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Military

Suicide Killing More Troops Than Combat In 2012 (Video)

America's service members are killing themselves at an alarming rate - one per day since the start of 2012.

At least 154 active-duty troops committed suicide in the first 155 days of 2012, based on Department of Defense statistics obtained by the Associated Press. That's compared to 138 U.S. troops who lost their lives in combat in 2012.

Some suggest the higher-ups in the military are less than sympathetic to the plight of depressed troops. Army Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, commanding general of Fort Bliss in Texas, recently blogged:

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"I have now come to the conclusion that suicide is an absolutely selfish act... I am personally fed up with soldiers who are choosing to take their own lives so that others can clean up their mess. Be an adult, act like an adult, and deal with your real-life problems like the rest of us."

For the record, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said he disagreed with Pittard's statements in the "strongest possible terms."

Home Post reported yesterday that five members of the U.S. Marine Corps committed suicide in May, and 11 others attempted to take their own lives, according to the USMC Suicide Monthly Update for 2012. Eighteen Marines have killed themselves so far this year, with three of those suicides being Camp Pendleton Marines.