More Soldiers Die by Suicide Than Combat

According to a U.S. Defense Health Agency report published last month, army soldiers in the five-year period between 2014 and 2019 were nine times more likely to die by suicide than by enemy fire. Sadly, the trend has no signs of stopping. In fact, as combat deaths have declined in recent years, suicide rates have only gone up.  

The U.S. Army has been scrambling for solutions. At one base in Alaska, where suicides spiked, the Army spent over $200 million to create better barracks for soldiers. To be sure, better living conditions, better gun storage, and better medical care can be helpful steps for soldiers questioning their will to live. But this isn’t a financial problem. Nor will it be a financial solution.  

It’s a crisis of meaning … deep meaning. The kind of meaning money cannot provide, but only God can.