Military Suicides Reached Record High In 2012

Submitted by Mastodon on Mon, 2013-01-14 21:37

Story here. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON — Suicides in the U.S. military surged to a record 349 last year, far exceeding American combat deaths in Afghanistan, and some private experts are predicting the dark trend will grow worse this year.

The Pentagon has struggled to deal with the suicides, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and others have called an epidemic. The problem reflects severe strains on military personnel burdened with more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, complicated by anxiety over the prospect of being forced out of a shrinking force.

Pentagon figures obtained Monday by The Associated Press show that the 349 suicides among active-duty troops last year were up from 301 the year before and exceeded the Pentagon's own internal projection of 325. Statistics alone do not explain why troops take their own lives, and the Pentagon's military and civilian leaders have acknowledged that more needs to be done to understand the causes.'

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Comments

Maybe a couple are. But the vast majority of military suicides are men.

But given the much-higher rate of male suicide in the population generally, you'd think there'd be more coverage for the issue. But since it's not women offing themselves, it just doesn't rate.

Guess the only way to get male suicides in the news is if the males in question have been or are currently in military service. Otherwise, not so important.

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Submitted by Matt on Tue, 2013-01-15 03:25