Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
December 20, 2006
Pg. 8
22 soldiers killed themselves in 2005, compared with 12 in '04 and 25 in '03
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
The suicide rate among troops deployed for the Iraq war reached its highest point last year since the 2003 invasion, according to an Army mental health study released Tuesday.
The Army had placed greater emphasis on suicide prevention and mental health counseling in the battlefield after rates reached a level of 18.8 per 100,000 soldiers in 2003.
The programs seemed to be working: In 2004, the rate dropped to 10.5 per 100,000, lower even than the Army-wide suicide rate that year.
But the rising rate was among a handful of findings that suggest declining mental health within an Army stretched thin by war.
As soldiers cycle into the battlefield, more are subjected to the horrors of combat, the review found.
Overall, the number of soldiers who killed themselves last year almost doubled from the 2004 total.
In 2005, 22 soldiers committed suicide in Kuwait and Iraq, compared with 12 in 2004 and 25 in 2003.
Although morale among troops remained high, according to the report, a survey of 1,461 soldiers showed higher levels of traumatic combat experiences than in previous years.
Three out of four soldiers reported knowing someone killed or injured in combat last year or this year, compared with 69% in 2004.
The survey also showed that 55% worried about dying in a roadside explosion last year or this year.
And 17% of troops reported combinations of stress, depression and anxiety, a higher rate than 2004.
Soldiers who had done multiple tours of duty reported more serious problems.
Cases of acute stress were reported by 18.4% of soldiers serving at least a second combat tour; 12.5% of soldiers on their first tours reported such problems.
Army Col. Edward Crandell, who led the study, said the research shows that troops are more willing to seek treatment than in the past.
"What our soldiers are experiencing are the inherent stressors of combat that we would expect," Crandell said.
Even so, the survey shows the wear and tear on the troops is getting worse, said Paul Ragan, an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who counseled veterans of the Persian Gulf War.
"I think this report is the tip of the tip of the iceberg," he said. "Too few people are being asked to do too much over too much time."
The Army's Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, said officials will work to improve suicide prevention training.
The suicide rate across the Army was 13.1 soldiers per 100,000 in 2005.
The national suicide rate in 2003, the latest years for which figures are available, is 10.8 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention.
December 20, 2006
Pg. 8
22 soldiers killed themselves in 2005, compared with 12 in '04 and 25 in '03
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
The suicide rate among troops deployed for the Iraq war reached its highest point last year since the 2003 invasion, according to an Army mental health study released Tuesday.
The Army had placed greater emphasis on suicide prevention and mental health counseling in the battlefield after rates reached a level of 18.8 per 100,000 soldiers in 2003.
The programs seemed to be working: In 2004, the rate dropped to 10.5 per 100,000, lower even than the Army-wide suicide rate that year.
But the rising rate was among a handful of findings that suggest declining mental health within an Army stretched thin by war.
As soldiers cycle into the battlefield, more are subjected to the horrors of combat, the review found.
Overall, the number of soldiers who killed themselves last year almost doubled from the 2004 total.
In 2005, 22 soldiers committed suicide in Kuwait and Iraq, compared with 12 in 2004 and 25 in 2003.
Although morale among troops remained high, according to the report, a survey of 1,461 soldiers showed higher levels of traumatic combat experiences than in previous years.
Three out of four soldiers reported knowing someone killed or injured in combat last year or this year, compared with 69% in 2004.
The survey also showed that 55% worried about dying in a roadside explosion last year or this year.
And 17% of troops reported combinations of stress, depression and anxiety, a higher rate than 2004.
Soldiers who had done multiple tours of duty reported more serious problems.
Cases of acute stress were reported by 18.4% of soldiers serving at least a second combat tour; 12.5% of soldiers on their first tours reported such problems.
Army Col. Edward Crandell, who led the study, said the research shows that troops are more willing to seek treatment than in the past.
"What our soldiers are experiencing are the inherent stressors of combat that we would expect," Crandell said.
Even so, the survey shows the wear and tear on the troops is getting worse, said Paul Ragan, an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who counseled veterans of the Persian Gulf War.
"I think this report is the tip of the tip of the iceberg," he said. "Too few people are being asked to do too much over too much time."
The Army's Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, said officials will work to improve suicide prevention training.
The suicide rate across the Army was 13.1 soldiers per 100,000 in 2005.
The national suicide rate in 2003, the latest years for which figures are available, is 10.8 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention.