Military Suicides Drop 11% in 2024

0:00Good news from the Pentagon report out this week, U.S. military suicides dropped 11 percent in 2024, down to 400, 71 deaths from the year before. That's across active duty, reserves, and national guard, with a rate per 100,000 service members falling, too. This dip happened under Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in the Biden era, right after a spike in 2023. But zoom out, and active duty rates have climbed steadily since 2011, while guard and reserve numbers held mostly flat. These stats line up with civilian trends when you adjust for the fact most troops are young guys. Prevention's been ramping up, from Austin making a priority, one to programs on mental health access, gun safety, and the Brandon Act letting folks. Seek confidential help anytime. Breaking it down, 302 active duty, 64 reservists, and 105 guard members took their lives last year. Everybody all were enlisted men under 30, with half carrying diagnoses like depression or anxiety, a third-facing job stress, and 45 percent.

1:04Dealing with relationship troubles, the department's doubling down, pushing resilience and support for troops and families to keep bending this curve downward for good. Dallas News Today, powered by AI bringing you what matters. I'm Corey with The Story.