US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide • Hacker News Board

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#121

Post by jmyeet » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:32 PM UTC

I think a lot of people are misunderstanding the significance of "cluster" here. It's not just a statistical anomaly where a disproportionate number of deaths happen in a short space of time. Clusters also happen because suicide by one member of a group can influence other people in the group to do the same thing. This is also why details of how people went about it are scarce in reporting. It's also a big reason why the infamous scene from 13 Reasons Why got removed later on.

It's hard to determine what the expected rate should be. The military as a whole skews younger and more male. But people with mental health issues tend to leave or wash out eventually. So you see a disproprotionate rate of suicide among veterans. It's where the "22 veterans a day" [1] number comes from (although later research seems to indicate the real figure is now lower).

The US military is a difficult psychological environment. Arguably, this is completely unnecessary. There are many jokes about this like having to come in on the weekend because somebody wore the wrong color socks or having to show up at 3am for a 10am formation ("hurry up and wait"). Also, the US military constantly moves servicemembers around (ie PCS). Other militaries don't necessarily work that way. It's conformity taken to an extreme level.

One author (Daniella Mestyanek Young, a former Army intelligence officer herself) has written two books claiming the US military is essentially a cult.

[1]: https://www.npr.org/2015/10/01/444999996/the-number-22-is-th...

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#122

Post by johnnyApplePRNG » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:33 PM UTC

nosmokewhereiam wrote: post #111

Glad to see this brought up! My entire Air Force experience is blocked to comment on besides basic training...Tech school and forward is NDA'd, read in, etc You don't really get to sneak a glimpse of operations and write a book like the SEALs seem get to (jk!)

So just suffer in silence because you signed some papers when you were too young to understand what they really meant?

That's horrible.

I almost signed up for the Canadian Military back in the early 2000s and I think my lucky stars every day that I skipped that last recruitment meeting.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#123

Post by sandworm101 » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:34 PM UTC

qaq wrote: post #107

sandworm101 wrote: post #74

This isn't Russian assassins. They kill specific notable people, not functionaries. Nor is this about not being able to talk about work. Working in these fields becomes your life. You talk about it all day. They don't want to talk about it more, certainly not at home. This is about over-qualification in a narrow field. These are people for whom there is only the one job. Then ... something happens that threatens that…

Only one job ? Worked with a ton of ex NSA and CIA people in a large cybersec company.

Cybersec is not intelligence. The people suiciding in the article seem to be from intelligence rather than cyber. The fields are often conflated but they are different communities. One feeds data to the other.

Clearances are under more scrutiny for intelligence operators than cyber because, generally, the cyber people should not have access to finalized intelligence, the assessments and recommendations passed to decision makers. Cyber people also only work in cyber and know nothing about other sensor areas (ie human spy programs).

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#124

Post by aetch » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:36 PM UTC

exe34 wrote: post #54

YesThatTom2 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Replying to my own post). Also, it’s gotta be mentally draining to be told by the president they have to win but also always let Russian attacks though. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/defens...

The US and Russia are allies.

No, despite what the conservatives and Fox News say, we are not

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#125

Post by cushychicken » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC

amarcheschi wrote: post #63

cushychicken wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Used to work in this field. You're correct: not being able to talk about it is the worst part. This is equally true of successes as well as challenges. I did some cool, very impactful stuff in that job. I will go to jail for a long, long time if I ever go into detail about it.

What can you say, if anything, without going into detail?

It was, on a technical level, the most interesting work I’ve ever done. What people say about the US government being ahead of the commercially available technology curve is certainly true.

The work I did absolutely had positive impact on the world.

People rush to criticize and write off working in the defense sector, but it can be a very rewarding place to work. There are absolutely problems in that sector - bad management and regulatory capture being primary among them. (Ultimately, those are why I left.)

It’s hard to judge accurately from the outside. That’s the nature of classified work: by definition, you can’t know what you’re getting yourself into until you’ve jumped with both feet.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#126

Post by don_esteban » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC

analognoise wrote: post #95

SubiculumCode wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our vulnerability is an open internet that includes Russia, leaving our populace completely open to Russian influence campaigns of micro targeted propaganda, recruitment, and incitement.

I like how the “Chinese propaganda” against datacenters was found to be mostly a collection of facts. While Russian propaganda is more clumsy and emotional, we’ve produced such an unequal society with such low regular education and outright corruption that people fall for it. That says something negative about US, not them. If we admit our system cant even survive an open internet, it should be dismantled or reformed…

This.

I lived in a communistic country, where BBC/Voice of America/Radio free Europe were banned/jammed, under the pretext of 'your feeble minds will not be able to resist the insidious allure of western burgeois propaganda'.

Seeing the same argumentation from the west's side is disheartening. We are now in the west, but (almost) full circle back where were before.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#127

Post by qaq » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:40 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #123

qaq wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only one job ? Worked with a ton of ex NSA and CIA people in a large cybersec company.

Cybersec is not intelligence. The people suiciding in the article seem to be from intelligence rather than cyber. The fields are often conflated but they are different communities. One feeds data to the other. Clearances are under more scrutiny for intelligence operators than cyber because, generally, the cyber people should not have access to finalized intelligence, the assessments and recommendations passed to deci…

there was pretty large intelligence side that did attribution and investigative type work into orgs money movements etc. some of those people def came from non tech backgrounds.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#128

Post by krapp » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:41 PM UTC

wbl wrote: post #81

a2800276 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they only kill random fishermen in the Caribbean, foreign leaders get kidnapped and tried in kangaroo courts. Except Iranian leaders, those do get killed. But that's just the last 6 months.

Those were military not CIA. The distinction really matters!

>The distinction really matters!

to whom?

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#129

Post by raffael_de » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:42 PM UTC

y-curious wrote: post #120

raffael_de wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm pretty sure that segment has lower than average suicide rate. well paid, well educated.

I agree with you generally but a lot of professions that are well-paid and educated still have high rates. Dentists, for example, are 2x the general population

most medical professions have higher rate. it's usually attributed to being constantly subjected to pain and suffering plus physicians can source pharmaceuticals to exit softly. never heard that it professionals are particularly prone to suicide.

Re: US Military's cyber command unit grapples with cluster of deaths by suicide

#130

Post by don_esteban » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 4:44 PM UTC

SubiculumCode wrote: post #64

noir_lord wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's why I don't see the US making the course correction it actually needs - realistically the "best" feasible outcome is that a presidential election is held and a business as usual democrat is elected who will immediately not address any of the problems for whatever reason (part of the system/paid by the same people pick one). Candidates come and go but the system endures and it is the system that is rotten at ever…

The winning Presidential campaign message would be this: I promise to work to reduce the power of the Presidency via supporting and campaigning for legislation and Constitutional amendments. It is time for Congress to once again be ascendent like it was in the first century of our great Republic. We need a G. Washington, who refused more power than he was offered, setting precedents and expectations.

No, that is your wishful thinking.

Based on recent years and the power of personalized AI influence campaigns, the winning Presidential campaign message (after 4 years of 'change nothing substantial Democrat' would most likely be 'I need real, full (silently: fascist) power, to finally drain the swamp'.