Courtesy Military.com:
by Richard Sisk
More U.S. soldiers killed themselves in July than were killed by the enemy in Afghanistan as the Army's monthly suicide rate for active duty troops more than doubled to a record high of 26.
Another 12 potential suicides occurred among Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers who were not on active duty. The total of 38 suicides in July surpassed the total of 32 soldiers killed in Afghanistan last month, the Army reported Thursday.
The suicide tally rose from 12 active-duty soldiers in June to 26 in July, while the numbers remained the same for the Reserves and National Guard – 12 in June and July.
The increases baffled and frustrated Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the Army's vice chief staff, just as they did his predecessor, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who struggled to erase the stigma in the military that sometimes attaches to soldiers who seek help for emotional problems.
"Suicide is the toughest enemy I have faced in my 37 years in the Army," Austin, the former commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, said in a statement.
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by Richard Sisk
More U.S. soldiers killed themselves in July than were killed by the enemy in Afghanistan as the Army's monthly suicide rate for active duty troops more than doubled to a record high of 26.
Another 12 potential suicides occurred among Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers who were not on active duty. The total of 38 suicides in July surpassed the total of 32 soldiers killed in Afghanistan last month, the Army reported Thursday.
The suicide tally rose from 12 active-duty soldiers in June to 26 in July, while the numbers remained the same for the Reserves and National Guard – 12 in June and July.
The increases baffled and frustrated Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the Army's vice chief staff, just as they did his predecessor, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who struggled to erase the stigma in the military that sometimes attaches to soldiers who seek help for emotional problems.
"Suicide is the toughest enemy I have faced in my 37 years in the Army," Austin, the former commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, said in a statement.
MORE