(Credit; Army.mil /  The Pentagon says suicide prevention in the U.S. military is a high priority  as such deaths continue to rise among service members.

By  Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON    DC   –   PENTAGON  –  The Pentagon is creating a Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee as suicide rates among U.S. service members continue to rise.   The DOD reported that in 2020,  a total of 580 service members died by suicide, that includes active, reserve, and National Guard.  In 2019, there were 498 suicide deaths by service members.  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has directed the DOD to create a Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.  The committee will conduct a comprehensive review of the department’s efforts to prevent suicide “as part of the Secretary’s priority of taking care of our people,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.   Army officials had expressed concern  that stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could push suicide figures higher in 2020.

“He’s (Defense Secretary Austin) seen enough to know that we’ve got to do something different.  That we’ve got to try to take additional and more creative action here.  One suicide, again, is one too many.”

-Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby

Photo by Gary Raynaldo  /  ©Diplomatic Times /  Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon in Washington DC  Mar. 22, 2022.

Kirby said this review committee will visit multiple installations in the US and overseas, as well as conducting additional information gathering to strengthen DOD  actions in this area.  “It’s imperative the Secretary believes that we continue to take care of all our teammates and reinforce that mental health and suicide prevention remain a key priority.  I think you’ve heard Secretary say many times mental health is health, period,” the Pentagon press secretary added. 

The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC) will address and prevent suicide in the military, pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.

Defense Secretary Austin approved the following installations as the initial designated locations for review. These installations were selected in coordination with the Military Departments to increase DoD’s understanding of the needs of various geographies, to include geographically-isolated areas and installations outside of the continguous United States, Austin said in a memo. 

• Fort Campbell, Kentucky
• Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
• Naval Air Station North Island, California
• Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
• Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
• Fort Wainwright, Alaska
• Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
• Camp Humphreys, South Korea
• North Carolina National Guard

“The review of these initial installations will yield recommendations for the Department that can be applied at enterprise scale across our Force as we collectively take action to address this issue,” –  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin . 

Significant amount of suicides are gunshot related, personal firearms

The Department of Defense 2020 Annual Suicide Report found that there were 498 suicide deaths among service members in 2019,  of which  318 (64%) involved a firearm.  “There is a significant amount of suicides in the military, that are gunfire related, gunshot related, personal firearms. And one of the things that he (Defense Secretary Austin)  wants to do is work with commanders on storage of the firearms in the home or on base and make sure we’ve got well in hand,” the Pentagon press secretary said. 

DIPLOMATIC  TIMES  VIDEO      Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby announces Review Committee for Suicide Prevention in U.S. military at the Pentagon in Washington DC  Mar. 22,  2022.

Stigma among service members as a barrier to seeking help for mental health issues

“I think, the Secretary believes that one problem that we have to get after is the stigma of seeking help for mental health problems.  Which is still a problem in the military.  There’s still a feeling by too many service members, that if I’m having problems, dealing and coping, I can’t seek help,”  Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said.