Suicide rate among US service members on sharp rise in past 2 decades: report

NEW YORK - In the past 20 years, the suicide rate among US service members has skyrocketed, with more than 30,177 service members and veterans who served during the global war on terror alone dying due to suicide, four times the amount of troops lost in combat during the period, reported US news portal Slate last week.

"In the past five years, the suicide rate among active duty service members has increased by 41 percent," said the report titled "The Military Keeps Making One Obvious Mistake With Its Suicide Prevention Efforts."

During 2020, the military suicide rate increased by 16 percent, while the nation's suicide rate dropped by 6 percent. The suicide rate in the US Army is the highest it has been in over 100 years, according to the report.

"The suicide rate for women in the military is double their national average. For Black service members, it is almost triple the national demographic average," it said.

Some have theorized that high rates of gun ownership among service members and veterans may be a driver of this crisis, while "others have advanced claims that it's due to failings by those who join the military themselves - a horrifying callback to the past, when many blamed mental issues on a lack of soldier discipline or bravery," the report added.