Overall, there were 523 reported suicides in 2023, the most recent data available, up from 493 in 2022. The number of active-duty troops who died by suicide increased to 363 from 331 the previous year, up 12%. Suicide is by far the biggest killer of service members, killing more than training accidents, illnesses, homicides or combat, according to the Defense Department . In addition to the sheer number, the rate of suicides per 100,000 also went up last year.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who established the committee, said the new findings 'urgently demonstrate the need for the Department to redouble its work in the complex fields of suicide prevention and postvention.' The largest increase in suicides was found in the Marine Corps, followed by the Army, Air Force and then Navy. Sixty-one percent of victims were enlisted males younger than 30.
think we’ve heard loud and clear the message from the front lines that previous suicide prevention training–whether slide decks or just videos that people watch without any facilitation–were not working,' he said. 'In many cases, we may have had effective programs but weren’t measuring whether or not they were having a substantial impact on the overall number.'
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