News From the Cause
MILITARY: Study finds young Marine men most at risk for suicide (North County Times)
August 05, 2011
Four U.S. Marines took their own lives in July, raising the service's number of suicides recorded in 2011 to 21.
An additional 13 troops attempted suicide, raising that number for the year to 107, according to the latest figures from the Marine Corps' Suicide Prevention Program.
The Marine Corps has launched a wide array of outreach and counseling efforts at Camp Pendleton and all its bases in recent years, and instituted mandatory suicide prevention training in response to a growing rate of self-inflicted deaths since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were launched.
In 2009, the service had a record 52 suicides, a rate of nearly 24 troops per 100,000 compared with the civilian rate of 20 per 100,000 as established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That Marine Corps rate fell to 17 per 100,000 last year, a sign that commanders said was encouraging.
July's four suicides came after five Marines killed themselves in June.
Health officials say the stress of frequent combat deployments, exposure to violence on the battlefield and the relatively young age of most Marines are all factors that can lead to suicide. Eighteen of this year's 21 suicides occurred among troops ages 17 to 25. Click here to view more
