Military Suicides spike again.

[mcscajun]

I heard the latest stats today, and became ill; sad, angry, and ill. When I got home, I looked for the story, and found this:

(PressZoom) - WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2008 – With Army suicides on the rise -- approaching rates for the same demographic among civilians -- Army officials are evaluating their programs to see what more can be done to stop the escalation.
During 2006, 102 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, the highest number since the last large-scale military deployment, in 1990 and 1991, Army Col. ( Dr. ) Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general, said during a media roundtable today.

That’s a rate of 17.5 per 100,000, a dramatic spike from 12.8 per 100,000 in 2005 and the highest rate since 1980, Ritchie said. This compares with the 19.9 per 100,000 rate among military-age civilian males.

All indications show the 2007 rates will be at least as high as in 2006 and probably higher. So far, 89 suicides have been confirmed during 2007, and another 32 active-duty deaths are being investigated, Ritchie said.

Meanwhile, there’s an equally troubling spike in suicide attempts, which surged beyond 2,000 in 2007 from about 1,400 the previous year and about 350 in 2002. Ritchie conceded the rate is on the rise, but probably not as dramatically as the numbers alone indicate. She cited better compliance with reporting requirements and new electronic medical records that make data easier to capture with boosting the numbers.

http://presszoom.com/story_143271.html

For comparison, this story from four years ago:

...the military has documented 21 suicides during 2003 among troops involved in the Iraq war. Eighteen of those were Army soldiers, Winkenwerder said.

That's a suicide rate for soldiers in Iraq of about 13.5 per 100,000, Winkenwerder said. During recent peacetime years, that number for the Army has hovered around 10.5 to 11 per 100,000, Winkenwerder said.

"We don't see any trend there that tells us that there's more we might be doing," Winkenwerder told a breakfast meeting of Pentagon reporters.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/14/iraq/main593160.shtml

[angrycarpenter]

1. Question

If a serviceman commits suicide are they afforded any military honors? Do their families get any compensation? Are they stripped of any medals or rank? Does the army punish them posthumously? I have no idea, maybe someone can answer.

[thunder rising]

2. Killing humans is not natural in the US. Maybe some other places, but we prize life over all else

and killing another human wears hard.

Also, consider that once a killer, always a killer. A GI that has killed spends the rest of his/her life covering it up. It is NOT ACCEPTED on main street. Not even the guys at the VFW tell the story often.

You cannot get a job with a confirmed kill ... thought about that?

[Zywiec]

3. If I read the stats correctly

That’s a rate of 17.5 per 100,000, a dramatic spike from 12.8 per 100,000 in 2005 and the highest rate since 1980, Ritchie said. This compares with the 19.9 per 100,000 rate among military-age civilian males.

Tragic, but still lower than the civilian rate.

[mcscajun]

4. Yes, you are reading it correctly.

Still tragic.

[Zywiec]

5. Thanks, I thought I read that correctly

so in spite of all the hardship the military goes through, apparently they are in a better mental state than the same group of civilians.