WASHINGTON — New Defense Department figures show that suicides among active-duty military personnel rose slightly in 2014, led by increases in the number of sailors and airmen who took their own lives.
There were fewer suicides last year by Army soldiers and Marines, the two services that have seen the most combat in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade.
According to preliminary Pentagon data, there were 288 confirmed and suspected suicides by active-duty personnel in 2014, compared with 286 in 2013. Both totals, however, represent a sharp drop from the 2012 number of 352. The data was obtained by The Associated Press.
Over time the numbers may change, particularly if deaths that were initially believed to be suicides are fully investigated and found to be otherwise.
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