"In CY 2023, 523 Service members died by suicide, which is more than the previous year (493). The Total Force rate – which is the focus of the ASRM report – of suicide deaths per 100,000 Service members was 9 percent higher than in 2022," the report said.
The Active Component rate was also 12% higher in 2023 than 2022, an increase the Pentagon describes as "not statistically significant."
Active Component suicide rates were similar to the US population in most years between 2011 and 2023 after accounting for age and sex differences, the report noted.
The Pentagon also reported 146 deaths by suicide among family members in 2022, down from the 165 family members lost to suicide in 2021.
The findings indicate the urgent need for the Pentagon to redouble its work in the suicide prevention and postvention, Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement regarding the report.
The Pentagon with the support of Congress is set to make an "unprecedented investment" in suicide prevention in fiscal year 2025, Austin added.