Army reminding troops, families of suicide prevention during National Suicide Prevent

[Tango Charlie]

The U.S. Army is participating in National Suicide Prevention Week Sept. 9 -15 by re-emphasizing its focus on suicide-prevention awareness and training to its more than 1.1 million Soldiers as well as their families -- particularly in light of a concerning increase in the Army’s suicide rate for calendar year 2006. The theme this year, “Suicide Prevention: Moving Forward with Education and Training,” matches the Army’s prevention priorities. The loss of any member of the Army family is a tragedy, and the Army has made prevention of suicide a top priority. While the Army has been tracking suicides since 1980, beginning in 2003, the Army started to see an overall increase in the number of confirmed suicides committed by Soldiers while on active duty from 79 in 2003 to 88 in 2005 to 99 in 2006.

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