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America's North Shore Journal » Entries tagged with "army suicides"

Suicide Prevention Requires Army Leadership

March 5th, 2009 | Comments Off

The United States Army received some disturbing information about its soldiers in January and February 2009. In January, 12 soldiers committed suicide and another 12 cases are pending a final determination. In February, 2 soldiers committed suicide and 16 are pending a determination. These deaths follow a difficult 2008, in which 138 soldiers committed suicide and two cases remain pending. For the first time in many years, it appears that the suicide rate for soldiers exceeds that of civilians in the same age range and mix of sexes. Civilian numbers have a two year lag so the military’s 2008 numbers do not have a civilian equivalent. In the civilian population in 2005, the suicide rate was 19.5 per 100,000. The Army’s 2008 rate was 20.5 per 100,000. The Army made a number of officers … Read entire article »

Filed under: Medicine, Military, Original writing, Reporting

Army Taking Action to Stem Rising Suicide Rates

February 1st, 2008 | Comments Off

DoD By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service With Army suicides on the rise — approaching rates for the same demographic among civilians — Army officials are evaluating their programs to see what more can be done to stop the escalation. During 2006, 102 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, the highest number since the last large-scale military deployment, in 1990 and 1991, Army Col. (Dr.) Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general, said during a media roundtable today. That’s a rate of 17.5 per 100,000, a dramatic spike from 12.8 per 100,000 in 2005 and the highest rate since 1980, Ritchie said. This compares with the 19.9 per 100,000 rate among military-age civilian males. All indications show the 2007 rates will be at least as high as in 2006 and probably higher. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Medicine, Military