Military suicides in the United States have increased by as much as 20 per cent this year compared to the same period in 2019, and some incidents of violent behaviour have spiked as service members struggle under Covid-19, war-zone deployments, national disasters and civil unrest, an AP report says.

While the data is incomplete and causes of suicide are complex, army and air force officials say they believe the pandemic is adding stress to an already strained force.

And senior US army leaders — who say they’ve seen about a 30pc jump in active duty suicides so far this year — told The Associated Press that they are looking at shortening combat deployments. Such a move would be part of a broader effort to make the wellbeing of soldiers and their families the army’s top priority, overtaking combat readiness and weapons modernisation.