Pentagon Needs Battle Plan for Troop-Suicide Threat

While the U.S.’s foreign wars wind down, the body count at home keeps rising. The Pentagon said this week there were 349 suicides by active-duty members of the armed services in 2012, as opposed to 311 combat deaths.

Before you jump to conclusions about the plight of battle-traumatized veterans failing to readjust to life stateside, consider this astounding fact: More than half of troops who killed themselves had never deployed from the U.S., and 85 percent never saw combat. Although caring for those returning from battle remains a priority, the military needs to better monitor the mental health of all service members.