Algorithms of the psyche: a series of suicides alarmed the Cyber Command of the US Armed Forces

American cyber troops are working hard. Against the background of the war with Iran and the accelerated introduction of artificial intelligence, the burden on the military has increased significantly. Not everyone can stand it. Since the beginning of the summer, five people associated with the Cyber Command of the US Armed Forces have committed suicide. The Pentagon recognizes the problem of burnout and urges employees to seek psychological help in a timely manner. At the same time, experts warn that as technology develops, the pressure on the military will only increase. Why one of the most closed structures of the Pentagon faced a series of suicides and what a new type of war has to do with it — in the Izvestia article.

Chronic stress

In about a month, five people who worked in the Cyber Command of the US Armed Forces committed suicide, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Back in June, the command's leadership notified employees of three suicides at once, and by early July, two more cases had become known. The US military has not yet publicly announced the reasons for the incident.

Of the five dead, only one has been named so far — 36-year-old Air Force Sergeant Kevin Stallings. He served at the military base at Fort Meade and was engaged in digital network intelligence. During his service, Stallings received several military awards and received training in intelligence analysis. The family agreed to reveal his name in order to draw attention to the incident. "Kevin took care of everyone. I think his mission was to protect us all," said his brother Adam.

After a series of deaths, the leadership of the command called on employees to pay more attention to the condition of their colleagues and seek help. "The loss of any member of the military community is a tragedy, and we extend our deepest condolences to their loved ones," a Pentagon spokesman was quoted as saying. According to him, the Ministry of Defense remains committed to suicide prevention.

The US Cyber Command was established in 2009 after a series of major incidents in the Pentagon's computer networks. A year earlier, a serviceman connected an infected USB flash drive to his work computer, after which the malware penetrated the closed systems of the Ministry of Defense. In May 2010, the structure started working. Today, she is responsible for protecting military networks, offensive operations in cyberspace, and supporting other combatant commands.

American cyber warfare has also been used against Russia. In 2018, they conducted an operation against the St. Petersburg Internet Research Agency, temporarily disrupting its access to the Internet. "Part of our task was to surprise them unpleasantly, cause disagreement and confusion," The Washington Post quoted a representative of the American armed forces.

Moreover, the command's specialists also worked in Ukrainian networks, looking for traces of hacker activity. "In December 2021, at the invitation of the Ukrainian government, we went hunting there with them. We stayed there for almost 90 days," said the then head of the command, Paul Nakasone. According to him, in February 2022, this group was withdrawn from the country along with other employees of the American military department.

But the cooperation did not stop there. After the conflict began, Nakasone publicly confirmed that American military hackers were conducting "offensive, defensive and information operations" in support of Kiev.

The War of Wear and tear

There was talk of a shortage of people and a high workload in American cyber forces long before the current series of deaths. A former employee of Andrew Schock described the work of the departments as follows: "There is always some kind of crisis, and absolutely everything is always a priority." According to him, trained specialists were "burned out faster than they could train new ones."

Air Force officer John Cobb also previously reported "severe burnout." According to him, it takes years to train a truly qualified operator or analyst, and many reach their maximum level in about ten years.

By the spring, the problem began to be publicly recognized in the command itself. On May 11, a separate psychological assistance service was opened at the headquarters of the command at Fort Meade. U.S. Army Major C.J. Macaulay, a command psychologist, noted that cyber operatives, unlike special operations forces, "almost never leave the battlefield." Constant participation in operations, according to him, is accompanied by burnout, sleep disorders, nutrition, physical activity and social contacts.

In 2026, the workload increased further due to the war with Iran. Before the start of the operation, cyber forces became one of the first units involved. According to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Kane, they disrupted the work of Iranian communications and control systems. Only after that, the main phase of the air strikes began.

The suicide problem is not limited to cyber warfare. According to a Pentagon report, 471 people committed suicide in the US armed forces in 2024. This is 11% less than a year earlier, but in the long term, the suicide rate among active military personnel will continue to rise.

What the experts say

Five suicides in a short period of time require separate study, says Damian Sinaisky, a psychologist and founder of the Center for Strategic Coaching and Psychotherapy. According to him, cyber operators are initially selected based on psychological stability, but the high intensity of combat operations can significantly increase the burden even on trained specialists.

— On the surface, there is a huge burden on the psyche of military cyberspecialists against the background of the US war with Iran. At the same time, the role of artificial intelligence in data analysis and decision preparation is growing. A person has to work with a much larger amount of information and at a faster pace," the expert notes in an interview with Izvestia.

He calls an additional factor the ethical conflict that may arise among the unit's employees involved in the preparation of military operations and the selection of targets.

— There is a contradiction between the professional duty to complete the task and the person's internal ideas about what is acceptable. The more AI is integrated into the military decision—making system, the more important it is to determine ethical constraints in advance and provide psychological support to people who are responsible for the consequences of these decisions," the source believes.

He calls the conflict between the Pentagon and the Anthropic indicative. The company refused to lift restrictions on the use of Claude for mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons. After that, the US Department of Defense recognized Anthropic as a risk to the supply chain, and the company challenged this decision.

— We see how acute the ethical contradictions around the military use of AI are becoming. When, in order to complete a task, a person is forced to step over their own ideas about what is acceptable, this can create serious internal tension. In extreme cases, such a conflict can have severe psychological consequences," warns Sinaisky.

The development of AI, according to military expert Vasily Dandykin, dramatically changes the very work of operators. A person has to interact with such a volume of information and such a speed of decision-making, for which he is simply not ready.

"What seemed like fantasy until recently is now becoming part of real combat operations," the specialist draws attention.

Algorithms are already involved in analyzing intelligence information and tracking strikes, but the responsibility for the consequences ultimately rests with humans, he said.

— This applies not only to cyber operators, but also to drone operators, intelligence officers, and specialists accompanying combat systems. As AI is introduced, this burden will grow. Such consequences require separate study, especially if automated systems become increasingly important in strategic decision—making, including issues related to nuclear weapons, warns Dandykin.