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The FormationAccountability Project

Economic & national security research

The Human, Economic & National Security Consequences of Military Suicide

Examining the financial, operational, institutional, and human consequences of suicide within the United States Armed Forces.

Every service member death represents a profound human loss.

It may also affect military readiness, personnel continuity, specialized training investments, surviving families, and institutional resources.

Understanding these consequences requires transparent, methodologically sound research that distinguishes documented expenditures from estimated costs and avoids unsupported causal conclusions.

Evidence dashboard

Verified research metrics

No metric has completed this initiative’s verification workflow.

Pending definitions remain visible below so data needs and limitations are clear. No numerical expenditure, readiness effect, or unverified surveillance statistic is presented as a verified dashboard finding.

Source-qualified research card

Workplace difficulties and suicide-attempt surveillance

Verification pending · Not a dashboard finding

37.8%

Workplace difficulties recorded among active-component suicide-attempt reports in 2024.

This is a documented associated circumstance proposed for verification against the official report and supporting surveillance data. It is not a determination that workplace difficulties caused those attempts.

The official source is linked below, but direct source-passage verification was not available during this implementation. The 37.8% figure therefore remains pending rather than being represented as freshly verified.

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Active-component suicide-attempt reports covered by the official surveillance report
Definition
Workplace difficulties recorded as an associated circumstance in the applicable report population.
Methodology
Official DoDSER surveillance categories and supporting annual-report tables. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
An associated circumstance is not a determination that workplace difficulties caused an attempt. Categories may not be mutually exclusive; supporting-table definitions require verification.

Financial research module

SGLI Expenditures and Military Personnel Losses, 2021–2025

The proposed $1 billion aggregate estimate requires verification against actual benefit-payment records.

It is not displayed as a confirmed expenditure. Insurance payments are transfers to beneficiaries and must not automatically be treated as net economic losses.

Insurance benefits paid to beneficiaries

Separate analytical category

Recruiting expenditures

Separate analytical category

Training investments

Separate analytical category

Replacement costs

Separate analytical category

Operational and readiness effects

Separate analytical category

Broader economic and family impacts

Separate analytical category

Seven connected panels

Economic research workstreams

A

Insurance Benefits

Study actual SGLI payments associated with qualifying deaths.

B

Recruiting and Training Investments

Estimate investments in recruiting, initial entry training, and occupational qualification.

C

Specialized Personnel Losses

Examine losses involving highly trained or difficult-to-replace military specialties.

D

Operational Readiness

Study potential effects on staffing, qualification availability, continuity, and readiness.

E

Military Family Economic Consequences

Examine household financial disruption and long-term economic effects.

F

Prevention Investment

Evaluate costs and demonstrated outcomes of prevention and institutional improvement programs.

G

Workplace Conditions and Suicide Risk

Examine documented associations between organizational conditions, reporting barriers, and suicide-related outcomes.

No workplace condition, particular leader, or alleged criminal offense should be identified as the cause of a suicide without adequate evidence.

Definitions and pending data

Research metric register

Annual series

Pending verification

Annual service member suicide deaths

Pending verified data

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Population defined by each official annual report
Definition
Deaths counted under the source report’s service-component definitions.
Methodology
Official annual departmental reporting. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
CY2025 and any revised historical component totals require reconciliation.

Annual series

Pending verification

Annual reported suicide attempts

Pending verified data

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Population defined by each official DoDSER report
Definition
Reported suicide attempts under the applicable surveillance definition.
Methodology
Official DoDSER surveillance reporting. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
Reported events may not represent all attempts; population and reporting definitions require verification.

2021–2025

Pending verification

SGLI death-benefit payments

Pending verified payment records

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Qualifying insured deaths and beneficiaries under verified program records
Definition
Actual insurance benefits paid to eligible beneficiaries.
Methodology
Benefit-payment records must be reconciled with qualifying deaths and coverage. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
Insurance benefits are transfers to beneficiaries and must not automatically be treated as net economic losses. The proposed $1 billion aggregate is unverified.

Study period pending

Pending verification

Recruiting and initial training investments

Pending verified cost model

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Personnel and expenditure categories defined by the future protocol
Definition
Documented recruiting and initial-entry training investments.
Methodology
Expenditure records and a disclosed allocation methodology are required. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
Average expenditures must not be presented as marginal replacement costs without analysis.

Study period pending

Pending verification

Specialized training investments

Pending verified cost model

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Specialties and qualification levels defined by the future protocol
Definition
Documented occupational and advanced training investments.
Methodology
Program cost records and specialty-specific allocation methods are required. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
Training cost is distinct from replacement cost and readiness impact.

Study period pending

Pending verification

Replacement personnel costs

Pending verified cost model

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Replacement personnel categories defined by the future protocol
Definition
Estimated costs associated with recruiting, training, and qualifying replacements.
Methodology
A future model must distinguish average, marginal, and opportunity costs. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
No replacement-cost estimate is currently verified.

Study period pending

Pending verification

Readiness and staffing impacts

Pending operational research

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Units and specialties defined by an approved protocol
Definition
Potential effects on staffing, qualification availability, continuity, and readiness.
Methodology
Operational data and an approved analytical design are required. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
A death does not establish a quantified readiness effect without evidence.

Study period pending

Pending verification

Military family economic consequences

Pending reviewed research

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Surviving families under an approved research protocol
Definition
Household financial disruption and long-term economic effects.
Methodology
Validated instruments, consent, and appropriate economic methods are required. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
Family experiences vary; insurance transfers and broader economic effects require separate treatment.

Annual series

Pending verification

Suicide prevention program expenditures

Pending verified expenditure records

Publication year
2026
Population covered
Programs and fiscal categories defined by verified budget records
Definition
Documented prevention and institutional-improvement expenditures.
Methodology
Budget and expenditure records with program definitions are required. Source method: Official departmental surveillance and annual reporting. Source passage and supporting-table verification are required before a metric is marked verified.
Date last verified
Current source-passage verification pending
Relevant limitations
Spending alone does not demonstrate effectiveness; outcomes require separate evaluation.

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If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 and press 1 for the Veterans/Military Crisis Line, or call 911 in an emergency. This research center is not a crisis intervention or official reporting service.