WASHINGTON — The Army is investigating an unexplained and stunning spike in suicides in January. The count is likely to surpass the number of combat deaths reported last month by all branches of the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the fight against terrorism.
“In January, we lost more soldiers to suicide than to al-Qaeda,” said Paul Rieckhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He urged “bold and immediate action” by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
According to figures obtained by The Associated Press, there were seven confirmed suicides last month, compared with five a year earlier. An additional 17 cases from January are under investigation.
Usually the vast majority of suspected suicides are eventually confirmed. If that holds true, it would mean that self-inflicted deaths in January surpassed the 16 combat deaths reported last month in all branches of the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations considered part of the global fight against terrorism.
Officials said they did not know what caused the rise in suicides last month and that it often takes time to fully investigate a number of the deaths.
Yearly suicides have risen steadily since 2004 amid increasing stress on the force from long and repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The service has rarely, if ever, released a month-by-month update on suicides. But officials said Thursday that they wanted to re-emphasize “the urgency and seriousness necessary for preventive action at all levels” of the force.
Army leaders took the unusual step of briefing congressional leaders on the information Thursday.
The other services did not immediately provide information on their suicide figures for January.
