Thursday, August 16, 2007

Another Good Reason Not To Join The Army: Suicide

The BBC reports:
At least 99 American soldiers killed themselves last year, the US army's highest suicide rate in 26 years, according to a new report.

The rate of 17.3 suicides per 100,000 soldiers compares with 12.8 in 2005, officials said.
...

The report said there was "limited evidence" to support the suspicion that repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan were putting more servicemen and women at risk of suicide.

Its authors found a significant relationship between suicide attempts and the length of time soldiers spent in Iraq, Afghanistan or in nearby countries in operations supporting those wars.

A study published in March this year found a quarter of US veterans treated at veterans' health centres after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffered mental health problems.
There's more here.

I find that last number amazing.

Three quarters of the veterans who got hurt serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are in good mental health?

Sure they are.