Army Suicides at 26 Year High

Army's suicide rate at 26-year high
Report says about a quarter occurred during war service

By Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press August 16, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a military report.

The report, obtained by the Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release today, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers in 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest since 102 suicides in 1991.

In a service of more than a half million soldiers, the 99 suicides amounted to a rate of 17.3 per 100,000 -- the highest in the past 26 years, the report said. The average rate over those years has been 12.3 per 100,000.

The suicide rate for those serving in the wars stayed about the same, 19.4 per 100,000 in 2006, compared with 19.9 in 2005.

"Iraq was the most common deployment location for both [suicides] and attempts," the report said.

The 99 suicides included 28 soldiers deployed to the two wars and 71 who weren't. About twice as many women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide as did women not sent to war, the report said.

Preliminary numbers for the first half of this year indicate the number of suicides could decline across the service this year but increase among troops serving in the wars, officials said.

The increases for 2006 occurred as Army officials worked to set up new and stronger programs for providing mental health care to a force strained by the prolonged war in Iraq and global counterterrorism war, which is entering its sixth year.

Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems, and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to commit suicide, according to the report. Related Story