Pentagon: Suicides of US troops going up in Iraq

By: Nabil Raza

WASHINGTON: The US Defense Department's top health official revealed Wednesday the Army's suicide rate in Iraq has been about a third higher than past rates for troops during peacetime.

At least 21 US troops - 18 of those were Army soldiers and three others were in the Navy and Marine Corps - have committed suicide in Iraq, a growing toll that represents one in seven of American 'non-hostile' deaths since the war began last March, Assistant Defense Secretary for Health Affairs Dr. William Winkenwerder told reporters.

The suicide toll is probably higher than 21, he added, because some “pending” non-hostile deaths are being investigated.

The issue of suicides so worried the military that the Army sent an assessment team to Iraq late last year to see if anything more could be done to prevent troops from killing themselves. The Army also began offering more counseling to returning troops after several soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., killed their wives and themselves after returning home from the war.

Dr. Winkenwerder said between 300 and 400 troops have been medically evacuated from Iraq for mental health problems. Also, the military still has about 2,500 troops waiting for medical care after returning from overseas.

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