War stress forcing US soldiers to kill themselves By Anwar Iqbal
Sunday, 18 Jul, 2010 A total of 4,326 American soldiers have been killed in the war-torn Iraq since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003. — Photo by Reuters World
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...017800/NATOSoldiersRE_608x325.jpg?MOD=AJPERES
Roadside bombs kill four Nato troops in Afghanistan Roadside bombs kill four Nato troops in Afghanistan WASHINGTON:
More American soldiers killed themselves last month than in any month in the recent history of the US Army, says an official military report.
US military officials have acknowledged that the grim trend may be linked to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The latest statistics released by the US Army show that 32 soldiers killed themselves in June,
the highest number in a single month since the Vietnam era. Twenty-one of them were on active duty, while 11 were in the National Guard or Army Reserve in an inactive status. Although only seven soldiers killed themselves while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, many other suicides were directly or indirectly linked to the two wars.
A 2007 study identified failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and job stress as common causes triggering suicides among soldiers deployed in a war zone, returning from there or awaiting deployment.
Last year,
US Army experts warned that soldiers were under tremendous, unprecedented stress because of repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The director of the US Army’s suicide prevention task force, Col Chris Philbrick, while talking to the media, endorsed the link between the two wars and a spike in the suicide rate.
The boost in the number of suicides in June was likely driven by the “continued stresses on the force” caused by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, he said.
The suicide rate in the army began to spike in January 2009, the eighth year of US engagement in Afghanistan.
The army’s suicide rate in 2009 exceeded the rate among civilians for the first time in decades.
“After nine years of combat, the army is showing some serious signs of strain,” noted the Washington Post while commenting on the trend.
The
army also said that there were 88 suicides among active duty members in the first six months of last year. In the first half of this year, the army reported 80 suicides among active duty members.
This week the US Army released a new video that addresses the subject of suicides and includes testimonials from soldiers who have struggled with the urge to take their own lives.
Last year was the worst for the US Army in terms of suicides with 244 confirmed or suspected cases despite the adoption of a range of initiatives by the army to try to contain the problem.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...017800/NATOSoldiersRE_608x325.jpg?MOD=AJPERES
The US Department of Defence reported that 160 active-duty army soldiers committed suicide in 2009 up from 140 in 2008.
A total of 4,326 American soldiers have been killed in the war-torn Iraq since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.