Five Things to Know, Jan. 9, 2023

1.   The number of calls from veterans and their family members to the Veterans Affairs suicide prevention hotline spiked over the New Year’s holiday, news that department officials are saying shows increase awareness and accessibility of the emergency service. Over the two-day weekend, the Veterans Crisis Line fielded 3,869 calls, up almost 19% from typical weekend levels so far this fiscal year, according to data released by department officials.

2.   The mental health system aboard the USS George Washington is “overwhelmed” and sailors have a poor understanding of alternative resources, according to the Navy’s investigation into three sailor suicides. In May, the Navy launched an investigation into the April deaths, interviewing senior medical officers and sailors aboard the carrier undergoing an overhaul at Newport News Shipbuilding. While the probe into three suicides of sailors assigned to the USS George Washington found the deaths were not connected, the roughly 60-page report released Dec. 19 found the Washington’s psychologist and behavioral health technician — Psych Boss and Psych Tech — were “overwhelmed” and struggled to keep up with the demand for services.

3.   Officials at a vocational school in an eastern Ukraine city dismissed claims by Russia that hundreds of Ukrainian troops were killed in a missile strike there, saying Monday that a rocket merely blew out windows and damaged classrooms.

4.   Ukraine’s president praised the United States for including tank-killing armored vehicles in its latest multibillion-dollar package of military aid, saying they are “exactly what is needed” for Ukrainian troops locked in combat against Russian forces, even as both sides celebrated Orthodox Christmas on Saturday.

5.   Col. Ricky Taylor, commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, has jumped 99 times from military aircraft as a paratrooper, but only once in Japan. He was as mindful on the 99th jump over this Japan Ground Self-Defense Force base of the risk involved as he was on the first. Taylor and more than 400 American, Japanese, Australian and British paratroopers jumped Sunday into a drop zone at Camp Narashino, east of Tokyo in Chiba prefecture, as part of the annual New Year’s Friendship Parachute Jump, Tech Sgt. Chris Hubenthal, a spokesman for the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.