Suicide claimed the lives of more American service members than the war in Afghanistan last year, according to the Pentagon.
The number of military men and women who took their own lives increased sharply from 2011 to 2012, prompting the military to launch a counteroffensive.
Some lawmakers are calling the uptick in military suicides an epidemic. Officials said 349 service members committed suicide in 2012, the highest number on record. That figure is projected to get worse.Fort?
WBAL-TV spoke with military leaders at Fort Meade in Maryland to see how the base is combating the issue. The fort just opened a brand new USO facility where military members and their families can socialize and seek support.
"It's to provide good wellness and good decision-making, whether it's nutrition or physical fitness or social fitness to resiliency.? If you're down, it helps on how to pick yourself back up," said Fort Meade Garrison Commander Col. Edward Rothstein.
He said the facility's opening comes at a critical time because the wind-down in Iraq and Afghanistan is funneling troops back to the garrison, where they may have difficulty readjusting.?
The problem came into grim focus as six soldiers linked to Fort Meade took their own lives in 2012.
"It is a community issue. These didn't all just happen on Fort Meade. They all worked on Fort Meade. Some happened on the installation, while others happened in the outside community," Rothstein said.
The colonel said two of the suicides involved combat veterans, but he was quick to point out that there is no standard "at risk" soldier, sailor or airman.
"To put them all in one bucket is difficult to do. The trends that we've seen have been mostly male. ?Out of the six, there were five male and one female. They were mostly young, 25 and younger," Rothstein said.
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