Scoop’s Views

With 2008 suicide rates expected to exceed last year’s all-time-high rate and threatening to top those in the civilian population, the Army is stepping up efforts to get Soldiers and their leaders to look out for each other’s well-being and to take the stigma out of seeking mental-health help.

Sixty-two active-duty Soldiers, most of them junior enlisted members, committed suicide so far this calendar year, Col. Eddie Stephens, the Army’s deputy director for human resource policy, told reporters today during a Pentagon roundtable. The armed forces medical examiner is investigating another 31 suspected cases to determine if they will be classified as suicides.

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The New York Times revealed a big breakthrough in the 2008 presidential election on its Op-Ed pages last evening. The paper began reporting around 9:30 last evening that New York City’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, will not try to leave New York City, unlike his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani.

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