Leaders testify in D.C. on high suicide rates in military

Leaders testify in D.C. on high suicide rates

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 18, 2009 19:17:51 EDT

The suicide rates in all four services last year were higher than the national civilian average, significantly higher in the Army and Marines and rose overall in the two ground services, uniformed witnesses told the Senate Armed Services military personnel subcommittee Wednesday.

But calls by troops and former troops to a Veterans Affairs help line indicate that the problem may be even larger that the alarming statistics provided at the hearing.

In calendar year 2008, the Army reported 140 confirmed or suspected suicides. That’s 20.2 suicides per 100,000 troops — an all-time high that is nearly twice the national average of 11.0 suicides per 100,000. The service’s suicide rate has more than doubled since 2004.

The Navy reported 41 suicides in 2008, a rate of 11.6 per 100,000. The Marine Corps lost 41 Marines last year to confirmed or suspected suicides — up from 25 two years earlier — a rate of 19.0 suicides per 100,000. The Air Force lost 38 airmen in 2008, a rate of 11.5 suicides per 100,000.

More ominously, 780 callers to a national Veterans Affairs suicide prevention hotline in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2008, identified themselves as active-duty troops, said Kathryn Power, director of the Center for Mental Health Services in the Department of Health and Human Services.
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