Army: 13 U.S. Troops Committed Suicide in Iraq

hobitbob wrote:

And in answer to those who claim morale in Iraq is just spiffy, I would submit this:

"Army Concerned About Suicides of U.S. Troops in Iraq
By Will Dunham"

Sorry, but that article doesnt actually make your case very well, hobitbob, sad though the story is. Consider:

1. "At least 13 U.S. troops have committed suicide in Iraq", and
2. There are "130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq".

-> 13 in 130,000 is exactly 1 in 10,000 - or, extrapolated to an annual rate (since this is about seven months) - 17 in 100,000. Whereas:

3. "The Army and Navy annually average about 11 suicides per 100,000 personnel, the Air Force about 9.5 per 100,000 and the Marines about 12.6 per 100,000."

Ergo, sent out into the Iraqi desert to face imminent, but scattershot danger and harsh conditions, soldiers apparently are still less than twice as likely to commit suicide as when they're just serving 'regular' time.

Furthermore - and thats really sad, come to think of it - the soldiers in Iraq are apparently actually less likely to commit suicide then their peers at home. The suicide rate among 20-24 year-old men in the US is about 20 per 100,000 (source).

Thank you nihm. I thought of that too after reading the article again. I wonder what the rate is for civilians in the same age group. Tomorrow, if I have time I'll try to find out.