WASHINGTON>> Suicides in the U.S. military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend that the Pentagon has struggled to abate, according to a Defense Department report released Thursday. The increase is a bit of a setback after the deaths dipped slightly the previous year.

The number of suicides and the rate per 100,000 active-duty service members went up, but that rise was not statistically significant. The number also went up among members of the Reserves, while it decreased a bit for the National Guard.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has declared the issue a priority, and top leaders in the Defense Department and across the services have worked to develop programs to increase mental health assistance for troops and bolster education on gun safety, locks and storage. Many of the programs, however, have not been implemented fully, and the moves fall short of more drastic gun-safety measures recommended by an independent commission.

In a statement Thursday, Austin said the new figures “urgently demonstrate the need for the department to redouble its work in the complex fields of suicide prevention and postvention.” He said the department is moving urgently to put changes in place, adding, “There’s still much more work to do, and we won’t let up.”

The increase was fueled by spikes in the number of Army and Air Force deaths, while the Marine Corps and Navy saw a very small dip.

Overall, there were 523 reported suicides in 2023, compared with 493 in 2022. The number of active-duty troops who died by suicide increased to 363 from 331.

Officials have said that because of the decreasing size of the active-duty force in recent years, they believe the rate of suicides, rather than the number, is a more accurate measure. The suicide rate is calculated based on an active-duty force of about 1.28 million, about 330,000 Reserves and nearly 430,000 in the Guard. The rate for active-duty service members and Reserves went up, while the Guard was lower.

More broadly, however, the trend since 2011 has been an increase in suicides among active-duty service members, while the Guard and Reserve have stayed largely stable. Officials said the statistics generally reflect suicide rates for society as a whole, when adjusted for age and gender, because a majority of those in the military are young and male.

The report shows that young, male enlisted troops still make up the vast majority of the suicides. and that the bulk of the deaths involve the use of a firearm.

An independent committee recommended last year that the department put in place gun safety measures to reduce suicides in the force, including waiting periods for the purchase of firearms and ammunition by service members on military property.

The commission said the department should raise the minimum age for service members to buy guns and ammunition to 25 and require anyone living in military housing to register all privately owned firearms. In addition, it said the department should restrict the possession and storage of privately owned firearms in military barracks and dorms.

In response to that report, Austin released a new campaign to address suicides in the force, but the department chose not to implement the key firearm changes suggested by the commission. Instead, the Pentagon said it would “incentivize” secure firearm storage, provide more storage locations and do more public education on how to store guns safely— similar to steps that officials have talked about in the past.