Army suicides up as much as 20 percent

[unhappycamper]

Army suicides up as much as 20 percent
PAULINE JELINEK
AP News
Jan 31, 2008 08:37 EST

As many as 121 Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007, a jump of more than 20 percent over the year before, officials said Thursday.

The rise comes despite numerous efforts over the past year to improve the mental health of a force stressed by a longer-than-expected war in Iraq and the most deadly year yet in the now six-year-old conflict in Afghanistan.

Internal briefing papers prepared by the Army's psychiatry consultant earlier this month show there were 89 confirmed suicides last year and 32 deaths that are suspected suicides and still under investigation.

More than a quarter of those — about 34 — did so while serving a tour of duty in Iraq, an increase from 27 in Iraq the previous year, according to the preliminary figures.

The report also showed an increase in the number of attempted suicides and self-injuries — some 2,100 in 2007 compared to less than 1,500 the previous year and less than 500 in 2002.


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