NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The thousands of sailors who just arrived back in Hampton Roads are said to have experienced the most sustained combat that the U.S. Navy has seen since World War II.

Now that they are back on land, top Navy brass want to make sure they aren’t weighed down significantly by the warfare they experienced.

The first thing Secretary of the U.S. Navy Carlos Del Toro did when he stepped onto Pier 14 at Naval Station Norfolk Sunday was address the families awaiting to be reunited with their loved ones returning on USS Dwight D Eisenhower.

“Thank you to all the American people for your support of our Navy and Marine Corps and across all the services in the United States military,” Del Toro said. “We certainly couldn’t do this without your support. But know that your United States Navy is on station around the world ready to perform its mission on any call.”

The sailors, a part of USS Dwight D Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group 2, including USS Philippine Sea and USS Gravely, spent nine months battling Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that have been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Navy ships and “innocent merchant mariners” were targeted more than 200 times according to Del Toro.

Houthi attacks are targeting critical shipping lanes, civilian merchant vessels and military units using the passage across the Strait of Hormuz, Gulfs of Oman and Aden, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.

“It is every single day, every single watch, and some of our ships have been out here for seven-plus months doing that,” Capt. David Wroe, the commodore overseeing the guided missile destroyers, told the Associated Press last month.

It’s one of the reasons the Ike only had two port calls on the deployment, which Cmdr. Mark Miguez of Carrier Strike Group 2 said isn’t nearly enough.

“We typically like to get a port call every 50 or so days,” Miguez said. “It just so happens the mission was so important, we couldn’t do that this time.”

Knowing the work was beyond tedious, ship chaplains and a therapy dog named “demo” also were available for sailors.

But Adm. Daryl Caudle, Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, said the work is only beginning.

“Every sailor has been part of this strike group, [and] over 7,000 have been screened to make sure that we understand completely their state of mind, their mental health,” Caudle said. “We will track them for the next several months to make sure that they stay healthy.”

The Navy has tried to take a more active role in improving mental health resources across all commands.

Deployment can increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the Veteran Affairs administration. In some studies, PTSD is three times more likely among veterans who deployed compared to those who did not. 

“We understand their weapons engagement zone environment they’ve been in,” Caudle said, “and we want to make sure that they transition back from this deployment and we’re keeping tabs on them through that transition period.”

Informational resources 

In addition to visiting www.suicide.navy.mil, the following sites offer suicide prevention information, facts and materials: 

  • Find help with your local Navy chaplain, Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC), or medical provider.
  • Review and share resources from Military OneSource.
  • Use the Suicide and Crisis LifeLine (call or text 988) for assistance.
  • Check out the 1 Small ACT toolkit for more information to check in and #BeThere for Every Sailor, Every Day. 
  • Follow the Navy’s Project 1 Small ACT campaign on Facebook, X, and WordPress.
  • The Sailor Assistance and Intercept for Life (SAIL) program is also available to provide safety planning, suicide risk assessment, and caring contacts, as well as to act as a liaison and advocate for Sailors following instances of suicide-related behaviors.
  • Department of the Navy (DON) civilians can reach out to the Civilian Employee Assistance Program for information on the resources available to them at (844) 366-2327, or internationally at (866) 829-0270.

Additional resources: