How can America protect vulnerable veterans?

Brain injuries, access to firearms, and a culture of selflessness intersect to put the lives of our nation’s heroes at risk, says Jayna Moceri-Brooks.

A troubling report from the Pentagon earlier this year revealed that suicide is the leading cause of death for Army soldiers—a population that is nearly nine times as likely to die by suicide than in combat.

“Suicide in the military continues to be a public health crisis, despite decades of targeted interventions. The rates are persistently higher than in the general population,” says Moceri-Brooks, an assistant professor at New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing who studies firearm injury prevention and suicide among service members and veterans.

Moceri-Brooks is working to address a key root cause of suicide in the military, and one that is often overlooked: traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs. Her research also shows that the culture of the armed forces—which promotes loyalty, selflessness, and courage—can both help and harm the mental health of service members.

“Those values end up being a double-edged sword. We have to figure out how to honor them, but also have space to make sure that those same values don’t become barriers to seeking and receiving care,” says Moceri-Brooks, who joined NYU Meyers this fall following a postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center.

In honor of Veterans Day, Moceri-Brooks explains some promising strategies—including proposed changes to the Purple Heart program and legislation informed by her research—to help protect those protecting our country:

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