Army suicides hit record in July at 32

For all the talk this proves yet again, they still don't get it and 32 more soldiers have had a military funeral they didn't have to have. What will it take for the Army to stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again? How many more times does a family member have to plan a funeral because of combat but not during it?

Army suicides hit record in July
By Greg Jaffe

So far the efforts have not resulted in a significant change in the suicide rate in the Army. Over the first seven months of 2011, about 160 active duty and reserve soldiers have committed suicide, which is about on par with the number of troops taking their own lives during the same months in 2009 and 2010.

The U.S. Army suffered a record 32 suicides in July, the most since it began releasing monthly figures in 2009.

The high number of deaths represents a setback for the Army, which has put a heavy focus on reducing suicides in recent years. The number includes 22 active duty soldiers and 10 reservists. The previous record was 31, from June 2010.

Army officials cautioned that investigations are still underway in most of the deaths to confirm the exact cause.

“Every suicide represents a tragic loss,” Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff of the Army said in a written statement. “While the high number of potential suicides in July is discouraging, we are confident our efforts ...are having a positive impact.”
read more here

Contrary to this article the Marines do report their suicides and here they are.

Friday, August 5, 2011


4 Marines committed suicide in July, 13 more attempted it


MILITARY:
Four Marine Corps suicides recorded in July
July's four suicides came after five Marines killed themselves in June.

By MARK WALKER mlwalker@nctimes.com
Posted: Friday, August 5, 2011

Four U.S. Marines took their own lives in July, raising the service's number of suicides recorded in 2011 to 21.

An additional 13 troops attempted suicide, raising that number for the year to 107, according to the latest figures from the Marine Corps' Suicide Prevention Program.

The Marine Corps has launched a wide array of outreach and counseling efforts at Camp Pendleton and all its bases in recent years, and instituted mandatory suicide prevention training in response to a growing rate of self-inflicted deaths since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were launched.