IMPEACH BUSH

WASHINGTON — Suicide rates for young male Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans were highest in 2006, according to statistics to be released Tuesday by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 2006, the last year for which records are available, figures show there were about 46 suicides per 100,000 male veterans ages 18 to 29 who use VA services. That compares with about 20 suicides per 100,000 men of that age who are not veterans, VA records show.

The statistics accompany the release of a study conducted by a group of mental experts appointed by VA Secretary James Peake to investigate the department's efforts to track and prevent suicides among veterans.

"We've been telling Congress and the [VA] for a long time is that what we have seen are increasing numbers of mental health issues that have not been adequately addressed," said Dave Autry, spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans.

VA records show that 141 veterans who left the military after Sept. 11, 2001, committed suicide from 2002 to 2005. In the year that followed, another 113 of these Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans killed themselves.

The report did not specify how many of those 113 saw combat. The increase in the number of suicides can be attributed in part to the rising number of veterans since 2001.

The overall suicide statistics include veterans who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but were stationed outside the combat zones.

In a prepared statement, Peake said VA will try to cut the number of suicides by following the recommendations made by the panel he appointed, which included mental health experts from the Army, Pentagon, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

Among the panel's recommendations:

• Design a study that identifies suicide risks among veterans. Peake said he will produce those results in 30 days.

• Improve suicide screening for veterans with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. A pilot system is set to start Oct. 1, VA said.

• Develop a better understanding of appropriate medications for treating depression, PTSD and suicidal behavior.

The release of VA data comes days after the Army said 2008 may hold another record high for suicides among active-duty soldiers. If the trend continues, it would surpass the 115 suicides in 2007.

The Army reported last week that through August, there have been 62 confirmed suicides and 31 deaths suspected of being suicides.

"If this holds true, suicide rates for the Army will surpass" the U.S. rate for the general population, an Army press release said.

Lengthy and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan cause relationship problems, a leading factor in suicides, said Col. Elspeth Ritchie, an Army psychiatrist.

It's critical to identify soldiers in despair, said Col. Carl Castro, an Army psychiatrist.

"By collecting the numbers [of suicides], we know exactly where we are at, so we know now what's not working. We've got to try new things; we've got to get innovative."