US Army Releases November Suicide Data

The Army released sui­cide data today for the month of Novem­ber. Among active-duty sol­diers, there were sev­en poten­tial sui­cides: none have been con­firmed as sui­cide and sev­en remain under inves­ti­ga­tion. For Octo­ber 2011, the Army report­ed 17 poten­tial sui­cides among active-duty sol­diers. Since the release of that report, four cas­es have been con­firmed as sui­cide and 13 cas­es remain under investigation. 

Dur­ing Novem­ber 2011, among Reserve Com­po­nent sol­diers who were not on active duty, there were eight poten­tial sui­cides (eight Army Nation­al Guard and no Army Reserve): two have been con­firmed as sui­cide and six remain under inves­ti­ga­tion. For Octo­ber 2011, the Army report­ed 12 poten­tial sui­cides among not-on-active-duty sol­diers. Since the release of that report, one case has been added for a total of 13 cas­es (five Army Nation­al Guard and eight Army Reserve). Four cas­es have been con­firmed as sui­cide and nine cas­es remain under investigation. 

As of Nov. 30, 2011, the Army has iden­ti­fied 260 poten­tial sol­dier sui­cides for CY 2011. Of that total, 154 were active duty sui­cides: 100 have been con­firmed as sui­cide and 54 remain under inves­ti­ga­tion; 106 were Reserve Com­po­nent not on active duty sui­cides (73 Army Nation­al Guard and 33 Army Reserve): 84 have been con­firmed as sui­cide and 22 remain under inves­ti­ga­tion. Com­pared to pre­vi­ous years, the Army had 305 in CY 2010 (159 active-duty and 146 not-on-active-duty) and 242 in CY 2009 (162 active-duty and 80 not-on-active-duty). 

“Sui­cide con­tin­ues to be a chal­lenge for our Army Fam­i­ly,” said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Ray­mond F. Chan­dler III. “It is a dev­as­tat­ing loss when one of our own, whether sol­dier, civil­ian or fam­i­ly mem­ber, dies by suicide.“Chandler also said that over­com­ing this chal­lenge will take the Army’s col­lec­tive efforts, ded­i­ca­tion, sup­port and under­stand­ing. “To that end, I am call­ing on all of our lead­ers, but espe­cial­ly the non­com­mis­sioned offi­cers, the back­bone of our great Army, to make a dif­fer­ence. We must cul­ti­vate a cli­mate that encour­ages help-seek­ing behav­iors and sup­ports those who ask for help,” said Chan­dler. “By stand­ing shoul­der to shoul­der, we can ensure that no one stands alone!” 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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