Editorial:

Military suicides alarming

Statistics show a tragic trend is unfolding and Defense Department should respond

Monday, Feb. 4, 2008 | 2 a.m.

After a five-month investigation during which it researched Defense Department reports and state death records, CBS News reported in November that suicides among those who had recently served in the military had become an epidemic.

Recent veterans were committing suicide at a much higher rate than those their age who had not served in the military. One age group especially stood out, CBS learned. Veterans aged 20 through 24 had the highest suicide rate among all veterans, it reported. These were veterans whose service had occurred after 9/11.

Among the parents of suicide victims interviewed during the investigation was the father of a son who had served in the Army Reserve. “His eyes when he came back were just dead,” the father said. “The light wasn’t there anymore.” His son, just 23 years old, had shot himself eight months after returning home from Iraq.

New information shows that record numbers of suicides and attempted suicides are occurring among active-duty soldiers. The Associated Press and The Washington Post reported Thursday about this alarming trend, documented by the Army’s top psychologist, Col. Elspeth Ritchie.

Her study, covering 2007, listed 89 confirmed suicides among active-duty soldiers and 32 deaths that are suspected suicides but are still under investigation, the AP reported. That would be a total of 121 if all are confirmed as suicides, compared with 52 suicides in 2001.

She also confirmed approximately 2,100 attempted suicides or self-inflicted injuries in 2007, compared with less than 350 in 2002.

The Defense Department has increased its mental health services in recent months, but such statistics clearly show that much more needs to be done.