Jacksonville soldier's suicide part of growing trend in military

Jacksonville soldier's suicide part of growing trend in military
In mid-August, Derek Smith shot himself while stationed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
September is suicide prevention month across the country.
Posted: September 6, 2012
By William Browning

Provided by family L. Alan Smith (center) and his wife, Lavonne, pose with their son Sgt. Derek Smith in their Forest Circle home in Jacksonville.

On Aug. 19 at about 10 in the evening, a 29-year-old Army police officer at Fort Belvoir in Virginia parked his patrol vehicle, walked into a wooded area of the military post and shot himself.

His death came days after July was shown to be the worst month for Army suicides in years. During that month 26 active-duty soldiers killed themselves. In all, the Army recorded 116 suicides among active-duty soldiers between January and the end of July.

Looking at suicides across all four branches of the military is just as striking. In June the Associated Press obtained an internal Defense Department document showing that there had been 154 suicides in the first 155 days of 2012. That marked the fastest pace of active-duty suicides in the nation’s decade of war.

Military suicides are often related to cumulative stress from combat duty. Other factors are marital problems, financial problems and health issues. But no matter the reasons, behind the rising numbers are families left with only stories of their deceased loved ones — like the Fort Belvoir police officer who killed himself last month.
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