War goes on, and the soldiers go home; but the suicides keep going up

The war at home can be worse than it is in the battlefield.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan rage on, tens of thousands of soldiers are still struggling to find their way once their duty is done.

In April, there there were ten potential suicides in the Army: one has been confirmed as suicide, and nine remain under investigation.

For March, the Army reported 13 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of the report, four have been confirmed as suicides and nine remain under investigation.

During April 2010 - among reserve soldiers who were not on active duty - there were five potential suicides. For March, among that same group, there were nine total suicides. Of those, three were confirmed as suicides and seven are pending determination of the manner of death.

"So far for 2010 we are noticing an upward trend in the number of non-active duty suicides. There are some indications that our reservists are being doubly affected with additional stress by the challenging job market, recovering economy and uncertainty" said Col. Chris Philbrick, director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force.

Philbrick said the Army is continuing "engagement efforts" with many veteran and military service organizations, government agencies and concerned citizens "to develop innovative and comprehensive strategies to help both our active and non-active duty soldiers."

"Given the complex nature of suicide, and the different environments our soldiers serve in, and are returning to, we welcome the opportunity to develop relationships and common approaches to this national challenge. Our soldiers are representatives of our nation." he said.

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; the website address is http://www.militaryonesource.com. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.

The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/default.asp.

Suicide prevention training resources for Army Families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20 (requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).

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

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

The address for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is: http://www.afsp.org. The Suicide Prevention Resource Council is at: http://www.sprc.org/index.asp.