Does War Drive Our Troops To Suicide?

"On the other hand, there are also signs that the trauma of battle may be an important cause for the rising numbers: a 2009 report from the Army’s surgeon general showed that suicide among troops who served in Iraq between 2004 and 2007 rose from 13.5 to 24.8 per 100,000. The rate of suicide among active duty personnel is higher than that of civilians."


"The military is evaluating its suicide prevention programs. These include efforts to reduce the stigma that service personnel associate with mental illness and increase awareness of the warning signs and causes of suicide. But publicly available information on the military’s programs is vague.

The jury is out on whether active combat duty increases the risk of suicide. For the time being, we should keep it in mind in debates about bringing troops home from war zones and putting them on the ground in new battles."

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/does-war...#ixzz2eLYEK02c

How much active battle can we ask of soldiers? Surely they must go nuts after a while. How often should they be sent out again? Should there be rules about this?