Thirty-two soldiers took their own lives last month, the most Army suicides in a single month since the Vietnam era. Eleven of the soldiers were not on active duty. Of the 21 who were, seven were serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said.
Army officials say they don't have any answers to why more and more soldiers are resorting to suicide.
"There were no trends to any one unit, camp, post or station," Col. Chris Philbrick, head of the Army's suicide prevention task force, told CNN. "I have no silver bullet to answer the question why."
| Someone needs to dig deeper into the numbers, to determine if this is statistical variability or a real trend. Also, it would be helpful to know how the rate of suicides per e.g. 10,000 population compares to peacetime and to a similar civilian population. We mourn every death is a tragedy, but we have enough to determine considerably more than "no trends to any one unit", etc. That information, while useful, is not nearly useful enough. The DoD already has information on age, sex, religion, deployments, education, family status, etc, ad infinitum, and plenty of people who know how to take masses of data and explore it until the statistically significant factors burst from the shadows with their hands over their heads in surrender. |
| Those factors and more have in fact been examined very carefully, including medical factors. This is not an issue of data analysis. It's an issue of how the Army is being used and abused by this country and leaders. |
| Thank you, lotp. That the situation is being exhaustively researched needs to be more effectively communicated. Based on the comment thread at the original article, my thoughts are not original. The other bit, I'm not sure how the Army can communicate publicly without being accused by the thin-skinned of insubordination. |
Last year, a record-breaking 245 soldiers committed suicide. The Army seems on track to surpass that number this year, as 145 soldiers have taken their lives in the first half of 2010.
Tim Embree of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America testified Wednesday before the House Veterans Affairs Committee that many soldiers fear seeking help.
"The heavy stigma associated with mental health care stops many service members and veterans from seeking treatment," he said. "More than half of soldiers and Marines in Iraq who tested positive for a psychological injury reported concerns that they will be seen as weak by their fellow service members."
He pointed out that the statistics don't include the number of veterans who end their own lives. That figure surged 26 percent from 2005 to 2007, according to the Veterans Affairs Department.
The Army has a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline, and has videos and other resources on its website. The Army's new suicide prevention video features a soldier talking about his own failed suicide attempt after his wife said she wanted to divorce him. The rifle he used to try to kill himself didn't fire, he says, and he later found out his comrade had disabled it because he was worried about him.
That has to be one of the most ill-phrased quotes this year. |