New Pentagon report highlights suicide risk disparities among military roles

A recent US Department of Defense study has revealed significant disparities in suicide rates among various military occupations.

The Department of Defense's latest study, shared with Military Times, identifies military occupations with the highest suicide risk, including infantry, ordnance disposal, diving, combat engineering, medical care, and certain technical specialties, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

Finalized this month, the report examines suicide rates in the armed forces from 2011 to 2022 by military occupational specialty and highlights key trends to aid in the Pentagon's efforts to mitigate suicide risk.

The findings are expected to guide future initiatives aimed at reducing suicide rates within the military. "These key findings highlight trends that will inform the Department of Defense’s strategies to address suicide risk and potentially save lives," said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a statement.

King was instrumental in enacting legislation that mandated the Department of Defense (DOD) study military suicide rates. Alongside other Congressional members, he urged the Pentagon to produce this report to help develop targeted policies to address suicide risks within the armed forces, as previously reported by Army Times.

The newly released report covers suicide data from 2011 onward, a period during which the Pentagon has developed a standardized reporting methodology. The study identified 5,997 service members who died by suicide, including 3,665 active duty personnel, 930 Reservists, and 1,402 National Guard members.

The analysis revealed that enlisted service members with occupation code 101 (infantry) had the highest suicide rates compared to 21 other occupation codes. This was followed by personnel with codes 143 (ordnance disposal and diving), 103 (combat engineering), 130 (medical care), and 149 (technical specialists “not elsewhere classified”).

Additionally, 14 occupation codes showed higher suicide rates compared to the general US adult population. The three occupations with the highest adjusted suicide rates were 101 (infantry), 102 (armor and amphibious), and 103 (combat engineering). US population suicide data was used for these comparisons up to 2021, the report noted.

In contrast, service members with occupation codes 195 (not occupationally qualified) and 191 (officer candidates and students) experienced lower suicide rates compared to 38 other occupation codes. Additionally, personnel with codes 153 (data processing) and 115 (ADP computers) also had lower suicide rates.

The Army report indicates that soldiers in specific occupation codes—such as infantry, combat engineering, and armament and munitions—exhibited significantly higher suicide mortality rates compared to the overall enlisted Army population. In contrast, soldiers in occupations like data processing, other functional support, and officer candidates and students showed notably lower suicide rates.

The report highlights that only the Army had sufficient data to compare suicide rates by occupation to the overall Army officer suicide rate. Occupation codes 2203 (helicopter pilots) and 2205 (ground and naval arms) had suicide rates consistent with the total officer Army rate.

Additionally, Army Times previously reported that between 2019 and 2021, tank brigades in the Army experienced a suicide rate that was twice as high as that of the rest of the active duty force.