On Combat

Recent Washington Post coverage of Army suicide rates suggest the force is unravelling under the strain of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 reached their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980, according to a draft internal study obtained by The Washington Post. Last year, 121 soldiers took their own lives, nearly 20 percent more than in 2006. See Soldier Suicides at Record Level: Increase Linked to Long Wars, Lack of Army Resources by Dana Priest

Undoubtedly the suicide of any person is a sad loss; commanders at all levels devote themselves to the well-being of all their troops. Last year’s statistics from the Congressional Research Service in “American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics” Updated June 29, 2007 indicate a significantly different story when considering all American active duty military: the number and rates of American military self-inflicted deaths, when considered across all services are not at an all time high.

The highest number of Active Duty self-inflicted deaths was 285 in 1988.
The highest rate of Active Duty self-inflicted deaths was 16.6 in 1995.

When the Army releases its service-specific findings, the Army’s top leadership may need to reconsider Army rotation policies, and consider shorter, faster rotations like the other services.