The number of army suicide deaths trumped the number of army deaths in January. Currently the Army is investigating an unexplained and shocking rise in suicides last month.

“In January, we lost more soldiers to suicide than to al-Qaida,” said Paul Rieckhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He urged “bold and immediate action” by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.-seattlepi.nwsource.com

And it’s not just last month, U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record. At least 128 soldiers committed suicide in 2008. To battle the increasing suicide rate, the Army is thinking of ways to teach soldiers how to handle stress early on in their service career.

I’m sorry, but isn’t stress inevitable when you’re fighting a war? Is stress really avoidable when you’re shooting and bombing on a daily basis? I mean, soldiers are trained to kill, of course that does a number on their mental state! Look, I have no idea what it’s like to be in battle, but I can only imagine that being at the front lines of this awful, awful war would make me to want to kill myself as well. I can’t even imagine the horror these poor service men and women are witnessing, my heart goes out to them.

takepart and get involved in National Salute to Veterans Week from February 8 through 14. Visit va.gov for ways to get involved like sending a Valentine to a veteran or visiting your local Veteran hospital. This may not prevent army suicides but it can help those soldiers returning from battle feel a little bit better.