Army suicides starting to come down

The Army Times reported that suicides went down by 19 percent last year, from 185 in 2012 to 150 in 2013. [Source]

Of course, there's no shortage of explanations for this, from slowing deployments to improvements in treatment to the "de-stigmatization" of seeking help. In this regard, it resembles the "unexplainable" decline in urban crime from the mid-1990s.

Personally, I agree with John T. Reed's explanation that it has to do with the kind of people coming into the Army. "I suspect the type of people attracted to the military in non-recession years is a type that has higher suicide rates regardless of whether they join the military," he wrote.

Back in 2008 -- the year I joined -- the Army was desperate for anyone to enlist. Waivers for things like tattoos, criminal history, or (as in my case) old age were common. (I was 32, 3 years older than they would normally have allowed for an officer candidate.) It's possible that a higher propensity for suicide might have come with the demographics.

However, simply accepting the higher suicide rate was not an option for the Army's top leaders. As a result, we now have a number of programs designed to help soldiers with psychological issues.

The question, now, is how long we can expect them to last, given that we're in the process of keeping only those with the highest propensity for long-term retention?