WASHINGTON – The suicide rate among the US’s active-duty military personnel has spiked this year, eclipsing the number of troops dying in battle and on pace to set a record annual high since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan more than a decade ago, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Suicides have increased even as the United States military has withdrawn from Iraq and stepped up efforts to provide mental health, drug and alcohol, and financial counseling services.
The military said on Friday that there had been 154 suicides among active-duty troops through Thursday, a rate of nearly one each day this year. That number represents an 18% increase over the 130 active-duty military suicides for the same period in 2011. There were 123 suicides from January to early June in 2010, and 133 in 2009. By contrast, there were 124 US fatalities in Afghanistan as of June 1 this year, said the Pentagon.
Suicide rates of military personnel and combat veterans have risen sharply since 2005, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan intensified. Recently , the Pentagon established a defense suicide prevention office.
On Friday, Cynthia Smith, a defense department spokeswoman , said the Pentagon had sought to remind commanders that those who seek counselling should not be stigmatized.
“This is a troubling issue, and we are committed to getting our service members the help they need,” she said. “I want to emphasize that getting help is not a sign of weakness ; it is a sign of strength.”
In a letter to military commanders last month, defense secretary Leon Panetta said “suicide prevention is a leadership responsibility,” and added , “commanders and supervisors cannot tolerate any actions that belittle, haze, humiliate or ostracize any individual , especially those who require seeking professional services.”
