Originally published July 5, 2023 8:00 pm PDT
Suicides among active-duty military members increased by 25 percent in the first three months of 2023 compared to 2022, a new report shows.
QUICK FACTS:
- Military suicides have gone up by 25 percent in the first three months of 2023, compared to the first quarter of 2022, new data from the Defense Suicide Prevention Office reveals.
- The Military Times reported the increase represents the highest number of suicides in the military since 97 were reported in the second quarter of 2021.
- 519 service members died in total by suicide, though officials said young male service members were discovered to be most at risk.
- According to the data, the Army saw the most suicides every year, with deaths in the branch increasing from 37 in 2022 to 49 in 2023.
- “The DoD continues to investigate individual cases to make informed determinations, and conduct the necessary statistical analyses to understand trends over time,” the report explained. “At this time, it is too early to determine whether suicide rates will increase or decrease for Calendar Year 2023.”
MILITARY TRAINING UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN:
- According to Department of Defense (DOD) data, almost 6 million man-hours have been used on the extremism “stand-down” and “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) training in the military since Joe Biden took office.
- The data was provided by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley in response to an October 2021 request.
- The data showed that service members have been engaged in DEI activities for a total of 5,889,082 man-hours, including training on controversial Critical Race Theory (CRT).
- According to a report by Fox News, in addition to the aggressive time commitment, the military has spent $535,000 on the extremism “stand downs,” or discussions about extremism in the ranks, which was ordered by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin in February 2022.
- The training was reportedly in response to aggressive extremism behavior, with an average of 2 hours per Service member throughout the total force of 2.46 million members working on the project.
- Other data indicates that fewer than 100 service members have ever been found to engage in the prohibited conduct.
BACKGROUND:
- In May 2023, The United States Navy revealed that it accepted a “drag queen influencer” to get new recruits to enlist in the service.
- Drag influencer Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, otherwise known as “Harpy Daniels,” announced in November 2022 that he was the Navy’s “Digital Ambassador.”
- According to a Navy spokesperson, the ambassador initiative that Kelley participated in ran from October 2022 to March 2023 and was “designed to explore the digital environment to reach a wide range of potential candidates.”
- “From joining to 2016 and being able to share my drag experience on my off time with my fellow sailors has been a blessing,” Kelley wrote about the ordeal. “This experience has brought me so much strength, courage and ambition to continue being an advocate and representation of queer sailors!”
- Despite its efforts to boost recruitment by lowering standards, the U.S. military struggled to meet its goals in 2022.
- According to the Department of Defense, the Army saw a significant drop in recruiting, while the other branches just met their goals for the fiscal year ending September 30.
- Military expert Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, warned that policy changes implemented by the military to attract more recruits could potentially negatively impact readiness.
- “By reducing certain standards, the military and the administration are trying to overcome the greatest recruiting challenge they have ever faced,” Spoehr said.
