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(06/26/2025) VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention researchers learned the prevalence for suicidal behavior can vary greatly across different regions of the United States. The team surveyed nearly 18,000 Veterans across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Pacific Island Territories in 2022. The Western region of the country had the highest rates of post-military suicidal ideation, while the Pacific islands had the highest rates of past-year suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempts. Other factors linked to higher suicidal behavior rates included access to firearms and lower access to health care. The Midwest was the only division in which illegal drug overdose appeared in the top five most common methods of suicide. Consistent with VA’s public health approach to suicide prevention, the findings support the importance of targeted efforts in areas where Veterans have the highest risk of suicide. (Injury Epidemiology, Jun. 10, 2025)