On July 23, 2024 the OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE released its
Report on Incidence of Military Suicides by Military Job Code
With the aim of providing data and comparisons on suicides across military occupations.
Journalist Dave Philipps reports:
Explosive ordnance disposal team members, who disable roadside bombs and routinely train and work around very large blasts, had the highest suicide rate — 34.77 deaths per 100,000 people per year — followed by infantry and special operations forces; armor crews; and artillery troops; whose rates are closer to 30 deaths per 100,000.
The rates for these combat occupations are roughly twice those of service members who work in noncombat jobs like data processing or food service.
The report shows a correlation between occupational exposure to blast and suicide.
PANTHER aims to define the cause by defining the bio-physical link between blasts and brain injury.
