The US Department of Defense recently published a new report on suicide cases among American servicemen.
It provides statistics for the second quarter of 2021, which shows that the number of suicides in the army increased by 46% compared to the same period last year.
The data announced by the Office for Suicide Prevention of the US Department of Defense (DSPO) is as follows: from the beginning of April to the end of June 2021, 139 suicides were registered among the military. On active service – 99, among reservists - 14 and in the National Guard 26 people took their own lives.
Apart from the fact that this is more than last year. This figure is also more than double the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the armed forces. There are officially 58 of them. And judging by previous reports, the situation is getting worse from year to year.
For example, from 2013 to 2018, the suicide rate per 100,000 military personnel, according to Pentagon statistics, rose from 18.5 to 24.8 people year-on-year. On average, the number of suicides among all employees of the US Department of Defense is growing annually by 5-6%.
It was believed that in 2020 there was a sad record – 580 soldiers committed suicide. But he may well be beaten.
As noted by the director of the DSPO, Karen Orvis, this year "the suicide rate in active service was 28.7 per 100 thousand, which is the highest since 2008, when it was 16.9 per 100 thousand."
At the same time, as it turns out, men (95%), whites (81%), the age category – up to 30 years (67%) and those who have been through military operations (57%) most often commit suicide.
Meanwhile, the "Free Press" says, experts do not yet give an unambiguous answer what provokes such a number of suicides in the US army. The new head of the defense Department, Lloyd Austin, at a recent briefing only stated that the situation continues to develop in a negative way. However, he assured at the same time that the Ministry of Defense would redouble efforts to prevent suicide of soldiers and take measures aimed at providing comfortable conditions for military personnel to seek psychological help.
