Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered on Tuesday that an independent panel conduct a review of military suicides, a Department of Defense memo read.
The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee is to evaluate nine bases in total, both stateside and overseas, for their alarming jump in suicide rates in the past year.
''It is imperative,'' Austin wrote to senior Pentagon leadership, ''that we take care of all our teammates and continue to reinforce that mental health and suicide prevention remain a key priority. One death by suicide is one too many. And suicide rates among our service members are still too high.''
According to The Hill, 580 service members died by suicide in 2020, compared with 504 such deaths in 2019, a 15% jump.
On Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said, ''It's the secretary's intention that this independent review committee will help us wrap our arms around this and really try to come up with some more innovative solutions for how to how to prevent suicide and how to make sure that everybody's getting the mental health support that they need and deserve.''
Kirby added that service members who are open about their depression or suicidal thoughts might fear being stigmatized, which could prevent them from receiving promotions or new assignments.
''The secretary firmly believes we've got to work harder to get at the stigma,'' Kirby said.
Members of the committee will be named within 60 days and start work on May 14. Their report to Austin is due by Dec. 20. Austin directed that the findings and recommendations be due to Congress by Feb. 18, 2023.
''As I have said many times, mental health is health — period,'' Austin added. ''I know that senior leaders throughout the Department share my sense of commitment to this notion and to making sure we do everything possible to heal all wounds, those you can see and those you can't. We owe it to our people, their families, and to honor the memory of those we have lost.''
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