Army trying to stem increases in soldier suicides

WASHINGTON — The Army has approved new guidance to military commanders in an effort to stem the rising toll of soldier suicides.

The Army said in a statement Thursday that the new plan was approved by Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli after he recently visited a half dozen American military bases and talked to commanders and staff who care for soldiers and their families.

The Army didn’t disclose details of the new plan Thursday. But officials had said earlier the suicide prevention plan would include hiring more mental health workers and tightening the way the service handles drug testing, health screening and a host of other long-standing procedures that in some cases have become lax as the Army has focused in recent years on fighting two wars.

Army leadership has become more alarmed as suicides from January through March rose to a reported 56 — 22 confirmed and 34 still being investigated and pending confirmation. Usually, most suspected suicides are eventually confirmed. The 2009 number compares with 140 for all of last year, also a record at the time and blamed partly on strains caused by repeated deployments for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Chiarelli also has instituted regular conference calls with commanders around the globe — hours-long sessions in which each commander reports on suicides in his region and officials examine each case to learn how they might prevent more.

The group has examined cases in which it was clear that soldiers were troubled — that is, they failed to succeed in anti-alcohol abuse programs or were increasingly showing signs of problems in their work or personal lives. But there also have been a number of cases in which troops who were high performers with no apparent problems inexplicably killed themselves.