U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians dive in the Atlantic Ocean on July 24, 2024. Divers and military personnel who work with explosives have some of the highest suicide rates in the armed forces, the Defense Department found. (Jackson Adkins/U.S. Navy)
Infantrymen, armed forces divers and personnel who work with explosives had higher suicide rates than their counterparts in other military career fields, according to new Defense Department data.
The analysis, which was completed in July and posted Wednesday on the website of Sen. Angus King, looked at 5,997 service member suicides and scores of different jobs associated with those who took their own lives between 2011 and 2022.
Overall, enlisted infantrymen had higher suicide rates than those in 21 other occupation codes, followed by service members involved in ordnance disposal, diving, combat engineering and medical care, according to the DOD data.
Troops in the infantry, diving and explosive ordnance fields had suicide rates ranging roughly between 30 and 35 per 100,000.
In comparison, the rate for fixed-wing pilots was 9.49 per 100,000, and for helicopter pilots it was 8.29 per 100,000. Other jobs with comparatively lower instances of suicide included intelligence, food service and computer specialties.
Troops working with artillery also had evidence of higher suicide rates than when compared with a DOD population based on combined suicide rates from the Army, Marine Corps, and Navy, the Pentagon found.
A total of 14 occupations, all of which were among enlisted personnel, had evidence of a higher suicide rate than the U.S. adult population as a whole, the DOD report said.
The analysis was mandated by Congress. King, a Maine independent who first requested the study, said Wednesday that the findings should help the military better understand underlying cultural issues affecting service members’ mental health.
For years, the Pentagon has struggled to bring down the number of suicides in the ranks. The new data details for the first time which career fields carry the highest risks.
Of the nearly 6,000 suicides examined in the analysis, 3,665 suicides were among active-duty personnel, 930 among reservists and 1,402 among National Guard troops.
DOD also examined rates by service branches.
In the case of the Army, DOD performed 27 job comparisons and found that soldiers in the infantry, combat engineering and armament and munitions jobs had evidence of higher suicide rates than the total enlisted Army population.
Likewise, Marine infantry had a higher suicide rate than the total enlisted Marine Corps rate in a comparison of 11 job fields.
For the Navy, only sailors in law enforcement had evidence of a higher suicide rate than the total enlisted Navy rate in a comparison of 14 jobs.
Of the 11 comparisons for the Air Force, all occupation codes had suicide mortality rates consistent with the total enlisted Air Force rate except for those deemed “not occupationally qualified,” which had a lower rate.
