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1 1 (September 5, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbayg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Military Suicide Prevention and Response Updated September 5, 2019 Background When a service member dies by suicide, those close to the member often experience shock, anger, guilt, and sorrow. As such, a service member's suicide may adversely impact the wellbeing of his or her family and friends. Further, it may affect the morale and readiness of his or her unit. The military's response to suicidal thoughts (ideation), attempts, and deaths involves coordinated efforts among command and unit leadership, medical professionals, counselors, and others across the military community. Under the authority given to Congress in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, to raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, and provide for organizing disciplining and regulating them, Congress strives to understand the scope of this issue as it pertains to the military, the efforts previously taken to address it, and the considerations for confronting it in the future. Defense Suicide Prevention Office The Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO), established in 2011, is the office responsible for advocacy, program oversight, and policy for Department of Defense (DOD) suicide prevention, intervention and postvention efforts to reduce suicidal behaviors in service members, civilians and their families. The office also manages a 24- hour Military Crisis Line, produces an annual DOD Suicide Event Report (DoDSER), and compiles quarterly DOD military suicide reports. Prevalence Rates In calendar year (CY) 2017, DOD reported 515 service member suicides. There were 286 suicides in the Active Component (AC) (21.9 per 100,000), 93 in the Reserves (25.7 per 100,000), and 136 in the National Guard (29.1 per 100,000) (see Table 1). While suicide remains a low incidence event, military suicide rates grew substantially in the early 2000s, peaking for the active component in 2012. For the past few years of reported data, suicide rates in the Army active and reserve components have been consistently higher than the other services. In addition, the Army National Guard suicide rate has been consistently higher than the other components. There is some evidence of an upward trend in suicide rates for the Air Force and Air Force Reserve. Rates for the other services and components have not exhibited any discernable trends. Comparison to the General Population According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the suicide mortality rate for the U.S. general population was 14.0 per 100,000 in 2017: markedly lower than the 2017 AC rate of 21.7 per 100,000. However, comparisons between military and civilian populations can be misleading because of differences in suicide reporting methods used by CDC and DOD. Also, these populations https://crsrep greatly differ in terms of age and sex-the military services are disproportionately comprised of younger individuals and more males-sub-populations at higher risk for suicide. For CY2017, DOD found that after adjusting for age and sex, the suicide rates for Active and Reserve members are close to what would be expected if the military had the same age and sex composition as the U.S. general population. However, DOD has reported that the rate of suicide for the National Guard was higher than expected relative to the general population. Table I. Unadjusted Suicide Mortality Rates by Service and Component, 2012-201 7 (rate per 100,000 personnel) Service 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Army Air Force Navy Marine CorDs Army Reserve Air Force Reserve Navy Reserve Marine Corps Reserve Army Guard 29.9 15 18.I 22.5 14.4 12.7 24.6 19.1 16.6 24.4 20.5 13.1 27.4 19.4 15.9 24.3 19.3 20.1 24.3 23.1 17.9 21.2 20.1 23.4 24.7 29.6 21.4 27.7 20.6 32.1 nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr nr 30.8 33.7 21.8 29.8 31.6 34.6 Air Guard 19.1 nr nr 19.9 nr nr Source: Compiled by CRS from DOD Suicide Event Reports. Notes: Rates for subgroups with fewer than 20 suicides are not reported (nr) by DOD due to statistical instability. rts.congress g

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