"The majority of military suicides involve firearms," and "research demonstrates that reducing access to firearms, especially during periods of intense distress, reduces suicides," the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee said in a briefing.

It urged the implementation of a seven-day waiting period for firearms purchases and a four-day waiting period for buying ammunition on Department of Defense property, as well as raising the minimum age for both to 25.

The committee -- which was established in March 2022 at Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin's direction -- also recommended that anyone living in military housing be required to register all privately owned firearms and to secure them in a safe or with another locking device.

Current firearms rules on military bases vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, committee member Craig Bryan told journalists.

The proposed firearms rules -- part of more than 120 recommendations from the panel -- are tighter than those in many cities and states in the country, which is plagued by frequent gun violence.

Gun regulation is a highly contentious issue in the United States, with conservative politicians opposing many or most restrictions.

But Bryan said he believes members of the military are more receptive to gun regulations than the US population as a whole.

"I have found military personnel are much more open to this than civilians," as "many of us are tired of our friends and loved ones dying and we recognize that we have to absolutely take on this issue straight away," he said.

According to the Pentagon, more than 500 servicemembers and more than 200 of their dependents took their own lives during 2021, most of them using firearms.