Army's record suicide rate 'horrible,' general says

[stevedeshazer]

Despite high total, monthly trend largely down since March

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703426.html?hpid=moreheadlines

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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 suicides. "We are almost certainly going to end the year higher than last year," which was also a record for Army suicides, Chiarelli said at a Pentagon news conference.

"This is horrible," he said. "Every single loss is devastating."

However, Chiarelli, who has made suicide prevention a priority, said that despite the high total, the monthly suicide rate has largely declined since March.

more at link

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Not like this is new news, but it is awful news.

[Nikki Stone1]

1. And that's the one thing we're not going to hear about in relation to Ft. Hood

:grr:

[gratuitous]

2. It is horrible news

But what could we possibly do differently from what we are doing now???

:think:

[stevedeshazer]

3. Um, leave?

:)

[StarfarerBill]

4. Nor will they be counted as casualties.

Just swept under the rug, like the rest of the Iraq/Afghanistan debacle.