Suicide rates at the biggest military base in the U.S. are twice the
national average.
Fort Hood is on track to break its suicide record this year and
military officials
are warning that the problem will only get worse as
more soldiers return from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Four people
killed
themselves on the Texas base this week, bringing the total number
of suicides there to fourteen this year alone, tying figures from 2008,
the worst year on record. One of the deaths this week was part of a
murder suicide. Last year Maj. Nidal M. Hasan went on a rampage and
killed 13 people on the base. Returning soldiers often have trouble
adjusting to non-combat life, and despite military outreach programs
there is still a stigma around discussing mental problems openly.
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