The latest data from the U.S. Department of Defense show that the suicide rate in the U.S. military has been rising over the past three years, according to Chinese media, citing USA Today, July 26.
326 active-duty service members died by suicide in 2018, increasing to 385 in 2020. Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2021, the number of suicides among active-duty service members was 76, down from 90 in 2020. However, in the U.S. Army, which has the largest number of personnel, the number of suicide deaths has increased over the same period.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the biggest stressor for U.S. soldiers stems from the unpredictability of military life. According to USA Today, U.S. military experts and Defense Department officials reportedly believe that soldiers’ stress includes military life, being asked to counter the influence of foreign forces and a lack of psychological counseling.
A U.S. official, who asked not to be named, mentioned strong demands from commanders to increase troop strength due to Chinese influence, according to the report. Not long ago, U.S. Defense Secretary Austin signed an internal directive that identified China as the “number one challenge” and asked the Defense Department to focus its efforts on dealing with China and maintaining its superiority.
According to Chinese media citing data from the US “Military Times”, a research report by researchers at Brown University and Boston University shows that since September 11, 2001, more than four times as many active duty and veteran Americans have committed suicide as have been killed in combat during the same period. Of current and veteran U.S. soldiers who fought in the global war on terror, 30,177 killed themselves, while only 7,057 died in combat.
The study also found that the increase in the number of suicides among both active duty and veteran U.S. military personnel exceeds that of the general population. In the aforementioned report, Boston University researcher Seiter wrote that the findings demonstrate the failure of the U.S. military and American society to manage mental health under the current conflicts.
