Army Suicides Spiked in June

Suicides in the U.S. Army spiked in June to the highest monthly level since the Vietnam era. According to military statistics, 32 soldiers took their own lives last month. Twenty-one of those were on active duty, while 11 were reservists with inactive status. Seven soldiers were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Army officials are at a loss for explanations for the sudden rise: "I have no silver bullet to answer the question why," said the head of the Army's suicide prevention task force. He did, however, point out that, "Continued stress on the force and the opportunities we have been facing in terms of the challenges in the Army continue to cause these events to take place." Last year already broke the annual record for Army suicides with 245 service men and women killing themselves. So far, 2010 has seen suicides rise to over half of 2009's numbers.