Troops kept on duty while mentally unfit

Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman of The Hartford Courant used military investigative records to show that unsuitable practices handling troops mental health "have helped to fuel an increase in the suicide rate among troops serving in Iraq, which reached an all-time high in 2005 when 22 soldiers killed themselves — accounting for nearly one in five of all Army non-combat deaths." The investigation found that "at least 11 service members who committed suicide in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 were kept on duty despite exhibiting signs of significant psychological distress" and "the military is sending troops back into combat for second and third tours despite diagnoses of PTSD or other combat-related psychological problems."