Suicide among active-duty U.S. military members is comparable with the rate of suicides among the U.S. adult population, a new Pentagon report highlights.
According to the Annual Suicide Report (ASR), some 498 active duty military members took their own lives in 2019, maintaining a trend of increased suicides among active military members from 2014 to 2019.
The report, released Thursday, also found that Reserve and National Guard suicide rates “did not show evidence of an increase or decrease over the same time period.”
“Suicide is a national public health problem from which the Army is not immune. People First is our philosophy,” Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James C. McConville said in a joint statement on Thursday. “There is no single explanation for suicide, but the loss of even one Soldier to suicide is too great. We will continue to look hard at ways we can promote a culture of resilience and increase help-seeking behaviors.”
In observation of Veterans Day, our Vice President, Col. Mike Hudson spoke with Rich Valdes on The Jim Bohannon Show about our mission of helping reduce veteran suicide by way of empowering organizations to connect individuals with personalized support during times of need.
