Mortality Among Male U.S. Army Soldiers Within 18 Months of Separation

Understanding how soldiers die after separation from military service, particularly those who die shortly after separating from service, may help to identify opportunities to ease transitions to civilian life.

Mortality data were analyzed for male U.S. Army soldiers who died within 18 months of their separation from service (from 1999 to 2011). Descriptive statistics were calculated for natural, accidental, suicidal, homicidal, undetermined, and legal/operation of war deaths and were stratified by age, component, time in service, and type of discharge. Crude and age-adjusted mortality rates, standardized for all years using the 2004 Regular Army population, were also calculated. The Public Health Review Board of the U.S. Army Public Health Center approved this study as Public Health Practice.

Of the 1,884,653 male soldiers who separated from service during the study period, 3,819 died within 18 months of separation. A majority of all separations were Reserve or National Guard (58%), and 62% of decedents were in the Reserve or National Guard. Deaths from natural causes (38%) were the most common, followed by accident deaths (34%), suicides (20%), homicides (6%), undetermined deaths (2%), and legal/operation of war deaths (<1%). For overall mortality, age-adjusted rates were higher among the male U.S. population when compared to male soldiers who had separated from the Army.

The time period immediately following separation from the Army presents a unique challenge for many soldiers. Developing more effective pre-separation prevention programs that target specific risks requires knowing the causes of death for natural deaths, suicides, and accidents. Over half of all deaths occurring shortly after separation from service are preventable. Continued surveillance of specific causes of preventable deaths following separation can improve pre-separation prevention programs and transitions to post-service care.