He is one of a rising number of service members who have committed suicide in the last few years, generating nationwide outreach programs by military officials and civilian organizations hoping to stem the death toll.
Caregivers point to statistics showing 301 confirmed or suspected suicides last year among Army soldiers on active duty or inactive status. That compares with 242 in 2009.
In the Army National Guard, the number of self-inflicted deaths among inactive members rose to 114 last year, almost double the 62 in 2009.
"There are no universal solutions to address the complexities of personal, social, and behavioral health issues that lead to suicide within the Army," said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director of the Army's health-promotion and risk-reduction task force, who has been working to reduce the suicide rate.
War-zone deployments, substance abuse, and marital and financial problems have been cited as factors in the suicides. Eighteen of the 301 deaths last year were of women, who generally seem more resilient than men, Army officials have said.
The increase in suicides "is like a death in your own family; it has all of our attention to the marrow of our bones," said Capt. Scott Brill, who has served as an Air Force and Army chaplain and is stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. "We're asking why all the time."
The latest military and civilian efforts range from 24-hour-a-day psychological counseling and suicide hotlines, including two by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, to chaplain visits and a new Pentagon video game, released in January, providing a virtual post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience to explore the symptoms and causes of combat trauma.
