Military suicides rise to 349, eclipsing battlefield deaths

Officials struggle to understand why combat veterans and nondeployed soldiers are taking their own lives

By Star-Advertiser Staff and News Services

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 15, 2013

~~<p>Suicides in the U.S. military increased to a record 349 last year, far exceeding the 295 American combat deaths in Afghanistan, and some private experts are predicting the trend will grow worse this year.</p>
<p>Hawaii faces its share of the problem, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and others have characterized as an epidemic in the ranks.</p>
~~

Suicides in the U.S. military increased to a record 349 last year, far exceeding the 295 American combat deaths in Afghanistan, and some private experts are predicting the trend will grow worse this year.

Hawaii faces its share of the problem, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and others have characterized as an epidemic in the ranks. Login for more...