Suicide rates are statistically higher in military special operations forces compared to general benchmarks.
"I do know that statistically it's way higher in the occupation that I came from." (said at 2:18:44)
Large-scale epidemiological data examining US Army Special Operations Forces (SOF) show that suicide mortality rates among SOF operators were not statistically higher than those of regular Army soldiers, while rates of suicide ideation and nonfatal suicide attempts were significantly lower (70% to 90% lower). However, when suicidal behavior occurred among operators, it exhibited higher lethality (a lower attempt-to-death ratio).
- contradicts: Suicidal Behavior in US Army Special Operations Forces. (JAMA network open 2025)
"Operator suicide attempt crude rates were 70% lower than those of SOF support personnel (rate ratio [RR], 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2-0.3) and 90% lower than those of the total regular force (RR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.1-0.2). Operator suicide ideation crude rates were 70% lower than rates for SOF support personnel (RR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2-0.3) and 80% lower than those of the total regular enlisted force (RR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1-0.2), whereas suicide death rates did not differ." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)