washington – Suicides in the U.S. military are on the rise in 2023, senior defense officials said, continuing a long-term trend that the Pentagon has struggled to reduce. The increase decreased slightly after that deaths decreased slightly previous year.

Both the number of suicides and the rate per 100,000 active-duty soldiers increased, but the increase was not statistically significant, officials said. That number also increased among Reserve members while decreasing slightly among National Guard members.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin declared the issue a priority, and senior leaders in the Department of Defense and other services worked to develop programs to both increase mental health assistance to troops and support training in weapons safety, locks and storage. But many of the programs have not been fully implemented, and the measures taken fall short of tougher gun safety measures recommended by an independent commission.

Officials said the increase was due to spikes in deaths in the Army and Air Force, while the Marine Corps and Navy saw a very small decrease. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.

Overall, the number of suicide cases increased from 493 in 2022 to 523 in 2023. The number of active duty soldiers who died due to suicide increased from 331 to 363.

Officials said they believe the rate rather than the number of suicides is a more accurate measurement because the active duty force has decreased in recent years. The suicide rate is calculated based on an active duty force of about 1.28 million, a Reserve force of about 330,000, and a Guard force of about 430,000. The rate of active duty service members and Reserves increased, while the rate of Guardsmen decreased.

But more broadly, the trend since 2011 has been for suicides to increase among active-duty service members, while the Guard and Reserves have remained largely steady. Officials said that because the majority of those in the military are young and male, the statistics reflect suicide rates in society generally when adjusted for age and gender.

The analysis in the annual report, expected to be published on Thursday, also shows continuing trends in people dying by suicide and how they do it. Officials said the report showed that young, male enlisted soldiers accounted for the vast majority of suicides. And most of them use firearms.

Suicide data for soldiers’ family members is a year out. However, it appears that fewer family members died by suicide in 2022 compared to the previous year, a 9% decrease in this rate. Although male partners are much smaller in number, they account for nearly half of all suicide deaths.

An independent committee recommended the ministry implement it early last year a number of gun safety measures Reducing suicides on the force, including waiting periods for soldiers to purchase firearms and ammunition from military properties.

The commission said the department should raise the gun and ammunition purchasing age for soldiers to 25 and require everyone living in military housing to register all privately owned firearms. In addition, he said the ministry should impose restrictions on the possession and storage of privately owned firearms in military barracks and dormitories.

In response to this report, Austin launched a new campaign to address suicides on the police force, but the department chose not to implement significant firearm changes It was recommended by the commission. Instead, the Pentagon said it would “encourage” safe firearms storage, provide more storage locations and do more public education on how to store guns safely, similar to steps officials have cited in the past.

Those changes, which could include giving soldiers a voucher to cover the cost of locking and storing weapons, are being studied but not yet completed, senior defense officials said. They are still working on modernizing training programs to better train soldiers on the safe storage and use of weapons and reduce the stigma around seeking mental health support.

In addition, the military services are recruiting personnel for anti-personnel programs, and as of this summer, nearly 1,000 professionals had been hired, with a goal of 2,500 by 2028.

___ You can reach the national suicide and crisis lifeline by calling or texting 988. Online chat is also available at: 988lifeline.org.