According to a new study by a researcher at Brown University has found that the number of American troops who commit suicide since 2001 is over 30 thousand and may be even higher.
The study found that the US global war on terrorism, which spread after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has led to 30,177 US troops committing suicide while on duty or after serving.
By comparison, the study’s author, Thomas Howard Suitt, shows that since then there have been only 7,057 actual combat deaths in the U.S. military.
The study noted that the number of suicides may be higher as the Veterans Administration, which pursues suicides among its ranks, does not prosecute all those serving as military reservists and National Guard troops, who are often suppressed in service in emergencies, such as during the U.S. Capitol riots in January.
The study also said that while war operations in Afghanistan are coming to an end, suicide rates among troops have risen in recent years.
U.S. combat deaths have dropped “significantly” since 2007, but the number of troop suicides peaked in 2012, and the last three years have seen the worst consecutive suicide rates among active troops since 2001. .
As for the reason, Suitt says that there is no reason that causes suicide, rather it is “how to unite a mystery that we can identify only through first thought.”
But he points to the growing use of improvised explosive devices that have caused a significant number of traumatic brain injuries.
He also points out that medical advances have allowed military members to return to the battlefield, even with brain damage that could lead to suicide.
According to the study, high suicide rates are caused by many factors, some natural for fighting in a war and others unique to the structure of America’s “war” on terrorism.
“Partly because of the common risks of fighting any war, high exposure to trauma, stress, military culture and training, continued access to weapons and the difficulty of reintegrating into civilian life,” the study said.