WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides in the U.S. military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend that the Pentagon has struggled to abate, senior defense officials said. The increase is a bit of a setback after the deaths dipped slightly the previous year.

The U.S. military is grappling with a concerning rise in suicides among its personnel. According to the Pentagon's latest report, the number of service member suicides increased from 493 in 2022 to 523 in 2023.

The military had an active-duty suicide rate of about 28 suicide deaths for every 100,000 service members in 2023, a 12% increase from 2022, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Joshua Seybert/U.S. Air Force photo)

Suicide rates in the military increased in 2023, a slight uptick from 2022 that adds to a larger, troubling rise over the past decade. The annual report shows 523 servicemembers died by suicide in

Military suicides increased again in 2023, continuing a steady and concerning rise in self-inflicted deaths among servicemembers over more than a decade, according to statistics released by the Defense Department on Thursday.

Defense Department Suicide Prevention Office staff said the DoD is making unprecedented investments in suicide prevention in an effort to reduce the deaths.

Suicides in the U.S. military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend that the Pentagon has struggled to abate, according to a Defense Department report released on Thursday.