A young sailor died by suicide. Her family blames health care gaps and long deployment

Family of young sailor who died by suicide blames health care gaps and long deployment Jaimie Bethea, a 21-year-old mass communication specialist, had been deployed on the USS Fort Lauderdale for more than 11 months. She died by suicide in June.

Jaimie Bethea, a 21-year-old mass communication specialist, had been deployed on the USS Fort Lauderdale for more than 11 months. She died by suicide in June, a month before the ship finally returned to Norfolk, Va.

Jaimie Bethea took hundreds of photographs during her 11 months on the USS Fort Lauderdale, images that show a keen eye and add up to a kind of visual diary of daily life while deployed at sea. But a month before the USS Fort Lauderdale returned to Norfolk, Va., in July, the 21-year- old Navy communications specialist died by suicide.

"Nothing matters to me more than my sister," Arianna Calderon, her older sister, told NPR. "Nothing ever has. I lost my world, genuinely. I lost everything, and all I care about now is getting some semblance of justice."

The USS Fort Lauderdale was in the Caribbean, part of the Trump administration's operation around Venezuela. The mission included the capture of Nicholas Maduro and ongoing attacks on boats in the region suspected of carrying drugs, along with earthquake relief.

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