Jon Soltz: Army Record Suicide Rate Continues, and Will Continue for Some Time

[unhappycamper]

Army Record Suicide Rate Continues, and Will Continue for Some Time
Jon Soltz
Co-Founder of VoteVets.org, served as a Captain in Operation Iraqi Freedom
Posted: December 14, 2009 11:36 AM

In what is quickly becoming a year-end tradition, the Army reported that suicides are yet again at an all time high. Reports the Washington Post:

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli on Tuesday called the Army's record suicide rate this year "horrible" and said the problem of soldiers taking their own lives is the toughest he has faced in his 37 years in service.

As of Nov. 16, 140 soldiers on active duty and 71 soldiers not on active duty were suspected to have committed suicide.

The suicide rate has broken its own record every year since 2006. Now, Chiarelli noted, and the Army must be credited with doing more to counsel soldiers to recognize when they need help, and seek help before it's too late. Indeed, the Post reports 40 percent of suicide victims this year did seek out mental counseling. Yet, it wasn't enough.

Additionally, Chiarelli told a real whopper at the press conference to announce the sobering news. "Chiarelli voiced frustration that the Army has not yet been able to identify any causal links among the suicide cases, except that soldiers are more likely to kill themselves when they are away from their stations, where help is available," the Post story states.


Rest of article at; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/army-record-suicide-rate_b_391126.html