Service Member Suicide Up 15% in 2020

October 1, 2021

There were 580 service member suicides in the calendar year 2020, which is up about 15% from the previous year, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on suicide, released Thursday.

“We must redouble our efforts to provide all of our people with the care and the resources they need, to reduce stigmas and barriers to care, and to ensure that our community uses simple safety measures and precautions to reduce the risk of future tragedies,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, according to The Hill.

Those who took their own lives were mostly enlisted males under 30 years old, largely reflecting the demographics of the military as a whole, the report said. The overwhelming majority of the suicides were caused by self-inflicted gunshots.

Austin and the report’s authors stressed that the Pentagon is making suicide prevention a top personnel priority.

“By pursuing an inclusive and holistic public health approach to suicide prevention, especially during the… pandemic, the department has ensured its service members and military families are informed about and connected with available programs, services and each other,” the report said.

Air Force photo illustration by Airman 1st Class Corey Hook

October 1, 2021

Recent News

HASC Floats Sites in Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico for Space Launches

HASC Floats Sites in Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico for Space Launches

The House Armed Services Committee’s draft National Defense Authorization Act raises concerns about whether Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base, California can accommodate an expected growth in commercial and military space...

What’s in the House’s Draft NDAA

What’s in the House’s Draft NDAA

The House Armed Services Committee released its draft fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act this week. Among many other provisions, the draft bill: Sticks to the $883.7 billion topline budget figure established in last year’s budget deal Requires a DOD...

In Our Communities

In Our Communities

President Biden signed an order to block a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, AP reported. The order was in coordination with the multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States....

PAST STORIES

Snap of the Week

Air Force Maj. Gen. Vanessa Dornhoefer greets a World War II veteran during a V-E Day ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. May...

read more