Make of it what you will.

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WASHINGTON -

Ninety-nine U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year, the highest rate of suicide in the Army in 26 years, a new report says.

More than one out of four soldiers who committed suicide did so while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to a report scheduled to be released Thursday. Iraq was the most common deployment location for U.S. soldiers who either attempted suicide or committed suicide.

The report, which The Associated Press obtained ahead of its public release, said the 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers compared to 88 in 2005 and was the highest raw number since the 102 suicides reported in 1991, the year of the Persian Gulf War, when there were more soldiers on active duty.

Investigations are still pending on two other deaths and if they are confirmed as suicides, the number for last year would be 101 instead of 99.

In a half million-person Army, last year's suicide toll translates to a rate of 17.3 per 100,000, the highest in the past 26 years, officials report. The rate has fluctuated over those years, with the low being 9.1 per 100,000 in 2001.

Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to commit suicide, according to the report. It also found a significant relationship between suicide attempts and the number of days deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan or nearby countries where troops were participating in the war effort.

There was "limited evidence" to back the suspicion that repeated deployments are putting more people at risk for suicide, the report said. With the Army stretched thin by years of fighting the two wars, the Pentagon has had to extend normal tours of duty this year to 15 months from 12 and has sent some troops back to the wars several times.

The 99 suicides included 28 soldiers deployed to the Iraq and Afghan campaigns. About twice as many women serving in the wars committed suicide as did women not sent to war, the report said.

The Defense Manpower (nyse: MAN - news - people ) Data Center, which collects data for the Pentagon, said in late May that 107 suicides had been recorded in the Iraq campaign since its start in March of 2003.

Preliminary numbers for the first half of 2007 indicate the number of suicides could decline across the service but increase among troops serving in the wars, officials said.

The increases for 2006 came as Army officials worked to set up a number new programs and strengthen old ones for providing mental health care to a force strained by the longer-than-expected conflict in Iraq and the global counterterrorism war entering its sixth year.

In a flurry of studies in recent months, officials found that system that might have been adequate for a peacetime military has been overwhelmed by troops coming home from the wars.

Some troop surveys in Iraq have shown that 20 percent of Army soldiers have signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress, which can cause flashbacks of traumatic combat experiences and other severe reactions. About 35 percent of soldiers are seeking some kind of mental health treatment a year after returning home under a program that screens returning troops for physical and mental health, officials have said.

The Army has sent medical teams annually to the battlefront in Iraq to survey troops, health care providers and chaplains about health, morale and other issues. It has revised training programs, bolstered suicide prevention, is adding some 25 percent more psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to its staff and is in the midst of an extensive program to teach all soldiers how to recognize mental health problems in themselves and their comrades - and encourage them to seek help.

The Army also has been working to stem the stigma associated with getting therapy for mental problems, after officials found that troops are avoiding counseling out of fear it could harm their careers.

Associated Press reporter Lolita Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

One of our customers' sons returned from there about a year ago and he is totally messed up and is having a real hard time getting any help from the government. It really ticks me off that these men and women lay their life on the line, and when all is said and done, the government trys to get out of careing for them in any way. Soldiers medical needs should be number 1 priority in my way of thinking. Illegals can come in and get,,, I am told,,, health care and all kinds of other freebies. This is total crap.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

This is one of the most shameful legacies or Dubya's administration. Not only did he get us into this war, but he has continued our nation's tendency to ignore and neglect the people who served the country IN the war.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Why is this a surprise?

People under stress are more likely to do crazy things. That's not a new discovery, for cryin' out loud. Read the ****** newspapers.

How much more stressful can you get than to have bad people trying to kill you and folks back home undermining you?

B

undermine yourself.

They are in harms way. They should not be.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I painted the landscape, you put the person in it.

B

Ah... yes, let's blame the "folks back home" for the way the military is treated.

No magnetic ribbon for you.

Botnst, I think you're missing "the point" in that it isn't a surprise.

The "surprise" is that we still don't have a system to handle it once the soldiers get home.

Does anybody know what this means?

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I find your cheap comment to be disrespectful to the poor souls who, for whatever reasons, were driven to such a terrible end.

I find myself unable to comment on Botnst's comment because I didn't and likely won't serve yet know that he and his departed father served. How 'bout you?

Ah yes, the routine is intact. It's the damn fools who predicted this thing would be a disaster who are at fault here. If only they'd closed their eyes real tight while saying "There's no place like home," we'd been out of there in cakewalk style years ago.

Anyone who couldn't predict that our guys would be harassed at virtually all turns during this debacle was just not thinking straight.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

There's a time for war and a time for peace. Service can be wise and noble. Or it can be a fool's errand. Every man is his last best protector at avoiding folly.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Nonetheless, you DID.

Hey, look over there!

I do not see where it is written by the hand of God moving slowly across the sky, that having served puts someone on a higher moral ground than someone who did not.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Very well and concisely stated.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)