Military Suicide Numbers Rise as Personnel Decreased

Just a reminder as you read this. Less serving in the military this year than last year.

2012

1,393,948

2013

1,372,336

2014

1,347,187

Suicides in first 3 months of year hold steady
Military Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
September 5, 2014

According to the Pentagon, 74 active-duty personnel died by suicide in the first quarter: 19 airmen, 28 soldiers, 11 Marines and 16 sailors.

The Pentagon released its data on suicides among troops in the first quarter of 2014, showing that the Defense Department is holding steady in its battle against self-inflicted deaths.

From January to March, 120 active-duty, reserve and National Guard members died by suicide.

For the same period last year, 122 personnel died, and in the final quarter of 2013, the figure was 117.

DoD began releasing the data by quarter this year to address incongruities in previous reporting methods. Previously, the individual services chose how and when to release their suicide statistics and also determined who was counted as active duty, often skewing rate calculations and making it difficult to compare the problem across the branches or against the civilian community.

DoD officials said they decided to stop releasing the figures monthly to have a better understanding of the problem’s scope.

The largest jump occurred in the Air Force, which saw its numbers more than double from the same time frame in 2013 — a statistic that prompted Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh to release a message to airmen in May reminding them to think about their co-workers.
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