NEW YORK, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel warns of alarming suicide rates among servicemen and veterans, which is about double the national civilian suicide rate.
“Preventing military suicide is one of DoD’s highest priorities, and something I'm personally committed to,” Hagel said on Tuesday.
“We must rededicate ourselves … to fulfill our collective responsibility to watch out for each other and take care of each other,” Hagel added.
According to the DoD, the 2012 suicide rate was 22.7 per 100,000 servicemen and 24.2 among reservists. The national rate is about 12.0 per 100,000 Americans. In 2012, 155 soldiers, 57 airmen, 59 sailors and 47 Marines committed suicide.
Last week, US President Barack Obama lamented the “tragedy of suicide among our troops and veterans.” The US Department of Veterans Affairs has been hit by scandals over corruption, bad management and shoddy services for those in need.
