A record breaking 112 active-duty Air Force personnel committed suicide in 2019

More than 800 trainees paraded during the Air Force Basic Military Training Graduation held at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in this 2019 file photo. Recent data show that the Air Force set a record for suicides last year. less More than 800 trainees paraded during the Air Force Basic Military Training Graduation held at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in this 2019 file photo. Recent data show that the Air Force set a record for ... more Photo: Bob Owen /Staff Photographer Photo: Bob Owen /Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close A record breaking 112 active-duty Air Force personnel committed suicide in 2019 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

The Air Force set a record for suicides in 2019, a stark reminder that a Pentagon all but invincible on the battlefield has struggled to protect its troops from themselves.

There were at least 112 suspected and confirmed suicides among active-duty, reserve and Air National Guard personnel last year. That was a 40 percent jump from the year before and the highest total since the Air Force began tracking suicides in 2003.

The previous record was set in 2015, when 94 airmen took their own lives.

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The pace of suicides in 2019 so alarmed Air Force leaders that the service’s top commander, Gen. David Goldfein, ordered a “tactical pause” in operations in July to raise awareness of the problem. He warned that suicides could exceed 150 by the end of the year if nothing was done.

Goldfein’s action appears to have had an effect. Suicides occurred at a rate of about 13 per month before the pause and dropped to an average of 5.6 a month for the rest of the year.

The record 2019 total was shown in an Air Force graphic displayed on a Facebook group of airmen, non-commissioned officers and senior NCOs (called “Air Force amn/nco/snco”).

The graphic was marked for official use only within the Pentagon. A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed its authenticity to the San Antonio Express-News.

The graphic included a note that 68 deaths in the 2019 total were suspected suicides, not yet confirmed.

Asked for comment, the Air Force released a statement from Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services.

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“The Department of the Air Force has been and continues to pursue immediate, mid-term, and long-range suicide prevention initiatives for the total force that focus on connections between individuals, units, and Air Force family; protections in environments, services, and policies; detection of risk in individuals and units; and equipping the total force and family members to mitigate risk and increase resilience,” the statement said.

“Suicide is a difficult national problem without easily identifiable solutions that has the full attention of leadership.”

The Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the rise in suicides could not be attributed to an increase in the number of service personnel. That number has generally held steady at about 510,600 airmen on active duty and in the reserve and Air National Guard.

Suicides among active duty, guard and reserve personnel in the Air Force:

2019 --- 112

--- 112 2018 --- 80

--- 80 2017 --- 86

--- 86 2016 --- 85

--- 85 2015 --- 94

--- 94 2014 --- 86

--- 86 2013 --- 72

--- 72 2012 --- 75

--- 75 2011 --- 70

--- 70 2010 --- 80

--- 80 2009 --- 66

--- 66 2008 --- 53

--- 53 2007 --- 59

--- 59 2006 --- 60

--- 60 2005 --- 49

--- 49 2004 --- 72

--- 72 2003 --- 58

Source: U.S. Air Force

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