GAO Finds Most Military Branches Fail to Properly Monitor Suicide Prevention Training

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report highlighting significant gaps in how military branches track the effectiveness of annual suicide prevention training. While service members are required to complete this training annually, the majority of branches—including the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps—do not consistently monitor whether troops have finished the courses or assess their impact on mental health awareness. The Air Force is the only branch with a more comprehensive approach, though it still falls short of meeting all policy requirements for evaluating training effectiveness.

The report emphasizes that without proper tracking and evaluation, the Department of Defense (DoD) cannot ensure these programs are achieving their intended goals of reducing suicide rates and improving mental health support. Suicide rates among military personnel have risen since 2011, underscoring the urgent need for more robust oversight of prevention efforts. Currently, the DoD does not mandate that branches report data on training completion or effectiveness, leaving a critical gap in understanding how these programs are performing.

The GAO recommends that the DoD require all military branches to track and report this information, enabling informed decision-making to improve suicide prevention initiatives. By addressing these shortcomings, the military can better support service members’ mental health and potentially save lives.