A top US military officer has confirmed Army suicides will reach a new record annual high. General Peter Chiarelli, the US Army Vice Chief of Staff, said Tuesday the number of soldiers to take their own lives in 2009 has already matched last year’s record of 140. The figure does not include an additional seventy-one soldiers who killed themselves this year after leaving active duty.

Gen. Peter Chiarelli: “We are almost certainly going to end the year higher than last year. Obviously we would prefer not to have another suicide this year or in the years that follow. But we know that will not be the case. This is horrible, and I do not want to downplay the significance of these numbers in any way.”