National Warrior Call Day

 Sunday After Veterans Day

November 13, 2022

• The Warrior Call initiative and its supporters are pressing Congress and the Biden administration to designate the Sunday after Veterans Day as “National Warrior Call Day.”

• The idea is to draw attention to those service members, vets and first responders who may be dangerously disconnected from family, friends and support systems and who may need help.

• The day would mark a coast-to-coast call to action for the public and those who have served.

• We ask all Americans – especially active-duty and retired military personnel – to make contact and call someone who has worn or is currently wearing the uniform and connect them with available resources.

•  A national day, on the heels of Veterans Day and before Thanksgiving, can increase awareness surrounding the value of “warrior calls” and make a real impact.

• Among current service members, a total of 377 active-duty personnel died by suicide in 2020 . That number is up from 348 in the prior year.  Active-duty suicides have been steadily increasing since 2018.

• For veterans, after adjusting for sex and age, veteran suicide rate was 27.5 per 100,000 individuals in 2018, up from 25.8 per 100,000 two years earlier. By comparison, among all U.S. adults, the suicide rate per 100,000 is much lower at 18.3.

• More U.S. vets have died by suicide in the last 10 years than service members who died from combat in Vietnam. The statistics are particularly troubling among post-Sept. 11 veterans and active-duty service members and are between 18-years-old and 34-years-old. Their suicide rate is 2.5 times that of all civilians.

• A recent Brown University report estimates that 30,177 active-duty personnel and veterans of these wars have died by suicide, far more than the 7,057 service members killed in the Global War on Terrorism.