The number of military suicides rose again last year, following a bleak long-term trend in which the Pentagon has struggled to make meaningful progress.
Overall, there were 523 reported suicides in 2023, the latest available data, up from 493 in 2022. The number of active-duty soldiers who died by suicide increased from 331 the previous year to 363, an increase of 12%.
According to the Department of Defense, suicide is by far the leading cause of death for military personnel, and is more common than training accidents, illness, homicide and combat. In addition to the high numbers, the suicide rate per 100,000 people also rose last year.
Suicide deaths among active duty military personnel have increased since 2011.
Defense officials say the proportion of military personnel tends to be mostly young and male, so the proportion is about the same as that of the general population after adjusting for age and gender.
“While 12% may seem like a large change, changes in multiple factors are required to reach statistical significance, but in a relatively small population and a relatively small number of events. “Those changes are less noticeable,” said Dr. Elizabeth Clark, director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Agency. Reporters during a media roundtable.
The number of military suicides rose again last year, following a bleak long-term trend in which the Pentagon has struggled to make meaningful progress. (Kurt “Cyber Guy” Knutson)
He argued that the long-term numbers were more concerning than the year-on-year increase.
“These long-term analyzes are more robust than year-over-year comparisons, and in the long term, active ingredient suicide rates will continue to see gradual, statistically significant increases from 2011 to 2023. '' Clark said.
Another troubling sign from the data is how many suicide victims sought help. 67% had received primary care in the 90 days before death. 34% were seen in the outpatient department of a mental health center. 8% had been discharged from an inpatient mental health facility. and 18% were taking psychotropic drugs at the time of death.
Within the year before death, 44% of military suicide victims reported intimate relationship problems and 42% reported receiving a behavioral health diagnosis.
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“Relationship issues are one of the biggest factors in all of this, which is why we are working hard to help families improve career predictability across the board and provide future-proofing stabilization options. We're investing in efforts that foster a supportive environment.'' It's the difference between seeing a service member at home and not seeing them,'' said Tim Hoyt, deputy director of the Defense Force Resiliency Agency.
The increase in numbers comes after the Pentagon has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to combat suicide rates among military personnel, and has requested more than $500 million to address the issue by 2025.
In 2022, Congress mandated the establishment of the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Commission, which submitted 83 recommendations to the Department of Defense to address military suicide.
Overall, there were 523 reported suicides in 2023, up from 493 in 2022, according to the latest data available. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The committee recommended improving the delivery of mental health care, addressing stigma and other barriers to care, and reviewing suicide prevention training.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who created the commission, said the new findings “demonstrate the urgent need for the Department of Defense to redouble its efforts in this complex field of suicide prevention and post-suicide.” Ta.
The Marine Corps had the largest increase in suicides, followed by the Army, Air Force, and Navy. 61% of the victims were male volunteers under the age of 30.
Hoyt said the military should expect “more dynamic” suicide prevention training that is “on-the-ground” in the future.
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“I think we're hearing the message loud and clear from the front lines that traditional suicide prevention training, whether it's slide decks or just videos that people watch without any facilitation, isn't working,” he said. said.
“In many cases, we may have had an effective program, but we weren't measuring whether it was having a significant impact on the overall numbers.”
