U.S. Cyber Forces Succumb to Suicide Clusters

"[Among the command's top unfunded priorities, spending $11 million to study and address the mental health of cyber personnel is critical]."

"[The funding is used for] cognitive, psychological, physiological and spiritual sustainment for high-tempo cyber operators."

"Without funding, burnout and force degradation will increase."

General Joshua Rudd, Leader, Cyber Command 

US Cyber Command is scrutinizing an unusually high number of deaths by suicide among personnel over a month-long period this summer, Bloomberg  

Deaths by suicide in unusual numbers among the cyberwarfare unit of the U.S. military represents a dilemma in search of a cure; at the very least an understanding of what drives the cluster of suicide deaths. The secretive section of the armed forces facing this phenomenon are of high concern to both U.S. lawmakers and military leaders within the armed forces section tasked to defend U.S. computer systems, and which in turn hacks the systems of foreign adversaries.

 

The mental health state of military hackers have long been concerning, as a reflection of their  workload surging as a result of foreign conflicts. Up to five individuals working in or closely with US. Cyber Command took their on lives between early June and early July, according to internal military communications, public records and those who spoke on condition of anonymity. Cyber Command's leader acknowledged three of those suicides in an email to staff; two more suicides fo;lowed.

 

Sgt. Kevin Stallings, a digital network intelligence analyst, was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland where Cyber Command headquarters sits. He took his own life just before his 37th birthday. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is rarely caused by a single event or circumstance. The circumstances of at least one of the recent deaths is being actively investigated. Motivation for the suicides remains unclear from a study of the records. 

 

An unusually high number of deaths by suicide among personnel in the U.S. military's cyberwarfare unit is concerning for lawmakers and military leaders. Josef Cole/ U.S. Army Files

 

Personnel with Cyber Command most often work far from the physical front lines of war; their roles are largely secret. They suffer, in some cases, from insomnia, from memory loss, rumination and physical illness, according to Erick Miyares, psychologist and former military employee embedded at the National Security Agency. 

 

Cyber Command has linked the quick succession of deaths as a 'suicide cluster', which the Pentagon defines as suicides taking place closer together than normal, and requires they be addressed with specific actions. Cyber Command's workload surged this year, resulting from factors that include the U.S. war with Iran and other foreign conflicts. Also driven up by the urgent need to use and guard against new artificial intelligence models, increasingly adept at hacking computer systems.

 

According to the National Defense Authorization Act from 2023, the command faced "chronic shortage of proficient personnel in key work roles" since its founding in 2010.  

 

The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland. | REUTERS

 

"The loss of any member of the military community is a tragedy, and our deepest sympathies are with their loved ones."

"[The military] remains steadfast in our commitment to suicide prevention. [We] take a comprehensive, integrated approach to suicide prevention [at all levels]."

"[As a result of these] tragic incidents [the Senate Armed Services Committee] is actively engaging with Cyber Command to discuss what resources are needed."

Pentagon  

"Leaving Wokeness and Weakness Behind"

"In accordance with policy now reinstated, service members who have a current diagnosis or history of or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria may elect to separate voluntarily. [If they chose not to do so by the deadline, they would be removed] involuntarily, if necessary."

"This is the president's agenda. This is what the American people voted for."

"TRANS is out at the DOD."

"No more pronouns, no more climate-change obsessions, no more emergency vaccine mandates, no more dudes in dresses." 

"We are leaving WOKENESS AND WEAKNESS behind. No more pronouns. We are done with that sh*t."

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth

 

"There’s no guarantee to access to your pension or severance or an honorable discharge, [for trans service members who do not take the current buyout offer and could lose out on benefits that took years of service to build]."

"This is not voluntary. This is a decision that folks are coming to under duress."

"These are 1,000 transgender troops that would be serving if the conditions were not created to force them into making a decision for their own well-being, or the well-being of their family long-term."

Rae Timberlake, spokesperson for Sparta Pride

Transgender troops have between 30 and 60 days to self-separate from the military after a court order allowed the ban on their service to move forward, according to a Thursday memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The Defence Secretary's directive is expected to bring the careers of thousands of American military service members to an abrupt conclusion. Some 1,000 troops have self-identified as having been given a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, according to the Pentagon, in response to Hegseth's memo directed to senior military leaders. The number is debatable, considered to be quite a bit higher by advocates for transgender service members.

 

From the guidelines issued on Thursday it was not immediately evident how the Pentagon will proceed in an effort to remove any transgender troops who have failed to disclose such a personal diagnosis. A month has been given to transgender personnel serving on active duty to voluntarily leave the service. Reservists have been given 60 days for their voluntary withdrawal. All of them may be eligible for separation pay, but once the deadlines pass the Pentagon will transition to involuntarily separate those who remain.

 

The announcement came two days following a divided ruling in Shilling v. Trump by the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing President Donald Trump to move on with an executive order to bar transgender men and women from the military while a lower court entertains litigation over the underlying policy. In hearings for a separate legal challenge, the Justice Department argued that the policy was not discriminatory since it did not apply to all transgender service members, but those only who suffer or have suffered from gender dysphoria.

 

"The haste with which the military is moving reflects a callous disregard for the brave troops who have put their lives on the line for this country. It is a disgrace", stated Jennifer Levi, the lead attorney in Talbott v. Trump with its 32 trans plaintiffs. Over 4,000 transgender men and women diagnosed with gender dysphoria were first permitted to serve openly beginning in 2016. The Trump executive order grants exceptions for those service members directly supporting "warfighting capabilities".

 

Those who succeed in obtaining a waiver must prove they never attempted to physically transition from one gender to the other. Certain restrictions prohibiting them from changing rooms, bathrooms and showers designated for people of the opposite sex will apply to them. They will also be required to meet fitness standards associated with their sex at birth. 

 

Pentagon officials defended the ban, stating: "The medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service." Psychotherapy, gender-affirming hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery and other treatment for service members totalled $52 million between 2015 and 2024, according to a defense official speaking on condition of anonymity. 

"Additionally, the Military Departments will immediately begin processing for separation Service members who previously self-identified for voluntary separation prior to March 26, 2025."

"Service by individuals with a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibiting symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is not in the best interest of the Military Services and is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security."

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth

A transgender woman speaks as military veterans and their supporters protested against President Donald Trump's policies in March. (Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Trans To The Barricades!!!

"[Service by troops who identify as a gender other than their biological one] conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life [and is harmful to military readiness, requiring a revised policy to address the matter]."

U.S. President Donald J. Trump

"The law is very clear that the government can't base policies on disapproval of particular groups of people."

"That's animus, and animus-based laws are presumed to be invalid and unconstitutional."

Shannon Minter, legal director, National Center for Lesbian Rights

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

It took no time at all after the Presidential inauguration ceremonies, for President Trump to begin signing executive orders in alteration of many initiatives undertaken by the previous Biden administration. One of which was a return to his previous presidential order negating the military service of transgender people in the United States military. Most recently an executive order whose purpose was to direct incoming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to look to revising the policy on transgender groups in the Pentagon. Inevitably leading to a ban on military service for transgenders in the United States.

This was, of course, an entirely expected move, much mentioned as a promise during President Trump's election campaign. In addition to which troops who had left the military of their own volition rather than accepting mandatory COVID 19 vaccinations (including those who had been drummed out of the military for the same reason), are to be reinstated. 

Advocacy groups anticipated the order and they lost no time in reacting, by opposing the order and launching lawsuits. The first of which w as set to be filed the day following the order. Legal teams had for years fought the Republican ban on transgender troops, dating from the first Trump administration. The Supreme Court at that time allowed the ban to take effect, irrespective of the fact that it was  still being brought before the courts. And when Joe Biden took the presidency, he scrapped the order.

Transgender people in the U.S. say they’re worried about what’s to come after President Donald Trump signed an executive order saying his government only recognizes two sexes that are assigned at birth. Still from video/CBC

The National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLAD Law are now filing a challenge to the executive order in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, while also challenging the executive order citing equal protection. No official data exists on transgender personnel serving in the U.S. military, but there is an informal number of some fifteen thousand.

The new executive order differs from the 2017 Trump administration ban, in that it not only bans all future transgender personnel from serving, but as well has the potential to target all current transgender troops, according to Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

"[We do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation but we] will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the Executive Orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives."

Pentagon statement