Seventy-one soldiers and counting

Seventy-one soldiers died by their own hands through March of this year, not in the the line of duty

The number was a small decline from last year, a fact that's being trumpeted by the U.S. military as a success. But it's significantly higher than the suicide rates during times of peace.

Even the military is recognizing there are nearly as many soldiers are taking their own lives as those having theirs taken away.

The Army is preparing to launch several large representative surveys of soldiers as a way of tracking and, ultimately, dealing with the indirect casualties of war, said Col. Chris Philbrick, director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force.

The goal of the study, he said, is to provide the tools and information that will not only help the Army mitigate suicides and suicidal behavior, but will help our country address the problem of suicide among all Americans.

“The Army Suicide Prevention Task Force is completing a review of more than 600 programs related to health promotion, risk reduction and suicide prevention,” Philbrick said. "The Army intends to refine programs and focus on those that provide commanders the best tools to address the key issues that cause behavioral health concerns.”

To help commanders with local concerns regarding suicides, the Army recently established a Specialized Suicide Augmentation Response Team, Philbrick said. “This is a team of experts that can be dispatched to augment local command response to an increase, identify gaps in policies and procedures, and offer recommendations for improvement.”

Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental U.S. is 1-800-342-9647; their Web site address is http://www.militaryonesource.com. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.

The DCoE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.Org and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil.

Information about the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf.