navy news release from April stated that the George Washington relieved the USS Ronald Reagan as the forward-deployed naval forces aircraft carrier during a "historic carrier swap at Naval Air Station North Island this summer. "
These two deaths follow a six-year docking of USS George Washington, from 2017-2023, while the ship underwent repairs. Those fixes were originally supposed to wrap up by 2021.
The incidents also follow three suicides of sailors on USS George Washington, all within a week of each other, in April of 2022. Another sailor died by suicide last January. Again, the causes of these two most recent deaths have not been released.