Across military occupations, infantry troops had the highest number of suicides in 2024, according to the Pentagon’s latest suicide report.
The Annual Report on Suicide in the Military was released Tuesday and marks the first time that the Department of Defense has broken down suicide numbers by military occupation. The job-specific data was included as a new requirement set by Congress.
In the 2024 calendar year, the report found, infantry troops had the highest number of suicides: 49 total across active and reserve forces. The report combined both Army and Marine data for infantry and other combat arms, including combat engineers, artillery and gunnery, and air crew positions. Collectively, those job categories had “higher-than-average suicide risk” after adjusting data for age and sex factors, according to the report. The Pentagon found that the suicide rate for these jobs was 35.7 per 100,000 service members, compared to the total active duty rate of 23.2 per 100,000 troops.
“No other occupation group had a substantively higher or lower suicide risk than their respective population average,” according to the report. “No occupation appeared to have a higher risk for suicide compared to the U.S. population.”
The Pentagon revealed similar trends in a 2024 report to Congress, which found that many combat arms roles, including infantry, explosive ordnance disposal, and combat engineer troops, died by suicide at higher rates compared to other jobs.
Top Stories This Week
Dr. Stephen Xenakis, a retired Army brigadier general and psychiatrist, said focusing on suicide risk factors like certain job fields is important for creating targeted intervention and prevention efforts. Xenakis said he’s “not surprised” that these fields were called out in the report because they are more likely to be exposed to harmful weapon blasts, trauma in combat, and deal with chronic pain injuries. The culture of these jobs also plays a role, he added.
“You have to look at each of these individuals, these soldiers, or particularly any of the service members, and realize there’s a cluster of issues that affect them. And then you go in and they may or may not effectively cope with them. Of course, a lot of them sort of manage with substances,” Xenakis told Task & Purpose. “Across the military, there’s this whole feeling of, you can tough it out, be tough, be strong. But it really happens with combat arms.”
The report found that 472 service members died by suicide in 2024, a decrease from the previous year, but still roughly in line with a long-term trend of increasing suicides among the active duty force since 2011. The National Guard and Reserve suicide rates have “remained stable” since 2011, according to the report.
The Pentagon found that “similar to previous years,” the majority of active duty service members who died by suicide in 2024 were enlisted males under the age of 30 — a population that makes up the majority of the enlisted force according to DoD demographics. That year, over 70% of active duty enlisted service members were under 30 and nearly 83% were men.
As for suicide risk factors, Pentagon experts found that 20 to 24-year-old troops and those who were divorced or separated were more likely to die by suicide when compared to the total active duty force. According to the report, 45% of active duty members who died by suicide had relationship problems and 34% had workplace difficulties.
The annual suicide report was released Tuesday, several months later in the year than it has typically been released, prompting advocates to criticize the delay as a lack of transparency and for the potential impacts it could have on resources. In previous years, DoD hosted a press call with suicide and mental health experts to explain statistics and add context. Officials declined Task & Purpose’s request for an interview with the report’s authors and instead referred to the DoD’s Tuesday press release.
Context matters
Harold Kudler, a former Department of Veterans Affairs mental health policy chief, said that looking at raw numbers in suicide reports isn’t always meaningful until you put it into the broader context.
Kudler noted that the differences in suicide attempt data between the branches might merit more attention. While the Army, which is by far the largest branch by total members, recorded the highest number of suicide attempts, some trends were more troubling for the smaller Space Force, Marine Corps and Air Force.
In 2024, the Pentagon received 1,515 active duty suicide attempt reports. The Army recorded 436 suicide attempts, followed by 445 airmen, 356 sailors, 268 Marines, and 20 guardians.
“There are some interesting questions there about why you’re seeing so many people in the Air Force and so many people in the Marine Corps attempting suicide,” he said.
The Pentagon found that suicide rates among active duty troops were higher than the general U.S. population in 2023. Overall, the gaps between the military and civilian rates “have not differed meaningfully” since 2011.
“This result indicates that the military suicide rates resemble trends in the country as a whole,” according to the report.
If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States. Reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling or texting 988 and you’ll be connected to trained counselors.
