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MILITARY EQUAL OPPORTUNITY SELP HELP GUIDE

Updated: January 21, 2025

Racism, sexual harassment and just plain harassment are serious problems in the military, no matter what DoD officials say about the military being the best equal opportunity employer.

Sometimes servicemembers just put up with discrimination and harassment, concerned that complaints will do no good and may lead to pushback or retaliation.

But sometimes people make quiet, informal complaints, and other times they file formal complaints through the Military Equal Opportunity (MEO) system or other complaint procedures.

MEO complaints have a bad rep for being ineffective and leading to retaliation, and that rep is pretty well deserved. But these complaints can be more successful, and retaliation can be prevented or challenged, with some preparation and outside help. Reading the regs and working with a civilian military counselor or attorney can make MEO complaints work.

This report analyzed data from the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report program about suicide events (suicide attempts and suicides) among active component service members during 2010–2012. Most attempts (85.2%) and suicides (83.5%) occurred among service members stationed in the U.S. Drugs were identifi ed as the method of self-harm in 54.8% of attempts but in only 3.6% of suicides. Firearms were the leading method of suicide in both the U.S. and combat zones (61.1% and 97.2%, respectively) but accounted for only 5.4% of suicides in those stationed in Europe/Asia. Hanging/asphyxiation (22.9% overall) was the second most common method in suicides. For suicides using fi rearms, the rates of suicide and the types of fi rearm used varied according to service members’ geographically related access to fi rearms. Challenges to reducing the frequency of service member suicides by fi rearms are discussed.