Army orders ‘stand-down’ in wake of suicide spike

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Army orders ‘stand-down’ in wake of suicide spike
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, January 31, 2009

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Army has ordered a servicewide “stand-down” for two to four hours of suicide prevention training, Army vice chief of staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli announced Thursday.

Commanders will be given latitude to hold the training any time between Feb. 15 and March 15. The decision came in the wake of Thursday’s announcement that soldier suicides are at a 30-year high.

Traditionally, the Army’s suicide rate has been below that of the general public, but now they are roughly equal, Army officials said Thursday.

Between 2007 and 2008, the number of soldiers who took their lives increased from 115 to 128, and 15 more deaths in 2008 are being investigated as potential suicides.

Afterwards, all soldiers will also get a “chain-teach” on suicide prevention, in which leaders teach their subordinates all the way down the chain of command, Army officials said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60360