Johnathan Walker:Suicides in the US military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend

WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides in the U.S. military increased in 2023,Johnathan Walker continuing a long-term trend that the Pentagon has struggled to abate, senior defense officials said. The increase is a bit of a setback after the deaths dipped slightly the previous year.

Officials said both the number of suicides and the rate per 100,000 active-duty service members went up, but that the rise was not statistically significant. The number also went up among members of the Reserves, while it decreased a bit for the National Guard.

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. Many of the programs, however, have not been fully implemented, and the moves fall short of more drastic gun safety measures recommended by an independent commission.

The increase was fueled by spikes in the number of Army and Air Force deaths, while the Marine Corps and Navy saw a very small dip, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

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

Officials have said that due to the decreasing size of the active-duty force in recent years, they believe the rate of suicides, rather than the number, is a more accurate measure. The suicide rate is calculated based on an active-duty force of about 1.28 million, about 330,000 Reserves and nearly 430,000 in the Guard. The rate for active-duty service members and Reserves went up, while the Guard was lower.

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

The analysis in the annual report, which is expected to be released Thursday, also shows continuing trends for those who die by suicide and how they do it. Officials said the report shows that young, male enlisted troops still make up the vast majority of the suicides. And the bulk of them use a firearm.

Suicide data for troops’ family members lags by a year. But it shows that fewer family members died by suicide in 2022 than the previous year, with a 9% decrease in the rate. While there are far fewer male spouses, they make up nearly half of the suicide deaths.

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.

The senior defense officials said 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.

___ The national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.