Army Suicide Rate Highest in Decades
Adding to the solemn string of record-breaking statistics, new figures show that the suicide rate among U.S. Army members has hit its highest level in three decades. Last year, over 128 soldiers took their own lives, a telling sign of our military and political climate.
Adding to the solemn string of record-breaking statistics, new figures show that the suicide rate among U.S. Army members has hit its highest level in three decades. Last year, over 128 soldiers took their own lives, a telling sign of our military and political climate.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...L.A. Times:
The suicide rate among Army soldiers reached its highest level in three decades in 2008, military officials said Thursday in a report that pointed to the inadequacy of anti-suicide efforts undertaken in recent years.
At least 128 Army soldiers took their own lives last year — an estimated suicide rate of 20.2 per 100,000, a sharp increase from the 2007 rate of 16.8.
It marked the first time the Army rate has exceeded the national suicide rate for the corresponding population group — 19.5 per 100,000 — since the Pentagon began systematically tracking suicides nearly 30 years ago.
The 2008 figure does not include 15 additional deaths under investigation that officials suspect were suicides.
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Middle East
What did we think nearly 50 years of war and neglect was going to do to the country?
Middle East
What some in Joe Biden's administration appear to see as an opportunity to sideline Hezbollah is really a trap destined for failure.
TD Interview
A new book offers a personal and political history of Bush-era America and its imprints on the present.
Film
With unprecedented access to the Taliban, the documentary “Hollywoodgate” makes promises it can’t keep.
Wounds of War
Over the decades, the DoD has been responsible for the deaths of scores of civilians, but compensating those harmed has never been a serious priority.
Opinion
Where’s the headline-making outrage over the never-ending travesty of Gitmo?
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.