{"id":38564,"date":"2021-04-22T23:49:27","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T23:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/22\/air-force-suicides-plateaued-above-100-deaths-in-2020\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:13:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:13:55","slug":"air-force-suicides-plateaued-above-100-deaths-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/04\/22\/air-force-suicides-plateaued-above-100-deaths-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force suicides plateaued above 100 deaths in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force avoided a spike in suicides among uniformed personnel amid the pandemic and isolation of 2020, but has not managed to bring down the number of deaths despite a push to address mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eighty-one active-duty personnel, 16 Air National Guard members and 12 Air Force Reserve personnel killed themselves in calendar 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dspo.mil\/Portals\/113\/Documents\/2020QSRs\/TAB%20A_20210309_OFR_Rpt_Q4%20CY%202020%20QSR.pdf?ver=UKN194rEw5MhM_vaGy0j0w%3d%3d\" target=_blank>according to Pentagon data<\/a>. Those figures include Space Force guardians as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That totals 109 servicemember deaths in the Department of the Air Force last year \u2014 the same as in 2019, when the service told units to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/08\/01\/with-deaths-by-suicide-rising-air-force-orders-resiliency-stand-down\/\" target=_blank>briefly pause operations<\/a> to take a closer look at the problem. The past two years each had nearly 30 more suicides than in 2018, the highest level of suicides since 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data and studies previously published by the Pentagon and Air Force show that prior to 2019, when 84 active-duty airmen took their own lives, the 64 active-duty suicides in 2015 had been the highest total for the Air Force this century, the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/b6fa278e5078e3479adbe4745b765ed7\" target=_blank>Associated Press previously reported<\/a>. A 2009 Air Force study said active-duty suicides between 1990 and 2004 averaged 42 a year and never exceeded 62.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Numbers for 2020 won\u2019t be finalized until the Pentagon releases its formal report this fall, after death investigations have run their course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe last two years have not been the best for the United States Air Force,\u201d Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles \u201cCQ\u201d Brown said during a Monday town hall. \u201cThe goal is to actually get it as close to zero as we can, and get those who are having challenges the help they need before they make the ultimate decision that can\u2019t be reversed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/04\/05\/active-duty-suicide-numbers-level-off-after-summer-spike-but-reserves-soar\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5735726.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Active-duty suicide numbers level off after summer spike, but reserves soar<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The National Guard&#039;s suicide numbers exploded at the end of 2020, after a particularly stressful year.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force declined to release suicide data for its subordinate organizations or bases, saying the service \u201croutinely conducts suicide analysis boards and analysis of our suicide data to determine trends in our suicide death data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe utilize this data in combination with other risk and protective factor information to target resilience and prevention efforts such as True North,\u201d a program that embeds mental health providers and religious support staff in high-risk groups, said Maj. Holly Hess, an Air Force spokeswoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the coronavirus pandemic upended daily life around the world, the Air Force worried that social distancing requirements, complications for family life and military travel, and other stressors would drive the suicide trend line higher. It turned to telemedicine to offer members a remote source of help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe usage of virtual health increased more than 1,000 percent since the onset of the pandemic,\u201d Hess said. \u201cIn January 2021, 58 percent of all mental health encounters in the Military Treatment Facility were face to face, and 42 percent were telehealth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an April 1 release, the service said it also distributed more than 200,000 gun locks in 2020 as part of a strategy to slow the time it takes to access a potentially fatal weapon. More than 70 percent of Air Force suicides since 2015 have involved personal firearms, according to the release. Airmen also undergo an annual training in suicide intervention, so peers can help if a unit commander is unresponsive to someone\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sending someone to a counselor isn\u2019t a replacement for looking out for each other in the first place, leaders said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got to develop our leaders so that the \u2018easy button\u2019 isn\u2019t to direct their folks to necessarily go to mental health,\u201d Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass said during the town hall. \u201cHow many of us as supervisors, as leaders, actually care enough to find out what is going on with our member or our teammate or our wingman before they even go there? Not everybody needs to go to mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown suggested there is more opportunity to tailor mental health services to a person\u2019s needs, while stopping short of creating a different program for each Air Force career field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne of our challenges right now is having the capacity and the responsiveness for mental health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s harder to connect with colleagues while working from home, or when interaction outside of work is discouraged because of the pandemic, Brown said. That puts the onus on commanders to get to know their airmen so they can learn to ascertain how someone\u2019s day is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/01\/04\/new-in-2021-looking-for-new-perspectives-on-combating-suicide\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6376626.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">New in 2021: Looking for new perspectives on combating suicide<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Air Force is planning to create a working group on mental health and resiliency this year as part of its longstanding effort to combat suicide in its ranks.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics say commanders don\u2019t take mental health and suicide issues seriously enough, and that underlying issues in military life that are causing emotional distress aren\u2019t being resolved. Service officials are also battling claims that seeking psychological treatment could potentially end an airman\u2019s career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMental health treatment generally has a minimal, if any, impact on careers, especially if treatment occurs early,\u201d Hess said. \u201cStigma is a large reason behind the effort to embed mental health providers and religious support teams within specific units as part of the True North program. Early results show embedding these members decreases stigma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recent meeting on emotional resilience explored how the Air Force might further assist those who are overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, or dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Bass said she is awaiting the final briefing on ideas to bolster support services for airmen and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A task force is crafting a five-year strategy for reforming support services and plans to issue recommendations later this year, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/2499862\/department-of-the-air-force-leaders-focus-on-resiliency\/\">Air Force said Feb. 11<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">USAF wants to create a baseline set of services available at every installation, and fix policies within both the Air Force and Defense Department that might deter people from seeking help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe can do a lot of awareness programs and the like, but it goes back to these people skills of actually getting to know people and getting a sense [of] when someone\u2019s not themselves,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of hard to know they\u2019re not themselves if you don\u2019t know them in the first place. That\u2019s something we all have to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Air Force avoided a spike in suicides among uniformed personnel in 2020, but remains at the highest level in recent history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":58275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,23,24,88,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3392],"class_list":["post-38564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WGYFJNQQSRDZ3DIAP727MFAVZU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/04\/22\/air-force-suicides-plateaued-above-100-deaths-in-2020\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Air Force suicides plateaued above 100 deaths in 2020 - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Air Force avoided a spike in suicides among uniformed personnel in 2020, but remains at the highest level in recent history.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force suicides plateaued above 100 deaths in 2020\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Air Force avoided a spike in suicides among uniformed personnel in 2020, but remains at the highest level in recent history.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/04\/22\/air-force-suicides-plateaued-above-100-deaths-in-2020\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-22T23:49:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:13:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. 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