Independent panel found that restricting firearm purchases will lower the number of suicides in the military

An independent panel found in a report that came out Friday that putting off gun purchases by service members on military bases could help stop suicides.

The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee’s final report had a total of 127 recommendations, several of which were deemed “high priority” when it came to access to guns.

Statistics from the Defense Department show that guns are used in a lot of military suicides: 66% of active-duty, 72% of Reserve, and 78% of National Guard suicides.

The review committee suggests that waiting periods be put in place for guns and ammunition bought at military exchanges, that private guns not be allowed in military barracks and dorms, and that the minimum age for buying guns on Defense Department property be raised to 25.

“What we learned over the past year is that a large number of on-base suicides involve guns bought at military exchanges,” Dr. Craig Bryan, a member of the committee, told reporters on Friday. “So, yes, the real goal here is to slow down access to guns.”

Last year, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put together the committee and told it to look into the Defense Department’s efforts to prevent suicide and help people who have done so.

Some of the suggestions are about care for mental health. When it comes to getting and giving care, the committee found that there was a “large supply and demand imbalance.” Because there aren’t enough of them, the people who work in mental health are overworked.

Dr. Rebecca Blais, a member of the committee, said, “The providers on the ground told us that they weren’t managing mental health care; they were managing crises.”

The lack of mental health resources was clear when the Navy looked into why a sailor on the USS George Washington killed himself last year. In that investigation, people who work in mental health care for the GW talked about a “overwhelming” number of patients.

The independent committee went to nine military bases in the past year. According to the report, the committee talked to 2,939 people, including 2,106 military members and 692 civilian employees and family members. The report’s findings and suggestions are based on what these people had to say about their experiences.

In 2021, which is the most recent year for which data is available, the suicide rate for active-duty service members was 24.3 per 100,000 people. This was down from 28.7 per 100,000 people in 2020, which was the highest active-duty suicide rate since the Defense Department started keeping track of the data in 2011.

The committee found that even though a lot of money has been spent on suicide prevention, the number of suicides in the Defense Department has been going up over the past 15 years. The committee has finished its work, and now the Defense Department will look at what it has suggested.