Suicide in Uniform: The Invisible Injury

Five hundred forty-five U.S. servicemen and women have died in Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. Some of those deaths, 167 to be exact, are classified as "non-hostile related." The question some people are asking is how many of those deaths were suicides?

The Pentagon sent a team to investigate but it has not released its findings. The official number of military suicides in Iraq is set at 22; but some veteran advocacy groups charge that the number is much higher and doesn't include the soldiers who take their lives after returning home. Longer deployments and a controversial war they say, can lead to increased anxiety and depression. But can it also lead to suicide? That's what some families and veteran advocates want to know.

To listen to the radio interview, click on this link:

http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2004/02/20040225_a_main.asp