The rising number of veteran suicides

While this is a great article it does not include Army National Guards and Army Reservists. Every month the DOD releases the number of Soldiers committing suicide and then there are the Citizen Soldiers. The truth is "96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve" for 2012 that were not included in the total the press released.

The rising number of veteran suicides
News Register
05/08/2013
By Bruce L. Nunes
Staff Writer

The veteran suicide rate in the American military has reached an all-time high in the past year, with 182 reported suicides compared to 176 combat deaths in the Army branch alone, according to an NBC News story.

The other branches of the military fare no better, as the figures from the Department of Defense show a 16 percent increase in veteran suicides from 2011 to 2012, and still rising. But why do these men and woman, most of whom have served in defense of our nation, end their own lives?

“The numbers for 2012 were a record high,” said North Lake College Veterans Affairs Coordinator Corinthia Acevedo. “As a veteran, as a former student and as someone who works with these guys everyday, it just breaks my heart to know about these numbers.”

The total number of service members to take their own lives during 2012 in all branches was 349 compared to 311 military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to iCasualties.org. Although the source of such actions may stem from a variety of origins, North Lake counseling intern Stephen Floyd gives one that clarifies to non-veterans what happens in the mind of these men and woman.
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