Combat Veteran 70% of Suicides in UK

Armed Forces suicide shock as combat veterans make up 70% of cases
Mirror UK
Sean Rayment
February 4, 2017

Up to 189 Armed Forces members have taken their lives since 2002 with the majority of cases coming from those who have experience in warzones

Suicide levels in the Army are the highest of all three services (Photo: Getty)

The overwhelming majority of suicides in the Armed Forces are by battlefield veterans.

Figures show 70 per cent of all cases in the Army over six years were soldiers who had warzone experience.

The Sunday People understands that the highest rate was in 2013 when seven out of eight deaths – 87 per cent – were troops who had seen action in Iraq or Afghanistan. In 2009, as fighting in Afghanistan peaked, 11 out of 15 suicides were troops with front line experience and in 2012 it was 12 out of 16.

The figures, released after a parliamentary question, reveal up to 189 Armed Forces members have taken their lives since 2002. Suicides in the Army were the highest of all three services and the stats raise fresh concerns about post-traumatic stress disorder in troops – as highlighted in a Sunday People campaign.
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