Army efforts don't stem Fort Hood suicides

The Army said more soldiers killed themselves or are suspected of doing so last year than in 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas.


Army efforts don't stem Fort Hood suicides
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

The Army's largest post saw a record-high number of soldiers kill themselves in 2010 despite a mental health effort aimed at reversing the trend.

The Army says 22 soldiers have either killed themselves or are suspected of doing so last year at its post at Fort Hood in Texas, twice the number from 2009.

That is a rate of 47 deaths per 100,000, compared with a 20-per-100,000 rate among civilians in the same age group and a 22-per-100,000 rate Army-wide.

"We are at a loss to explain the high numbers," says Maj. Gen. William Grimsley, acting commander. "It's personally frustrating."

The Army had boosted staffing and psychiatric services to address the problem, particularly after the fatal shootings of 13 people on the post in November 2009. The Army alleges that Maj. Nidal Hasan, a psychiatrist, fired his pistol indiscriminately at soldiers waiting for routine medical care.

How can you expect to come back psychologically healthy?