Military Suicides Rising

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense officials say suicide among U.S.
soldiers increased again last year and is at a nearly three-decade
high.
The Army plans to announce figures later Thursday, but senior
officials told The Associated Press that at least 128 soldiers
killed themselves last year.
And the final count will likely be considerably higher than that
because more than a dozen other suspicious deaths are still being
investigated and could also turn out to be self-inflicted.
In 2007, the number was 115 - the highest since record keeping
began in 1980.
Officials say troops are under unprecedented stress because of
repeated and long tours of duty due to the simultaneous wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)