| ■ U.S. Army Suicides Could Hit Highest Levels Since 2003 | 2008.09.08 |
| The U.S. Army appears headed for a record number of suicides this year and may top the civilian suicide rate for the first time since the Vietnam war, Agence France-Presse reported. Last year, 115 soldiers took their own lives, the most ever on record in a single year for the army. So far this year, 93 soldiers have committed suicide, army officials said Thursday. "With four months left, we're probably going to surpass 115," said Colonel Eddie Stephens, the army's deputy director of human resources policy, AFP reported. If the current pace of soldier suicides continues, the army will exceed the U.S. civilian suicide rate of 19.5 per 100,000 people in 2005, the latest data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The army's suicide rate has steadily risen from 12.4 per 100,000 in 2003, despite efforts to increase soldiers' awareness of the issue and to ease the stigma of seeking help for mental health troubles, AFP reported. |