The U.S. Department of Defense has reported that suicides in the military are on the rise and continuing to increase for members in all branches. This comes after four soldiers from the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, all of whom were decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, took their own lives in one weekend.
Each year, it is estimated that an average of 30,000 Americans die by suicide. By the end of November 2009, 334 members of the armed forces had committed suicide. This was more than individuals killed in combat in Afghanistan (319) or Iraq (150) for the same year. The Army, National Guard and Army Reserve recorded at least 211 personnel deaths combined due to suicide.
Through May of this year, 89 Marines made suicide attempts, most commonly by overdose or lacerations, according to statistics kept by the Marine Corps suicide prevention program. The rate of suicide in the Army (20.2 per 100,000 personnel) is higher than that among males ages 19 to 29.
But what is more problematic is that African Americans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are at greatest risk for suicide, according to a Pentagon report. The Army says soldiers are at greatest risk if they are in the enlisted ranks, between the ages of 20 to 24, and getting ready for a new deployment or assignment. Additional risk factors include suffering from depression, having a history of abuse of alcohol or drugs, and family or financial issues.
Although African American males are at the highest risk, African American women have also taken their own lives during these wars. On Feb. 22, 2008, 25-year-old Spc. Keisha Morgan was reported to have committed suicide. Maj. Gloria Davis, 47, an 18-year Army veteran, mother and grandmother, was found dead of a gunshot wound on Dec. 12, 2006. –torrance stephens, ph.d.
