Army general to investigate recruiter suicides

[cynatnite]

SAN ANTONIO – The Army has agreed to investigate a disproportionate cluster of suicides among recruiters in an East Texas battalion, as well as allegations by other soldiers and family members that they were pressured to cover up serious problems in the battalion, Army Secretary Pete Geren said.

Seventeen Army recruiters have committed suicide nationwide since 2001, but four of them were from the Houston Recruiting Battalion, which recruits soldiers from East Texas. A fifth Houston-area soldier killed himself, but he was assigned to the Army's Future Soldier Training Program.

snip:
The investigation was sought by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who heard from soldiers and family members after the Houston Chronicle reported the cluster of suicides earlier this year.

Brig. Gen. Frank Turner has been assigned to investigate the recruiter suicides and the cover-up allegations, Geren told Cornyn in a letter dated Monday.

snip:
Many recruiters are soldiers with recent combat experience who may be suffering from stress and now must persuade high school students and other young people to join an Army at war.

The hours can be long and many work in offices in shopping malls or elsewhere far from Army posts. Cornyn said those conditions isolate soldiers, particularly ones who have recently returned from combat, and may make many of the Army's support services out of reach.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081107/ap_on_re_us/recruiter_suicides