The War Within: Preventing Suicide in the U.S. Military

RAND Congressional Briefing Series

Presenter: Rajeev Ramchand

Lengthy and multiple tours of duty are exacting a substantial toll on members of the U.S. armed forces. Until 2006, the year for which the most recent national suicide data is available, the suicide rate in the military was lower than among civilians of comparable age, sex, and racial profile. Since then, the military suicide rate has climbed higher, suggesting that this gap is narrowing and, for some services, the rate may actually exceed that of the comparable civilian population.

RAND recently published The War Within: Preventing Suicide in the U.S. Military, which addressed the following questions:

• What is the suicide rate in the military services and who is at risk for suicide?
• What is the Department of Defense doing to prevent suicides?
• How does the science suggest suicides can best be prevented, and how might the military benefit from this science?

Join us to hear these findings and recommendations informed by research conducted in both civilian and military sectors for the Department of Defense.

Featured Publication

Topics

• Mental Health
• Military Families
• Military Health and Health Care
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Suicide