"While all loss of life is tragic, we particularly want to draw attention ot something not widely known outside of military circles: some 140,000 veterans have died by suicide since 2001, and suicide rates also have significantly increased in the active-duty population over the same period. Each one leaves behind not just a grieving family, but a community forever altered. It's the kind of loss that cannot be contained. It reaches across dinner tables, classrooms, workplaces, and communities-sometimes without us even realizing it."
"If you think this crisis doesn't affect you-think again. Every veteran and military service member is a thread in the tapestry of our society. When that thread is lost, the fabric weakens. The impact is more than emotional; it's deeply practical and economic. Their absence means fewer experienced mentors in our workplaces, fewer volunteers in our neighborhoods, and fewer leaders in our communities. The loss of each veteran is also a loss to our economy-potential contributions, innovations, and wisdom that will never be realized."
Since 2001, roughly 140,000 veterans have died by suicide, with active-duty suicide rates also rising over the same period. Each death leaves grieving families and fundamentally alters communities, reaching into homes, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. The loss removes experienced mentors, volunteers, and leaders, producing practical and economic consequences in addition to emotional harm. Quantifying the economic cost cannot capture human loss or the pain of survivors, but the absence of veterans erases potential contributions, innovations, and guidance. Recognizing these ripple effects aims to increase understanding, compassion, and coordinated action for veteran mental health and prevention.
Read at The Cipher Brief
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