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Starting with the Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) Carrier Strike Groups, every deploying ship will have a chaplain on board. Whatever a sailor’s definition of spiritual health, there will be a command chaplain who will listen and help them through mental health challenges. Credit: U.S. Navy (Indra Beaufort)
Starting with the Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) Carrier Strike Groups, every deploying ship will have a chaplain on board. Whatever a sailor’s definition of spiritual health, there will be a command chaplain who will listen and help them through mental health challenges.
U.S. Navy (Indra Beaufort)

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Moving Out on Mental Health

By Captain John P. Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired)
November 2020
Proceedings
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I left the Navy seven years ago—about six months earlier than planned—partly because of the accumulated stress of multiple back-to-back sea tours inflicted on me and my family. I worked in industry for a few years and, last year, having studied human factors for six years at the doctorate level, I decided to rejoin government service and address some of the stress about which my wife Gudrun has written.

What I found on my return was a service that feels like it is under more stress and stretched thinner than it was when I retired. Navy manning has increased, but gaps and shortages, extended maintenance periods, and record-setting deployments—as well as the COVID-19 pandemic—are affecting the health of the force and their families. While resources have always existed to assist sailors dealing with stress and fatigue, access while on sea duty is challenging. 

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Captain John P. Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Captain John Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired), retired from the Navy in 2013 after 30 years of service. He commanded the USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79) and USS San Jacinto (CG-56) and received the Navy League’s Captain John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership in 2010. He was Proceedings 2018 Author of the Year. 

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