Suicide rate among US troopers on rise

The latest figures confirmed warnings from top US military officers that the number of suicides among active-duty soldiers this year was on track to surpass a record level set in 2008.

Last year, 128 soldiers took their own lives, up from 115 in 2007, amid increasing strain on Army troops serving repeated combat tours.

The 2008 suicide rate among active duty soldiers rose to 20.2 per 100,000, surpassing a demographically adjusted national suicide rate of 19.5 per 100,000 in 2005, the latest year on record.

Of the 88 reported suicides this year, 54 have been confirmed and 34 are pending investigation, the Defense Department said in a statement.

In about 90 percent of previous cases, suspected suicides have been confirmed, officials say.

The army has responded to the growing problem with more suicide prevention programs, efforts to screen soldiers for mental health problems and campaigns to reduce the stigma that prevents soldiers from seeking treatment.

The trauma of combat combined with the effect of repeated tours has led to a record rise in suicides across the armed services and particularly the US Army -- which has carried the heaviest burden in the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.