WASHINGTON – According to a Defense Department report released on Thursday, there were 523 reported U.S. military suicides in 2023 with 363 of those being active-duty troops.
Both those numbers were an increase from 2022.
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Of the suicides among active-duty service members, about 45% were under the age of 25.
The DOD says suicide is a multifaceted issue, but the main factor experienced by service members who died by suicide is relationship issues with about 44% reportedly having some relationship problems.
Throughout last year, nearly 1,400 active duty troops attempted to take their own lives. The Air Force reported the most suicide attempts at 436. The Navy was third at 287. The Space Force also reported three attempts.
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has declared the issue a priority, and top leaders in the Defense Department and across the services have worked to develop programs both to increase mental health assistance for troops and bolster education on gun safety, locks and storage.
In a statement Thursday, Austin said the new figures “urgently demonstrate the need for the Department to redouble its work in the complex fields of suicide prevention and postvention.” He said the department is moving urgently to put changes in place, adding, “There’s still much more work to do, and we won’t let up.”
Many of the programs DOD leaders are championing, however, have not been fully implemented yet, and the moves fall short of more drastic gun safety measures recommended by an independent commission.
The DOD report says there are 83 enabling actions as a part of the department’s suicide prevention efforts, and full implementation is expected by 2030. Those include:
- Fostering a supportive environment by improving communication and providing predictable scheduling
- Addressing stigmas and other barriers to care
- Revising suicide prevention training
- Improving the delivery of mental health care
- Promoting a culture of lethal means safety, which means safely storing firearms -- which are among the top means of military-related suicides
An independent committee recommended early last year that the department put in place a series of gun safety measures to reduce suicides in the force, including waiting periods for the purchase of firearms and ammunition by service members on military property.
The commission said the department should raise the minimum age for service members to buy guns and ammunition to 25 and require anyone living in military housing to register all privately owned firearms. In addition, it said the department should restrict the possession and storage of privately owned firearms in military barracks and dorms.
In response to that report, Austin released a new campaign to address suicides in the force, but the department chose not to implement the key firearm changes suggested by the commission.
Instead, the Pentagon said it would “incentivize” secure firearm storage, provide more storage locations and do more public education on how to safely store guns — similar to steps that officials have talked about in the past.
Defense officials said that those changes, which could include providing troops with a voucher to defray some costs of gun locks and storage, are in the works but have not been finalized. They are still working on modernizing the training programs to better instruct troops on the safe storage and use of guns and to reduce the stigma of seeking mental health support.
In addition, the military services are hiring personnel to staff prevention programs and, as of this summer, about 1,000 professionals have been hired with a goal of 2,500 by 2028.
If you or someone you know is in need of help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.