WASHINGTON — More than half of all veterans who took their own lives after returning from Iraq or Afghanistan were members of the National Guard or Reserve, according to new government data that prompted activists Tuesday to call for a closer examination of the problem.
A Department of Veterans Affairs analysis of ongoing research of deaths among veterans of both wars found that Guard or Reserve members accounted for 53 percent of the veteran suicides from 2001, when the war in Afghanistan began, through the end of 2005.
Joe Davis, public affairs director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the Pentagon and VA must combine efforts to track suicides among those who have served in those countries in order to get a clearer picture of the problem.
Many Guard members and Reservists have done multiple tours that kept them away from home for 18 months, and that is taking a toll, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement Tuesday.
“Until this administration understands that repeated and prolonged deployments are stretching our brave men and women to the brink, we will continue to see these tragic figures,” Murray said.
