Pentagon Data Reveals US Soldier More Likely to Die by Suicide than in Combat
June 11, 2024
Tom Vanden Brook
USA Today
Pentagon Data Reveals US Soldier More Likely to Die by Suicide than in Combat
June 11, 2024
Tom Vanden Brook
USA Today
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today / June 11, 2024
U.S. soldiers were almost nine times more likely to die by suicide than by enemy fire, according to a Pentagon study for the five-year period ending in 2019.
The study, published in May by the Defense Health Agency, found that suicide was the leading cause of death among active-duty soldiers from 2014 to 2019. There were 883 suicide deaths during that time period. Accidents were the No. 2 cause with 814 deaths. There were 96 combat deaths.
The suicide figures from 2019 predate some Army and Pentagon initiatives to combat suicide, including a workforce that addresses harmful behaviors like alcohol abuse that can contribute to deaths by suicide. In addition, combat deaths declined from 31 in 2014 to 16 in 2019 as deployments to war zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan decreased.
Read the rest of the article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/06/11/military-suicide-defense-department-pentagon-study/73983842007/
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