WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The suicide rate among the U.S. military's active-duty troops is rising at a troubling rate, according to a Pentagon report
In a five year period between 2013 and 2018, a 34 percent increase in suicides was recorded among active-duty troops, says the Defense Department report focused on prevention and analysis of service member and family member suicides.
In 2018 alone, 541 U.S. servicemen and women ended their lives. The rate of suicides among active duty soldiers was 24.8 per 100,000 in 2018, an increase from 2017's rate of 21.9.
In the service reserves, the suicide rate for 2018 dropped to 22.9 suicides per 100,000 from the 2017 rate of 25.7. In the National Guard, the suicide rate rose to 30.6 per 100,000 in 2018 from 2017's 29.8.
The rate among the U.S. civilian population was 14 per 100,000. Most of the troops took their lives using firearms.
Service members who commit suicide are mostly male, white and under the age of 30.
The sharpest increase in suicide rate was noticed among the Marine Corps, rising from 23.4 per 100,000 in 2017 to 31.4 in 2018.
The report points out the well established fact that males have a nearly four times higher risk of suicide death than females.
The report, which contains substantial suicide-related data, represents the first time DOD released numbers related to suicide of military family members.
In a joint statement, Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville called the report 'disheartening and disappointing.'
Defense officials said the department will pilot an educational program to teach stress-coping skills and how to pass those same skills on to others.
'DOD will focus on fully implementing and evaluating a multifaceted public health approach to suicide prevention, and we will target our military populations of greatest concern: young and enlisted service members, and members of the National Guard, as well as continue to support out military families,' said Karin A. Orvis, director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.
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