The number of military service members and veterans in the United States is declining, but their suicide rates are increasing. New data show that suicides among U.S. Special Operations Command tripled in 2018 while suicides among active duty Marine Corps and the Navy reached a 10-year high. These figures are just the latest indication of the growing suicide crisis among our men and women in uniform.

A recently released report by the Department of Veterans Affairs reveals that the veteran suicide rate is 50 percent higher than the general population, adjusting for age and gender. The veteran suicide rate increased by 26 percent between 2005 and 2016, the latest year that data is available. More than 6,000 veterans commit suicide each year. Between October 2017 and November 2018, 19 veterans committed suicide in the parking lots of VA campuses around the country — seemingly a protest against this department’s inability to provide help and stem this crisis.