There were 471 reported suicides across the military in 2024, the most recent recent year the statistics have been recorded, compared with 531 in 2023. (Joshua Seybert/U.S. Air Force)
The suicide rate among active-duty troops decreased in 2024 from the previous year, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the Pentagon.
However, the active component rate has increased since 2011.
“It remains to be seen whether the short-term decreases observed in 2024 in the active component will signal a change in long-term trends,” the 78-page report says.
For years, the Pentagon has struggled to bring down the number of suicides in the ranks. The Defense Department began collecting and reporting quarterly surveillance data on service member suicides in 2018 to help guide prevention efforts.
Overall, there were 471 reported suicides across the total force in 2024, the most recent recent year the statistics have been recorded, compared with 531 in 2023.
The Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and reserves all saw decreases, but the National Guard rate increased by about 13%, according to the report.
The rate is calculated based on an active-duty force of about 1.33 million troops, and about 770,000 reserve and National Guard personnel combined.
The Defense Department in recent years has aimed to improve mental health care access for troops, amid increases in suicide rates and an outcry from Congress and others.
In 2022, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the establishment of the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee, which made 127 recommendations of near- and long-term solutions to address suicides in the ranks. The Pentagon selected 83 of the recommendations from the committee.
The independent panel recommended the department implement 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 panel said the department should also raise the minimum age to 25 for service members to buy guns and ammunition and should require anyone living in military housing to register privately owned firearms. In addition, the panel said the department should restrict the possession and storage of privately owned firearms in military barracks and dormitories.
Austin released a memo September 2023 outlining more than 100 recommendations to be implemented by 2030 to address the suicide crisis in the military. Some of the recommendations included expanding telehealth services, increasing appointment availability by revising the mental health staff model, launching a comprehensive public education campaign on firearm safety, and updating the amount of suicide prevention training. The department chose not to implement the firearm changes at the time.
Consistent with previous years, firearms were the leading method of death by suicide across the force; most firearm deaths occurred with a personally owned firearm, according to the report.
The Pentagon is developing a secure storage voucher program to be piloted at select locations and creating a multimedia education campaign on secure firearm storage, the report states. It did not provide further details.
As of November, the Pentagon has implemented 27 of 83 recommendations, according to the report.
The 2024 suicide report also included data about military family suicides. The number of suicides reported was the same as 2023.
The national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
