Of
the crises facing American troops today, suicide ranks among the most
emotionally wrenching — and baffling. Over the course of nearly 12
years and two wars, suicide among active-duty troops has risen
steadily, hitting a record of 350 in 2012. That total was twice as
many as a decade before and surpassed not only the number of American
troops killed in Afghanistan but also the number who died in
transportation accidents last year.
Even
with the withdrawal from Iraq and the pullback in Afghanistan, the
rate of suicide within the military has continued to rise
significantly faster than within the general population, where it is
also rising. In 2002, the military’s suicide rate was 10.3 per
100,000 troops, well below the comparable civilian rate. But today
the rates are nearly the same, above 18 per 100,000 people.
And
according to some experts, the military may be undercounting the
problem because of the way it calculates its suicide rate....the
most recent Pentagon report
of suicides
(click here) found that half of the troops who killed themselves in
2011 had experienced the failure of an intimate relationship and
about a quarter had received diagnoses of substance abuse.
Studies
have also found that certain patterns of suicide among civilians seem
intensified within the military. Among civilians, young white males
are one of the most likely groups to kill themselves. In the military
that group, which is disproportionately represented, is even more
likely to commit suicide. Among civilians, firearms are the most
common means; in the military, as might be expected, guns are used
even more often, in 6 of every 10 instances. - The New York Times
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