Large increase in suicide rates among U.S. military

Published October 4, 2021 6:42 AM

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - According to data from the Department of Defense, suicide rates amongst active duty service members has gone up to more than 40% in five years.

The data which was released Thursday says in 2020, there was a 9.1% increase in the rate for active duty service members.

Among reserve members, it went up by 19.2% last year.

But it has gone down since 2018.

And though the rate for national guard members went up to almost 32%, it has also decreased in the past two years.

In 2020 alone, 580 members of the military died by suicide.

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April Hettinger

April was born and raised in San Diego where she loved the beach town and her two dogs, Lexi and Malibu. She decided to trade the beach for the snow and advanced her education at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

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