Suicide rates in the U.S. military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend

WASHINGTON — Suicides in the U.S. military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend that the Pentagon has struggled to curb, according to a Defense Department report released Thursday. The increase is a bit of a setback after the number of deaths fell slightly last year.

The suicide rate and rate per 100,000 active military personnel increased, but the increase was not statistically significant. The numbers also rose among members of the Reserves, while they fell slightly among the National Guard.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has declared the issue a priority, and top leaders from the Defense Department and across the services have worked to develop programs to both increase mental health care for troops and strengthen education about gun safety, locks and storage . However, many of the programs have not yet been fully implemented, and the measures fall short of the more drastic gun safety measures recommended by an independent commission.

In a statement Thursday, Austin said the new figures “urgently demonstrate the need for the Department to redouble its work in the complex areas of suicide prevention and postvention.” He said the department is taking urgent action to implement changes, adding: “There is much more work to do, and we will not give up.”

The increase was fueled by spikes in deaths in the Army and Air Force, while the Marine Corps and Navy saw very small declines.

A total of 523 suicides were reported in 2023, compared to 493 in 2022. The number of active-duty troops who died by suicide increased from 331 to 363.

Officials have said that because of the declining size of the active-duty force in recent years, they believe suicide rates, not counts, are a more accurate measure. The suicide rate is calculated based on an active-duty force of about 1.28 million, about 330,000 reservists and nearly 430,000 Guard members. The rate for active duty members and reservists went up, while the Guard was lower.

More broadly, however, the trend since 2011 has been an increase in suicides among active-duty military personnel, while the Guard and Reserve have remained largely stable. Officials said the statistics generally reflect suicide rates for society as a whole, adjusted for age and gender, because the majority of military personnel are young and male.

The analysis in the annual report also shows continued trends for those who die by suicide and how they do so. The report shows that young male enlisted men still make up the vast majority of suicides. and that the majority of deaths involve the use of a firearm.

Suicide data for family members of troops lags by a year. However, this shows that fewer family members died by suicide in 2022 than the year before, with a decrease of 9%. Although there are far fewer male spouses, they are responsible for almost half of suicide deaths.

An independent commission recommended early last year that the department implement a series of gun safety measures to reduce the number of suicides in the military, including waiting periods for the purchase of firearms and ammunition by soldiers on military property.

The committee said the department should raise the minimum age for military personnel to purchase guns and ammunition to 25 and require anyone living in military housing to register all privately owned firearms. In addition, the ministry said the possession and storage of privately owned firearms in military barracks and dormitories should be restricted.

In response to that report, Austin launched a new campaign to address suicides on the force, but the department chose not to implement key firearms changes proposed by the committee. Instead, the Pentagon said it would “incentivize” the safe storage of firearms, provide more storage locations and provide more public education about how to store guns safely — similar to steps officials have discussed in the past.

Defense officials said these changes, which include providing troops with a voucher to cover certain costs for weapons locks and storage, are in the works but have not yet been finalized. They are still working to modernize training programs to better instruct troops in the safe storage and use of weapons and to reduce the stigma of seeking mental health care.

Additionally, the military services are hiring for workforce prevention programs and as of this summer, approximately 1,000 professionals have been hired with a goal of 2,500 by 2028.

The National Suicide and Crisis Helpline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.