-Caveat Lector- ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 5:32 AM Subject: Army probes soldier suicides - "Alarmed by the number of suicides in Iraq"
> Army probes soldier suicides - "Alarmed by the number of suicides in Iraq" > > By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY > > USA Today - October 13, 2003 > > http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&ncid=716&e=21&u=/usatoda y/20031013/ts_usatoday/11899022 > > Alarmed by the number of suicides among soldiers in Iraq the Army has > asked a team of doctors to determine whether the stress of combat and > long deployments is contributing to the deaths. > > "The number of suicides has caused the Army to be concerned," said Lt. > Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatrist at the Army's Uniformed > Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Ritchie is > helping to investigate the suicides in Iraq. "Is there something > different going on in Iraq that we really need to pay attention to?" > > In the past seven months, at least 11 soldiers and three Marines have > committed suicide in Iraq, military officials say. That is an annual > rate of 17 per 100,000. The Navy also is investigating one possible > suicide. And about a dozen other Army deaths are under investigation > and could include suicides. > > The numbers suggest the rate in Iraq is above normal. Last year, the > military services reported 8 to 9 suicides per 100,000 people. The > Army rate is usually higher, 10 to 13 per 100,000. That mirrors the > rate for the same age group in the general population. > > Army officials caution against drawing general conclusions based on > small changes. But they sent a mental-health team to Iraq last month > to study various issues, including suicides and treatment available > for soldiers suffering from depression. Dispatched by the Army surgeon > general's office, the team consists of psychologists, psychiatrists, > social workers and the manager of the Army's suicide-prevention > program. The team has surveyed 700 soldiers and held discussions in > which GIs were encouraged to talk freely. > > "They are ... looking at the stresses on the troops, how well the > troops are coping and how well the basic principles of battlefield > psychiatry are working," Ritchie said. > > Most of the suicides have occurred since May 1, after major combat > operations were declared ended. Experts say harsh and dangerous living > conditions combined with a long deployment can worsen existing > depression. And the accessibility of weapons in a war zone can quickly > turn a passing thought into action. "It just takes a second to pull it > out and put it to your head and pull the trigger," Ritchie said. > > The Army has sent 478 soldiers home from Iraq for mental-health > issues. Officials say that in previous wars, many of those cases would > have been treated in the war zone. The Army doesn't have enough > mental-health resources in Iraq to treat many of the cases. > > The Army responded to a 26% increase in active-duty suicides from 1997 > to 1999 by implementing the suicide- prevention program in 2001. > > > > > __________________________________________________________________ > McAfee VirusScan Online from the Netscape Network. > Comprehensive protection for your entire computer. Get your free trial today! > http://channels.netscape.com/ns/computing/mcafee/index.jsp?promo=393397 > > Get AOL Instant Messenger 5.1 free of charge. Download Now! > http://aim.aol.com/aimnew/Aim/register.adp?promo=380455 > > > portside (the left side in nautical parlance) is a > news, discussion and debate service of the Committees > of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. 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