Despite Prevention Efforts, U.S. Military Suicides Rise -- McClatchy News
WASHINGTON — Eight years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq have etched indelible scars on the psyches of many of the nation's servicemen and women, and the U.S. military is losing a battle to stem an epidemic of suicides in its ranks.
Despite calls by top Pentagon officials for a sea change in attitudes about mental health, millions of dollars in new suicide prevention programming and thousands of hours spent helping soldiers suffering from what often are euphemistically dubbed "invisible wounds," the military is losing ground.
The Department of Defense Friday reported that there were 160 reported active-duty Army suicides in 2009, up from 140 in 2008. Of these, 114 have been confirmed, while the manner of death in the remaining 46 remains to be determined.
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My Comment: This problem is only going to get worse with time, but for the moment our prayers are with the families.
2 comments:
Really sad.
In the article, do they mention to how many soldiers in total these 160 suicides relate?
Here from another article dealing with suicide rates in previous years: "The Army's suicide rate has increased from 12.4 per 100,000 in 2003, when the Iraq war started, to 18.1 per 100,000 last year. Suicide attempts by soldiers have also increased since 2003, Stephens said.
This year the death rate is likely to exceed that of a demographically similar segment of the U.S. population -- 19.5 per 100,000, Stephens said. "
The important thing: 19.5 / 100,000 is regular for US population.. so are those 160 suicides of all soldiers on active duty? how many would this be?
my bad, here the source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/04/AR2008090403333.html
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