Hartford Courant: Soldier Suicides In Afghanistan Rose Sharply Last Year

The Hartford Courant spoke with IAVA for this article about the correlation between combat stress and the spike in Army suicides in Afghanistan in 2008.    "We know that combat stress is worse when combat is higher," said Vanessa Williamson, policy director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group. "So it wouldn't surprise me at all that suicide rates are also correlated with that."   Williamson does not believe that. "It's absolutely true that family problems, and the stress of being separated from your family, are enormous. But to say that that's a primary factor, as opposed to combat stress itself, I don't think that makes sense," she said.   "The amount of mental pressure we're putting on people by putting them in a combat zone — it may not be the straw, but it's definitely a lot of the burden in terms of what's pushing people to take such drastic action," she said.   [link]