The commission said in its report that “most suicides in the army involve firearms.”
The Pentagon formed this committee last year to study ways to reduce suicides in the US military.
“Reducing access to firearms, especially in times of extreme distress, reduces suicides,” the report added.
The committee included 120 recommendations in its report, including that the army force its personnel who live in military housing to register all their personal firearms in special records, and to keep them in places that are closed with locks.
The committee also recommended that military personnel not be allowed to purchase personal firearms from barracks and military bases, except after passing a mandatory waiting period of 7 days for firearms and 4 days for ammunition.
The adoption of these recommendations by the Pentagon would unify the rules that currently govern the possession of personal firearms by its members, which differ from one state to another.
Last year, more than 500 military personnel and 200 family members committed suicide, the vast majority with firearms, according to the Pentagon.
Shootings are common in the United States, whose constitution guarantees citizens the right to own firearms.
Attempts to regulate the possession of these weapons and demands for stricter control over their sales are met with strong rejection, especially by conservatives.
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