Soldier suicide rate hits record high

"And so all of those together we think are part of what may contribute, especially if somebody's having difficulties already," she said at a Pentagon news conference.

Some common factors among those who took their own lives were troubled relationships, work problems, and legal or financial difficulties, officials said.

More US troops also died overall in hostilities in 2007 than in any of the previous years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Violence increased in Afghanistan with a Taliban resurgence, and the rate of deaths of US personnel increased in Iraq even as violence there declined in the second half of the year.

Increasing the strain on the force last year was the extension of deployments from 12 months to 15 months, a practice ending this year.

The 115 confirmed suicides among active-duty soldiers and National Guard and Reserve troops who had been activated amounted to a rate of 18.8 per 100,000 troops - the highest since the Army began keeping records in 1980.

Two other deaths are suspected suicides but are still under investigation.

So far this year, the trend is comparable to last year, said Lieutenant Colonel Thomas E. Languirand, head of command policies and programs.

As of Monday, there had been 38 confirmed suicides in 2008 and 12 more deaths that are suspected suicides under investigation, he said.

The suicide rate continues to rise despite a host of efforts the Army has made to improve the mental health of a force under unprecedented stress from the longer-than-expected war in Iraq and the long and repeated tours of duty it has prompted.

The efforts include more training and education programs for troops and their families. Officials also have hired more mental health workers, increased screening to measure the psychological health of soldiers, and worked to reduce any stigma that keeps them from going for treatment when they have symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, or other emotional problems.