Fort Hood in Texas has a suicide-prevention program, but the number of soldiers taking own lives there continues to rise at a record rate, with four killing themselves this week.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/us/30hood.html
In response to the latest round of deaths, the Army is having superior officers make extra visits to thousands of soliders at Foot Hood, which has had 14 suicides so far this year, including the most recent four deaths.
http://www.wlbt.com/story/13244089/fort-hood-assessing-soldiers-in-wake-of-suicides
Fort Hood is the largest U.S. base, according to The New York Times, and it has been plagued by mental illness, suicide and domesic violence as groups of soldiers return from overseas combat duty — which often entails multiple tours and brain injury from bomb blasts.
Last Sunday 31-year-old Sgt. Michael Franklin, who served two tours in Iraq, killed his wife on the base and then turned his gun on himself. And just shy of a year ago Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hassan allegedly killed 13 people at the post.
The Associated Press reported Thusday that now that Fort Hood has hit 14 suicides for 2010, more than 32,000 solidiers from the rank of sergeant and below will get visits from their superiors in their barracks or in their homes to get a grasp on how they are doing.
Fort Hood already has a Resiliency Campus, which was meant to help soliders and their families prepare for deployment. But that center is not aimed at preventing suicides.
But now Fort Hood plans to offer training at how to spot troops that are having problems and may be contemplating suicide.