WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 21 U.S. troops have committed suicide in Iraq (news - web sites), a growing toll that represents one of every seven American "non-hostile" deaths since the war began last March, the Pentagon (news - web sites) said on Wednesday.
"Fighting this kind of war is clearly going to be stressful for some people," Assistant Defense Secretary for Health Affairs Dr. William Winkenwerder told reporters in an interview.
He said the military was taking steps to prevent suicides, ascribed by one defense analyst to a perception among young soldiers that the U.S. force in Iraq was spread thin and faced an endless task.
"What you're really talking about here more than anything else is the perception that the future just looks indefinite and there are not enough troops coming in. It can look awfully bleak for an awful long time," said Ken Allard, a retired Army colonel who now works with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Winkenwerder said that of 21 confirmed suicides during the past year associated with the war in Iraq, 18 were in the Army and three others in the Navy and Marine Corps.
The suicide toll is probably higher than 21 because some "non-hostile" deaths are still being investigated, he added.
14 PERCENT OF 'NON-HOSTILE' DEATHS
A total of 496 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq since the war began last March, 343 of them in combat and 153 in non-hostile incidents ranging from accidents to suicide, according to the Pentagon.
The 21 suicides represent nearly 14 percent of non-hostile deaths reported by the military, an increase over the proportion of 11 percent as of three months ago when the suicide number totaled 13.
Winkenwerder added that that nearly 400 troops had been evacuated from Iraq for stress-related problems.
The United States has about 123,000 troops in Iraq. The Pentagon plans to reduce that to about 110,000 by summer as it rotates those in the country home for rest.
Winkenwerder said the military was concerned over the suicides and was moving to deal with combat stress and other emotional problems triggered by armed conflict.
The military's responses to stress problems now include toll-free telephone numbers for troops to call for help as well as an increased number of military psychiatric specialists in Iraq to deal with problems before they become critical.
"Are those individuals who need (stress) support getting it? Are they being identified?," Winkenwerder asked. "We believe 'yes."'
Winkenwerder suggested that the Army had become more aware of stress after several domestic murders involving soldiers who returned to their base in North Carolina from Afghanistan (news - web sites) in 2002.
Authorities say four soldiers at Fort Bragg killed their wives in June and July of 2002. Three of the cases involved Special Operations soldiers returning from Afghanistan. Two of the soldiers committed suicide and the other two were charged with murder. A fifth case involved a Special Forces major who was killed, with his wife charged with murder.
A November 2002 Army report concluded that the stress put on military families by frequent separations as the soldiers trained and fought may have contributed to the killings.