Military suicides approach record high, Pentagon reports
Almost 350 members of the U.S. military committed or may have committed suicide last year, the Pentagon says.
January 15th, 2013
02:40 PM ET

Military suicides approach record high, Pentagon reports

The number of U.S. service members who committed suicide last year might be a record.

Despite extensive support and counseling programs, as many as 349 U.S. service members committed suicide last year, which would be the highest number since the Department of Defense began keeping detailed statistics in 2001.

According to the Pentagon, 239 military deaths in 2012 have been confirmed as suicides and another 110 are being investigated as probable suicides. The number of suicides in 2011 reached 301.

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  1. Dave T

    The problem with counseling is that you must be a good listener. People learn best by 3 ways. There are those who listen well. Those who learn by sight. Then there are those who are "hands on." I will bet alot of the military's hearing have been affrected by loud explosions or other means; thus makes counseling uneffective.
    Fortunately we now have youtube to show people visual information as well as audio to help people. Can they test these veterans their hearing level before being seen by counselers? Then afterwards these vets would be given an account with the Department of Veteran Affairs counseling program. Then the counseling department could download useful daily videos to these Veteran's e-mail accounts as part of their counseling program....

    January 20, 2013 at 12:05 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Cynthia Bemis

    The numbers only reflect the tip of the iceberg. Both service member and families need immediate help in times of crisis.
    and those services need to be local and coordinated. Post traumatic stress disorder, depression,etc affect the entire family and treating just the service member is a bandaid on a shark bite. We must support the family that supports the service member.

    January 21, 2013 at 7:40 am | Report abuse |
  3. sam grafton, phd

    As an 'in country' Vietnam vet all too familiar with the VA, as an extension of the military since both are funded by the same source and dominated by the very same politics, the issues are the nature and quality of the programs and personnel supposedly addressing our servicemen/women and veterans care. Criminal and substandard comes to mind of my experience with the VA mental health programs and professionals. Once again, both bureaucracies serve their respective bureaucracies and political agendas; not the service men and women. This begins with the Secretary of the VA and down the ladder. When I wrote Joining Forces, in the persons of First Lady M. Obama and Secretary Shinseki, asking both to look into the VA's denial of help regarding my "immediate risk for suicide and need for an immediate intervention" as recorded by an unlicensed VA psychologist in my VA medical records – neither Mrs. Obama or Secretary Shinseki, including their aides, had the courtesy to respond.

    January 22, 2013 at 2:01 pm | Report abuse |
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