Suicide Rate in U.S. Military Continues to Rise; Pentagon Says It Will Only Get Worse

In 2012, members of the U.S. military committed suicide at a record pace - almost one per day - and many experts believe that the trend will only worsen this year.

According to figures from the Pentagon that were obtained by the Associated Press, there were 349 suicides among active-duty troops in 2012, up from 301 in 2011. Last year's figures also surpassed the Pentagon's internal projection of 325, and were the highest since the Pentagon began closely tracking suicides in 2001.

The number of military members who committed suicide last year exceeds that number of Americans - 295 - who died in Afghanistan last year.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has called suicides in the military an epidemic, but the Pentagon has struggled to deal with them. The problem is said to reflect severe strains on military personnel with over a decade of combat in Afghanistan in Iraq, and is complicated by anxiety over the prospect of being forced out of service as defense budgets are cut.

David Rudd, a military suicide researcher and dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Utah, says that he identifies two main categories of troops that are committing suicide at an accelerated pace: Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress, or substance abuse, and those who haven't gone to war but face troubled personal relationships, money problems, or legal issues. Unfortunately, Rudd doesn't think we'll see a decline any time soon, stating:

"Actually, we may continue to see increases."

Rudd said that since the military is moving towards major personnel cuts as budgets shrink, the fear of being forced to return to civilian society is exceptionally stressful for people whose identity and self-esteem is closely tied to their role in the military.

Military suicides began to rise in 2006, peaking in 2009 at the then-record of 310, before leveling off for two years.

The Army, which is the largest of the military services, had the highest number of suicides among active-duty troops last year at 182. The Marine Corps., whose suicide numbers had declined for two years, had the largest percentage increase with a 50 percent jump to 48. The Marine's worst year for suicides was in 2009 with 52.

The Air Force reported 59 suicides in 2012, up 16 percent from 2011. The Navy also had 60 suicides, which was up 15 percent at 60.

60 percent of military suicides were found to have been committed using firearms. In most cases the guns were personal weapons and were not military-issued.

The Pentagon has also found that those who committed suicide tended to be men under the age of 25 with less than a college education and in the junior enlisted ranks. They also found that most service members who attempted to take their lives - about 65 percent - had a known behavior disorder such as depression. 45 percent of those who succeeded in killing themselves had known behavior disorders.

Despite the rise in suicides among members of the military, the Pentagon asserts that their suicide figures are still below that of the civilian population, where the civilian suicide rate for males aged 17 to 60 was 25 per 100,000 in 2010, which is the latest year for which statistics are available. Comparatively, the military's rate was 17.5 per 100,000 in 2012.

The Defense Department provides veterans in crisis with a toll-free number, 800-273-8255, for assistance.

Source: http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/19863

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