Join the Mission · 2027–2030
Some voices were silenced by fear.
Some stories were never heard.
Some families are still waiting for answers.
The formation has a voice.
It's time Congress hears it.
Every service member enters the Armed Forces with a life beyond the uniform. A family. A future. A name. A story.
They deserve leaders who earn their trust, institutions that uphold the law, and systems that take their concerns seriously.
The Formation Accountability Project is bringing together those who served, those who love them, those who have lost them, and those who have the expertise and authority to help improve the law.
The human cost · Research and evidence
Every life has a name.
And a circle of loss that reaches far beyond the uniform.
Official annual counts and reconciliation notes
| Calendar year | Active | Reserve | Guard | Total | Source edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 328 | 74 | 117 | 519 | CY21 original edition |
| 2022 | 333 | 65 | 98 | 496 | CY24 revised series |
| 2023 | 363 | 75 | 93 | 531 | CY24 revised series |
| 2024 | 302 | 64 | 105 | 471 | CY24 report |
Active Component, Reserve, and National Guard; no Coast Guard, civilian veterans, or military-family deaths. CY24 Table 1 includes confirmed and suspected suicides as of March 31, 2025, and revises earlier years. CY21 uses its original report edition and requires reconciliation with later revisions. CY2025 remains unconfirmed here. Current-edition verification and five-year reconciliation remain pending.
Cerel, J., et al. (2019). How Many People Are Exposed to Suicide? Not Six. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 49(2), 529–534. DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12450 · Research abstract
Official source: Defense Suicide Prevention Office annual reports.
The battle here at home
There is a battle
here at home.
It begins with how we care for one another.
And accountability is everyone's responsibility.
Across our Armed Forces, service members train to confront threats to our nation.
They prepare for deployment.
They learn to operate under pressure.
They rehearse how to respond when lives depend on the decisions made around them.
But there is another challenge that demands our attention.
It exists in barracks rooms.
In military households.
In units struggling with trust.
In the quiet moments when a service member feels unable to ask for help.
And in the lives of families forever changed by suicide.
This is not a battle against our own service members.
It is a shared responsibility to confront suicide risk, strengthen human connection, improve leadership practices, and examine the systems entrusted with military personnel.
Every death is a life lost.
Every life has a name.
And every name belongs to a story that deserves dignity.
When we discuss thousands of deaths, we must remember that those numbers represent people whose absence extends into families, friendships, military units, and communities.
The effects do not stop at the barracks door.
They travel home.
They remain at family dinner tables.
They are felt at graduations, weddings, birthdays, holidays, and milestones that a loved one will never attend.
We cannot reduce that loss to a statistic.
But we can use responsible research to understand its reach.
And we can ask what more our institutions can do.
Veterans Crisis Line — free, confidential, 24/7
Dial 988, then press 1 · Text 838255. For service members, veterans, and their families.
The Formation Accountability Project is not an emergency response service, mental health provider, official investigative authority, or protected whistleblower disclosure channel.
This project is not a crisis intervention service. In immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Military OneSource offers official non-crisis support.
The people behind the numbers
Every number was someone's person.
A son who was supposed to come home.
A daughter whose family still remembers the sound of her laughter.
A spouse whose side of the bed is now empty.
A brother or sister whose place at the table remains unfilled.
A friend whose name still comes up in conversations years later.
A battle buddy whose absence is felt every time the formation gathers.
The people we have lost were not simply entries in an annual report.
They were human beings whose lives mattered long before they wore the uniform.
Their families deserve compassion.
Their friends deserve support.
And the service members who remain deserve institutions committed to responsible prevention, fair accountability, and continuous improvement.
No family owes us its grief.
No veteran owes us a painful memory.
No Soldier should feel pressured to reveal personal experiences.
But those who wish to contribute to research, policy development, or institutional reform should have a respectful way to participate.
Participation is voluntary. Contact and detailed testimony intake remain closed; preview forms do not send or save information.
Independent review · Evidence-based accountability
One life is too many.
Explore suicide and command climate accountability, family dignity, and legal safeguards →The people behind the uniform
Before they were Soldiers, they were someone's everything.
Before the uniform, there was a child learning to ride a bicycle.
A teenager dreaming about the future.
A son or daughter whose family watched with pride as they raised their right hand and swore an oath to serve.
Behind every rank, every duty position, and every military identification card is a human being.
Someone who matters.
Someone whose dignity does not disappear when they enter a formation.
Someone whose life is worth more than a statistic.
And someone who deserves to know that the institution they serve will take their safety, rights, and well-being seriously.
They are not just a rank.
They are not just a number.
They are someone's whole world.
To the families who carry an absence
To the families who carry an empty place at the table.
Your loved one was more than the circumstances of their death.
You do not owe this project your story. You do not owe anyone your grief. Your loved one's memory does not need to become public to matter.
Veterans Crisis Line — free, confidential, 24/7
Dial 988, then press 1 · Text 838255. For service members, veterans, and their families.
The Formation Accountability Project is not an emergency response service, mental health provider, official investigative authority, or protected whistleblower disclosure channel.
Participation is voluntary. This project is not a crisis intervention service.
Active-duty service members
To the Soldier who has been afraid to speak.
Your rank does not determine the value of your voice.
You do not have to tell your story to support reform. Your experience and perspective have value.
Veterans and military retirees
You may have left the formation. But your experience still matters.
The last formation you stood in does not have to be the last formation you serve.
You do not have to tell your story to support reform. Your experience and perspective have value.
Current and former military leaders
To the leaders who believe authority must be earned.
Good leadership should have nothing to fear from fair accountability.
You do not have to tell your story to support reform. Your experience and perspective have value.
Congressional offices and policy staff
To the members of Congress entrusted with oversight of our Armed Forces.
The people who defend the Constitution deserve institutions that honor it.
Review the proposals, examine the research, and engage in constructive dialogue about the future of military justice. Engagement is a goal, not an existing partnership.
Attorneys, researchers, and organizations
The work of reform requires more than one voice.
Legal precision. Responsible research. The willingness to listen.
Challenge assumptions, strengthen legal language, identify unintended consequences, and help develop proposals worthy of serious congressional consideration.
Your story belongs to you
Some stories have never been given the space they deserve.
Your experience may help identify a question that deserves further examination.
Your perspective may help researchers understand how a military process works in practice.
Your story may help illuminate an issue that legal language alone cannot fully explain.
But your story belongs to you.
You decide whether to share it.
You decide how much to share.
And you decide whether you wish to be contacted about future participation.
Detailed testimony intake remains closed. Explore participation options without disclosing personal experiences.
Explore sharing optionsWays to join the mission
There is a place for you in this mission.
I have a story to share
For service members, veterans, and families who wish to contribute perspectives.
Share my experienceI lost someone I love
Compassionate suicide accountability research and family advocacy.
Connect with the family initiativeI served. I want to help.
For veterans, military retirees, and former leaders.
Join the veteran networkI can contribute professional expertise
For attorneys, researchers, clinicians, and policy professionals.
Become a project contributorMy organization wants to partner
For nonprofits, academic institutions, and professional associations.
Explore partnershipI work in public policy or Congress
For congressional offices, legislative staff, and policymakers.
Request a policy briefingListen · Build · Advance
Three years to build something that can outlast us.
Planned Fall 2027–Spring 2030: listen through research and consultation; build through drafting and expert review; advance through proposals, policy briefings, and long-term coalition development. Legislative passage and formal congressional partnerships are goals, not guaranteed results.
Planned phase 1
Research
Build the legal and evidentiary foundation.
- Review existing law, military justice policy, investigative frameworks, and relevant research.
- Examine military justice law, investigative processes, and service member protections.
- Seek input from practitioners, scholars, service members, veterans, and families.
Our commitment to every participant
Your trust is not something we are entitled to.
We will not ask you to surrender your dignity for a compelling story.
We will not treat a family's grief as a fundraising device.
We will not publish allegations as established facts.
We will not promise outcomes that we cannot control.
We will not confuse advocacy with the abandonment of due process.
We will listen with respect, examine claims responsibly, protect information within clearly stated limits, and remain willing to revise our proposals when the law or evidence requires it.
The formation that continues
One day, every uniform comes off.
One day, the last formation is dismissed.
The last salute is rendered.
The boots are placed by the door.
The patches are removed.
And a chapter of service comes to an end.
But for some, the memories remain.
The friend whose laughter they still remember.
The Soldier they wish they had checked on one more time.
The leader whose example changed their life.
The family whose loved one never returned.
The questions that were never answered.
And the belief that something should be better for the next generation.
We cannot undo every wrong.
We cannot answer every question.
And we cannot bring back those we have lost.
But we can choose what we do with the responsibility their lives and our experiences leave behind.
We can listen.
We can research.
We can challenge systems respectfully.
We can demand that serious allegations receive fair consideration.
We can help draft better laws.
We can work to ensure that leadership accountability and combat readiness reinforce one another.
And we can stand beside families and service members who want their voices to contribute to meaningful change.
This is not a call to abandon the military.
It is a call to help make it stronger.
Not through anger alone.
Not through accusations without evidence.
But through courage, compassion, legal precision, and an unwavering commitment to the people who serve.
Some of us will never wear the uniform again.
Some are still wearing it today.
Some families will always carry an absence no law can repair.
But all of us can help shape what comes next.
For the Soldier who is afraid to speak.
For the veteran who still remembers.
For the leader who wants to do better.
For the family who carries an empty chair.
For the service members who will come after us.
The formation has a voice.
It's time Congress hears it.
The uniform comes off. The commitment remains.
You do not have to wear the uniform today to help protect those who will wear it tomorrow.
For the formation that continues
The formation is more than the people standing in it.
It includes the people who served before us.
The families waiting at home.
The leaders who still have the opportunity to make a difference.
The veterans who carry lessons from years of service.
And the people who are no longer here to tell their own stories.
We cannot undo their loss.
We cannot promise that legislation alone will prevent another tragedy.
But we can examine the law.
We can listen to service members and families.
We can support responsible research.
We can strengthen accountability.
We can improve the way institutions learn.
And we can recognize that the obligation to care for those who serve does not end when the uniform comes off.
There is work to be done here at home.
Work that begins with human dignity.
Work that demands responsible leadership.
Work that requires evidence, expertise, and the courage to examine difficult questions.
And work that can continue through the next generation of service.
For those we have lost.
For those who still serve.
For those who will come after us.
The formation has a voice.
It's time Congress hears it.
There is a battle here at home.
It begins with how we care for one another.
And accountability is everyone's responsibility.