WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Among active-duty soldiers, one committed suicide in January and 11 other deaths are under investigation, suicide data released by the U.S. Army indicated.
During January, 15 potential suicides were identified among reserve soldiers not on active duty, the Defense Department said Wednesday in a release.
For December, the Army reported 10 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers; three were confirmed since the report was issued. Among reserves not on active duty in December, five deaths were confirmed as suicides and two are pending determination of the manner of death.
"In the new year, we won't just maintain our current focus on suicide prevention, we're going to sharpen that focus," said Col. Christopher Philbrick, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. "We've made significant changes in our health promotion, risk reduction, and suicide prevention programs, policies, and initiatives."
During the last year, Philbrick said the Army's effort was "shining a floodlight" on the problem of suicide.
"Now in 2010, we're going to move from a floodlight to a laser light," he said, "identifying our most effective programs, so we can target and reinforce what's working and fix what isn't."
