US Military Suicides Up to Nearly One Per Day - East Idaho News
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US Military Suicides Up to Nearly One Per Day

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GETTY N 110211 MilitaryFuneralJPG?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1339150624047iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — After leveling off the past two years, suicides among active duty service members are up in 2012, averaging to about one per day, according to new figures from the Pentagon.

ABC News has confirmed that through the first 155 days of this year, 154 troops have taken their lives, marking the fastest pace of suicides since the war in Afghanistan began.  That number is far greater in comparison to the same time period in 2010 and 2011, when 123 and 130 suicides, respectively, were reported.

The latest figure is also higher than the 136.2 suicides the Pentagon had projected through June 3, 2012, based on previous statistics.

Broken down by each branch of the Armed Forces, the Army had 80 suicides, the Air Force had 32, the Navy had 24 and the Marines — the only branch that was on pace with the Pentagon’s projection — had 18.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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