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Army announces March suicide numbers

By Michelle Tan - mtan@militarytimes.com
Posted : Wednesday Apr 14, 2010 14:33:34 EDT

As many as 13 active-duty soldiers killed themselves in March, the Army announced April 14.

One of the deaths has been confirmed to be a suicide, while the others are still under investigation.

The total for March was one fewer than February. The Army continues to struggle to combat suicide among soldiers.

Among Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths, there were eight suspected suicides. All eight remain under investigation.

The same number of suspected suicides among this population of soldiers was reported in February.

Officials have said about 90 percent of such investigations are determined to be suicide.

The Army has seen its suicide numbers increase in the last five years.

Last year was a record year for the Army, with 160 active-duty suicides and 82 among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths.

So far this year, from Jan. 1 to March 31, 39 active-duty soldiers killed themselves compared with 53 during the same period in 2009. However, the number for soldiers not on active duty is up, from 23 during the first three months of 2009 to 32 this year.

The Army Suicide Prevention Task Force continues to review more than 600 programs related to health promotion, risk reduction and suicide prevention, officials said.

Of the 13 active-duty soldiers believed to have committed suicide in March, all were male. Four were married, eight were single and one was divorced. Three were noncommissioned officers, five were specialists, three were privates first class and two were privates.

Among the eight soldiers who were not on active duty when they died, six were male. Two were married, five were single and one was divorced. Three were sergeants, two were specialists, one was a private first class and two were privates.