Suicide Rates for US Soldiers at an All-Time High

[babylonsister]

Record High Army Suicides Prompt Action

by Blake Farmer

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All Things Considered, May 6, 2009 · A U.S. soldier is now more likely than a civilian to take his own life. The Army crossed that threshold at the end of 2008 — a year in which 140 soldiers killed themselves — a record high. And the situation is getting worse, not better.

The Army counted 64 possible suicides in the first four months of this year, 11 of those were at Fort Campbell, Ky. — four suicides in January, three in February and four in March.

The stories from this sprawling post on the Tennessee-Kentucky line are tragic and disturbing. Sgt. Jeremy Duncan deployed from Fort Campbell to Iraq with a soldier who killed himself last year with a shotgun.

"And his fiance and his kids were there," Duncan says. He says he would never have known his friend was in trouble. "We don't know what his reasons were. He was like normal, daily life and just called it quits."

The Army has commissioned a $50 million study to help explain the rash of suicides. With so much unknown, officers have been pleading with soldiers to watch each other.

more...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103850359

[Mike 03]

1. Vitally important issue.

If we have any Veterans here, or loved ones or family of veterans, here is a resource I just discovered this week. It looks like it could be very helpful. It's also private.

http://communityofveterans.org/

[babylonsister]

2. Thanks for that link, Mike. I hope you plunked it in the VA forum, too. nt

[babylonsister]

3. It's late, but dammit... nt