Suspected suicides increased in February - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Suspected suicides increased in February

As many as 14 active-duty soldiers killed themselves in February, a slight increase from the month before, the Army announced Thursday.

Of the 14 deaths, one has been confirmed as suicide and the others remain under investigation.

Army officials have said that about 90 percent of these cases typically are ruled to be suicide.

Officials reported 12 suspected suicides in January.

Among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths, as many as five are thought to have killed themselves. All five deaths are still pending a final determination. February’s total is much lower than January’s report of 15 suspected suicides among this population of soldiers.

The Army continues to battle rising suicide numbers following a 30-year high of 160 active-duty soldier suicides in 2009. That marked five consecutive years of increasing suicide numbers.

Of the 14 active duty soldiers who died in February, 13 were male. Eight were married and six were single. Seven were noncommissioned officers, three were specialists, two were privates first class and two were privates.

Four of them had never deployed; 10 had been deployed once, including four who were deployed when they died.

Among the reserve-component soldiers who died in February, all were single males. One was a specialist, one was a private first class and three were privates. Three had never deployed and two had deployed once.