Vice Adm. J.T. Anderson, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, poses for a photo with U.S. 6th Fleet staff on the flight deck of the USS Mount Whitney during a staff embark aboard the warship in Gaeta, Italy, May 6, 2026. (Chad Butler/U.S. Navy)
NAPLES, Italy — Junior sailors assigned to a Navy ship based in Italy no longer must live on the vessel when it’s not at sea, part of a broader service-wide quality-of-life campaign.
Naval Support Activity Naples recently transitioned 54 unaccompanied sailors assigned to the command-and-control ship USS Mount Whitney to housing within the local community, the base said in a recent statement.
The ship is homeported in Gaeta, Italy, about 66 miles northwest of NSA Naples, which is home to U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet. Mount Whitney is the flagship of 6th Fleet.
The move is part of a Navy-wide effort to improve quality of life for junior sailors, typically ranked E-4 and below, by ensuring they have access to clean, comfortable and safe housing while in port, the base said May 6.
“Providing our sailors with a place to decompress away from their workspace is fundamental to their mental readiness and overall well-being,” Capt. Colin Price, commanding officer of Mount Whitney, said in the statement. He added that sailors who are well-rested and have a sense of home are better prepared for 6th Fleet missions.
The NSA Naples effort follows a directive last year by chief of naval operations Adm. Daryl Caudle that ended the practice of having junior sailors live on ships year-round.
At the time, the Navy estimated that some 7,500 to 10,000 sailors were living on ships. In February, Caudle said that number had been reduced to between 2,500 and 3,000.
The directive is also in line with recommendations in a 2023 Navy investigation into the suicides of several sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington.
That investigation found that junior service members were living in poor conditions on and off the ship while the carrier was undergoing a grueling, yearslong overhaul. The report included 48 recommendations to better the quality of life for sailors, including improving off-ship housing and no longer having sailors stay on ships when not underway.
In the case of Mount Whitney, it took more than two months to transition the sailors into local housing, an effort that included expanding the search for available residences into communities near Gaeta, the base said.
While shared housing was an option for Mount Whitney sailors, all of those involved chose to live alone in furnished apartments, Lt. j.g. Valentine Mulango, a spokesman for NSA Naples, said Friday. He added that some eligible sailors remained living on the ship while it was in port, an option they preferred.
Housing costs for sailors living off the ship are covered by monthly rental and utility allowances for service members, he said.
For example, an unaccompanied E-2 service member living in Gaeta — and approved for living off-base — is eligible for nearly $2,780 in rental and utilities allowances each month, according to the Defense Department Travel Management Office.
Caudle has said that the Navy would meet its objectives to ensure sailors don’t have to live on ships by investing in unaccompanied and family housing and helping service members make good use of a recent increase in their basic allowance for housing.
The effort to move service members off ships is part of Caudle’s Sailors First initiative, which aims to revamp the Navy’s efforts to foster sailors’ well-being through top-notch combat platforms, training, education and support.
The effort includes ensuring that the service meets or exceeds expectations in such areas as housing, recreation, day care, grocery shopping, food service and schools.
