Suicide rate among troops at 6-year high

WASHINGTON – The suicide rate among active-duty troops increased in 2019, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday, and Army officials worry that stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may push figures higher in 2020.

Last year, the rate of suicide among active-duty troops was 25.9 per 100,000 troops, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on suicide. The rate was 24.9 per 100,000 in 2018, and 21.9 per 100,000 in 2017. The rate has showed a steady increase from 2014, when the rate was 18.5 per 100,000 service members. The suicide rates in the National Guard and reserve components of the military remained stable last year, according to the report.

In all, 498 troops died by suicide in 2019.

Among all Americans, the suicide rate has increased 35% over the past 20 years, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The suicide rate among all Americans was 14.2 per 100,000 in 2018, yet the Pentagon’s report states that after controlling for differences in age, suicide rates among troops are roughly equivalent or lower than the U.S. population.

Young enlisted troops are the primary concern. They account for 43% of the military population but 61% of deaths by suicide.

The Army, in a statement Thursday by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Gen. James McConville on the suicide report, noted that COVID-19 has prompted the service to bolster mental health services for soldiers this year.

The active-duty Army has seen a 30% increase in 2020 in deaths by suicide, from 88 deaths by suicide in 2019 to 114 this year, The AP reported.