United States military veteran suicide

United States military veteran suicide is an ongoing phenomenon regarding the high rate of suicide among U.S. military veterans in comparison to the general civilian public. A focus on preventing veteran suicide began in 1958 with the opening of the first suicide prevention center in the United States. During the mid-1990s, a paradigm shift in addressing veteran suicide occurred with the development of a national strategy which included several Congressional Resolutions. More advancements were made in 2007, when the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act created a comprehensive program including outreach at each Veterans Affairs Office (VA) and the implementation of a 24-hour crisis hotline. PTSD, depression, and combat-related guilt in veterans are often related to suicide as it can be difficult for veterans to transition to civilian life.

Quotes

 * Suicide among service members, veterans, and their families is a public health and national security crisis. In 2019 alone, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 6,261 veterans died by suicide. The Department of Defense reported 580 suicide deaths among Active Components, Reserve, and National Guard service members in 2020; and 202 suicide deaths among military family members in 2019.ii While suicide in the general population has been increasing, the rate among service members and veterans remains too high despite ongoing effort to reduce suicide through the implementation of federal policies, programs, and practices. For more than a decade, the suicide rates have been higher and have risen faster among veterans as compared to non-veterans. Women veterans die by suicide at almost twice the rate than nonveteran women, and veterans ages 18-34 have a suicide rate almost three times higher than nonveterans the same age.
 * Reducing Military and Veteran Suicide (pdf) The White House, 2021


 * Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs say that each year more than 6,000 veterans take their own lives.... The dying didn't stop when the unit came home. Two soldiers in the unit took their own lives. At the funeral for the second veteran, in a supreme example of gallows humor, one veteran told another, "Guess I'll see you at the next one of these."
 * Operation Resiliency Aims to Counter Veteran Suicides, By Jim Garamone, DOD News, Dec. 14, 2022 |


 * Beginning Tuesday, U.S. military veterans who find themselves in suicidal crisis will be eligible for free emergency medical care at any Department of Veterans Affairs facility or any private facility. Unlike for most other medical benefits, veterans do not have to be enrolled in the VA system to be eligible. More than 18 million veterans in the U.S. could be eligible.  The new policy... will include up to 30 days of inpatient or crisis residential care and up to 90 days of follow-on outpatient care.
 * Starting Tuesday, all U.S. military veterans in suicidal crisis will be eligible for free care at any VA or private facility. By Courtney Kube, NBC News, Jan. 13, 2023,