Suicide among military personnel rose in 2023 over the previous year despite an increase in prevention efforts throughout the Defense Department, officials said Thursday.

Pentagon officials said 523 military personnel took their own lives in 2023, compared to 493 the previous year. Suicide among active-duty troops rose from 331 in 2022 to 363 in 2023. The numbers for those in the reserves increased from 65 in 2022 to 69 in 2023. 

However, suicides among Army and Air National Guard personnel dipped slightly from 97 in 2022 to 91 last year, according to the Defense Department’s just-released annual report on suicide in the military.

Military suicides rose despite an increase in prevention efforts throughout the Defense Department, including improvements in mental health counseling, an increase in financial readiness and support programs, and efforts to help troops build healthy relationships, officials said.

“Taking care of our people — the brave patriots who serve in uniform and their families — is a sacred responsibility. And it is crucial to maintaining the readiness of the Total Force,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday. “Tragically, the Department continues to lose service members and members of their families to suicide.”

Most service members who died by suicide were young, enlisted men. According to the report, firearms were the primary method, with 65% of the active component.

In May 2022, Mr. Austin established the Suicide Prevention Response and Independent Review Committee to conduct a review of clinical and non-clinical suicide prevention and response programs.

“The Department is taking a comprehensive, integrated approach to increasing protective factors and decreasing suicide risk,” Mr. Austin said. “Our efforts aim to meet the military community where they are in their personal and professional lives.”

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.