The Green Beret community has lost more personnel to suicide than to combat operations since 2001.
"The Green Beret community has now lost more people to suicide than combat operations since 2001." (said at 2:03:50)
A specific comparison showing that the Green Beret community (U.S. Army Special Forces) has lost more personnel to suicide than to combat operations since 2001 was not identified in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Published epidemiological data on U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) duty-related fatalities from 2001 to 2018 showed that the vast majority of active-duty fatalities occurred during combat operations (85.3%) and were classified as homicide or accident, with suicide accounting for only 0.8% of in-line-of-duty deaths analyzed in that study (PMID: 31045733). While other studies note high or escalating rates of suicide among Special Operations Forces and associated mental health issues (PMID: 31201752, PMID: 32052666), and Army STARRS data found lower odds of documented suicide attempts among active-duty Special Forces compared to other combat roles (PMID: 28545424), comprehensive post-service and active-duty mortality counts specifically showing suicide deaths exceeding combat deaths for Green Berets since 2001 are unverified in the medical literature.
- context: Suicide attempts in U.S. Army combat arms, special forces and combat medics. (BMC psychiatry 2017)
"In adjusted models, the odds of attempting suicide were higher in CA (OR = 1.2 [95% CI: 1.1-1.2]) and CM (OR = 1.4 [95% CI: 1.3-1.5]), but lower in SF (OR = 0.3 [95% CI: 0.2-0.5]) compared to all other occupations." (abstract, results)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: A descriptive study of US Special Operations Command fatalities, 2001 to 2018. (The journal of trauma and acute care surgery 2019)
"Most died outside the United States (87.1%), during combat operations (85.3%), in the prehospital environment (91.5%), and the same day of insult (90.4%). Most fatalities were with the US Army Special Operations Command (67.6%)... The manner of death was primarily homicide (66.0%) and accident (30.5%), followed by natural (2.1%), suicide (0.8%), and undetermined (0.7%)." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Resilience and Suicide in Special Operations Forces: State of the Science via Integrative … (Journal of special operations medicine : a peer reviewed journal for SOF medical professionals 2019)
"Despite researchers' consistent assertions that SOF are highly resilient and at low risk for suicide, granular analysis of pertinent research and escalating suicide in SOF reveals no empirical basis for those beliefs." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)