The U.S. Army reported Thursday that there were 325 confirmed or potential suicides last year among active and nonactive military personnel . `` Our highest on record , '' said Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg , deputy chief of staff , manpower and personnel for the Army . The grim total exceeds the number of total U.S. Army deaths ( 219 ) and total military deaths ( 313 ) in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan , according to figures published by the military 's Defense Casualty Analysis System . For all of last year , 182 potential active-duty suicides were reported , 130 of which have been confirmed and 52 of which remain under investigation , it said . And 143 potential not-on-active-duty suicides were reported ( 96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve ) , 117 of which have been confirmed and 26 remain under investigation . The total for 2011 was 283 -- 165 confirmed active-duty suicides and 118 confirmed not-on-active-duty suicides ( 82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve ) . No cases were under investigation . The toll comes despite what the military touts as extensive support and counseling programs . `` The Army continues to take aggressive measures head-on to meet the challenge of suicides as every loss of life impacts our family , '' said Bromberg . `` In spite of the increased loss of life to suicide , with calendar year 2012 being our highest on record , the Army is confident that through our continued emphasis in the services , programs , policies and training that support our Army family , we will overcome this threat to our Force . '' How virtual reality can combat veterans ' PTSD . For years , the Pentagon has struggled with how to identify service members at risk for suicide and to provide counseling and other services . The Army and Navy have focused on teaching `` resiliency '' to troops in hopes of helping them cope with stress . Military experts have long said one of the enduring challenges is that there does n't appear to be a direct link between suicides and the stress of being in the combat zone . `` Nobody knows No . 1 , why all the suicides . Nobody has a good theoretical model for explaining this vector , but these are some possible contributors , '' said Dr. William Nash , an expert in combat stress injuries . `` The whole system being strained , more temper , stigma is rampant , leaders who should be getting more education for mental health issues but are not . '' Nash said the stigma discourages soldiers from reporting issues related to stress in the combat zone . `` To the extent that a military service branch that is having basically an epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder is not embracing it as an epidemic , but instead sees it as 'they 're faking , ' '' he said . `` Which has been part of the stigma problem . '' Treating PTSD with Ecstasy . The Army 's statement said it had expanded the Strong Bonds Program to strengthen relationships and family bonds ; certified more than 3,000 additional suicide prevention trainers in the Ask , Care , Escort suicide intervention program ; revised the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program to include family members ; increased the volume and availability of behavioral health services ; and conducted an Army-wide stand down during Suicide Prevention Month to promote increased leaders ' awareness and involvement . The numbers did not surprise Paul Sullivan , a member of the board of Veterans for Common Sense , a nonprofit advocacy group . `` As the service members return home and as the wars wind down , the mental trauma of war remains and there is an urgent need to make sure every service member receives a psychological evaluation upon returning home , and whenever a service member reaches out for help , the service member needs to receive it immediately , '' he said . `` In both of those areas , the military is trying to improve , yet it 's still falling short . For example , the military is now providing more psychological exams , but it 's not doing it for every soldier coming back . And the military still reports that it 's short-handed for mental health professionals and , because of the vacancies , that means either veterans do n't see a doctor at all , there 's delay seeing a doctor , the veteran is put in group therapy instead of individual or the veteran is given prescription drugs instead of receiving one-on-one counseling , which is the best standard . '' The suicide hotline is 800-273-8255 . A private-sector group , the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors ( TAPS ) , which provides military grief support programs , has reported it receives eight to 10 cases a week of people seeking help dealing with the suicide of a service member . Of the people contacting the organization for care and support , 18 % were `` grieving a death by suicide , '' TAPS has said . Families face more challenges when military parents return .
The Army reports 325 suicides last year among active and non-active military personnel . In the past year, there have been at least 10 other cases of soldiers killing themselves in Iraq or Afghanistan. The total for 2011 was 283 .