Military Suicide

Military Suicide

Predicting Suicides—Beyond STARRS

To help combat what is being called a problem of epidemic proportions, the Mental Health Research Network developed a computer model to help identify which patients may be at the most risk for killing themselves.

Military Suicide

Suicide and the United States Army

Perspectives from the Former Psychiatry Consultant to the Army Surgeon General

The suicide rate of active-duty soldiers doubled between 2003 and 2010. In response, the Department of Defense and the United States Army improved their data collection methods to better understand the causes of military suicides. As retired colonel Dr. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie writes, unit history and the accumulation of stressors—from relationship problems to chronic pain—are significant suicide risk factors among soldiers. But, she argues, Army officials must use this knowledge to design more-effective strategies for suicide reduction, including limiting access to weapons, especially post-deployment, and better connecting soldiers with their communities.