In 2007, "at least 128 soldiers killed themselves...and the Army suicide rate surpassed that for civilians for the first time since the Vietnam War, according to Army statistics." In fact, "including the deaths being investigated," which is expected to increase the suicide count, "roughly 20.2 of every 100,000 soldiers killed themselves. The civilian rate for 2006, the most recent figure available, was 19.2 when adjusted to match the demographics."

The trend is not unique to the Army, USA Today (1/30) notes, as "suicides by soldiers, Marines, and combat veterans have all hit records levels in recent years, records show. Last year, 41 Marines committed suicide, a 24 percent increase from the 33 suicides in 2007, according to Marine Corps statistics."

The Los Angeles Times (1/30, Barnes, Chong) explains that "Army officials believe that contributing factors include emotional and psychological stress caused by repeated combat deployments, along with the toll that the tours have taken on marriages." Psychiatrist Judith Broder, M.D., founder of the Soldier's Project, a counseling service for troops and their families, "said the repeated deployments caused some soldiers and Marines to lose faith in religion or themselves. Some become suicidal after abusing drugs or alcohol and they lose rational judgment."

To prevent this, the Washington Post (1/30, A3, Tyson) reports, the Army is planning to "conduct a 'stand-down' from Feb. 15 to March 15 to identify soldiers at risk for suicide, following an extensive education program on suicide prevention that will last until June." The service has "also announced a $50 million, multiyear study on suicidal behavior among soldiers to be conducted with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) -- the largest single suicide study undertaken by NIMH." Furthermore, the Army has "hired 250 new psychotherapists, psychologists, and social workers and 40 marriage therapists, because relationship problems within the family or military are the leading factor in suicides, followed by financial and legal problems."

"At the Pentagon on Thursday, Col. Elspeth Ritchie, a psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general, made a plea for more professionals to sign on to work for the military."

Related links:

- "Suicides of Soldiers Reach High of Nearly 3 Decades," Lizette Alvarez, New York times, January 30, 2009.
- "Officials: Army suicides at three-decade high," USA Today, January 29, 2009.
- "Army sees sharp rise in suicide rate," Julian E. Barnes and Jia-Rui Chong, Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2009.