There was an overall decline in suicide rates across all components between the first and second quarter of 2014, according to a new Pentagon report, released Dec. 11. Seventy Active Duty service members, 14 Reservists, and 20 National Guardsmen committed suicide in the second quarter of this year, compared with 74 Active Duty, 24 Reservists, and 22 National Guardsmen in the first quarter. Airmen showed the steepest decline of all services—from 19 suicides among Active Duty airmen in the first quarter to 11 in the second, Reserve suicides went from two to one, and six Air National Guardsmen their own lives in the first quarter compared to to two in the second quarter, states the report. Army and Navy numbers both showed increases (with the exception of Army Reserve, which decreased from 13 to four.) Active Duty marine suicides decreased from 11 to nine, though Marine Reserve suicides increased from four to five.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.