Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday ordered the establishment of an independent panel to review suicides in the military, according to a new Defense Department memo.
The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee will focus on nine bases stateside and overseas, including three in Alaska where the Army has seen an alarming jump in suicides in the past year.
“It is imperative that we take care of all our teammates and continue to reinforce that mental health and suicide prevention remain a key priority,” Austin wrote to the Pentagon’s senior leadership. “One death by suicide is one too many. And suicide rates among our service members are still too high.”
In 2020, 580 service members died by suicide, including those in active service, National Guard and active Reserve. That figure increased by 15 percent, a nearly 80-person jump, from the 504 who died by suicide in 2019.
At the time, Austin said the numbers were “troubling” and called suicide prevention “a paramount challenge” for the military, while pledging to redouble efforts to prevent it in the ranks.
The new independent panel, required under the latest defense policy bill passed by Congress late last year, seeks to do as Austin pledged by reviewing suicide prevention and response programs and finding ways to better them.
“It’s the secretary’s intention that this independent review committee will help us wrap our arms around this and really try to come up with some more innovative solutions for how to how to prevent suicide and how to make sure that everybody’s getting the mental health support that they need and deserve,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said later on Tuesday.
He added many service members believe that if they have suicidal thoughts or depression, they can’t seek help because it could be held against them if they try later on to seek a promotion or new assignments.
“The secretary firmly believes we’ve got to work harder to get at the stigma,” Kirby said.
Austin also wants to work with commanders on firearms storage in service members’ homes or on base. A significant number of suicides in the military have been committed with personal firearms.
The White House in November involved the Defense Department in such a strategy, including safe storage of guns and best practices for gun sales, with a focus on those in the military and veterans.
The committee would be comprised of outside mental health experts with experience in military communities. The panel will visit the nine military installations, hold focus groups and individual interviews with troops and officials and conduct a confidential survey at each location, according to the memo.
The bases include Fort Campbell, Ky; Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; Camp Humphreys, South Korea; the North Carolina National Guard; and three in Alaska – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Fort Wainwright, and Eielson Air Force Base.
Kirby said the installations selected were an initial list and more could be added. He also said some of the installations were chosen based on their isolated geographic location as well as on the resources available with respect to mental health.
Committee members will be named within 60 days and start work no later than May 14, with an initial report due to Austin by Dec. 20. Findings and recommendations will then be due to Congress by Feb. 18, 2023, Austin directed.
“As I have said many times, mental health is health – period,” the Pentagon chief wrote. “I know that senior leaders throughout the Department share my sense of commitment to this notion and to making sure we do everything possible to heal all wounds, those you can see and those you can’t. We owe it to our people, their families, and to honor the memory of those we have lost.”