115 US soldier’s suicide in year 2007
A 144-page US Army Suicide Event Report released yesterday said that 115 soldiers took their lives in calendar year 2007, the highest number of suicides since record-keeping began in 1980, according to officials. Five of the deceased were female soldiers. Ninety-three of the departed soldiers were active-duty troops, and 22 were either in the National Guard or Army Reserve.
Army records show 102 soldiers died by their own hands in 2006, of which 11 were women.
Most soldiers that killed themselves were young and male, according to the report, with failed personal relationships cited as the number one cause. Most soldiers that committed suicide did so at their home stations and not overseas. In fact, of the 115 soldiers who killed themselves last year, 32 died in Iraq, while 4 died in Afghanistan. Drug or alcohol use was cited in 30 percent of the suicide cases.
The majority of the suicide cases last year did not have a known history of a mental disorder, according to Army documents.
The current active-duty Army suicide rate is 18.8 per 100,000 soldiers, according to officials. The Army suicide rate goes down to 16.8 per 100,000 soldiers when the reserve components are added. The adjusted U.S. population suicide rate is 19.5 per 100,000 people. There’ve been 38 confirmed soldier suicides so far this year, officials said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.