CNN has highlighted a five-fold increase in Army suicide attempts in a report:

Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day.

The dramatic increase is revealed in new U.S. Army figures, which show 2,100 soldiers tried to commit suicide in 2007.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, took to the Senate floor Thursday, urging more help for military members, especially for those returning from war.

"Our brave service members who face deployment after deployment without the rest, recovery and treatment they need are at the breaking point," Murray said.

She said Congress has given "hundreds of millions of dollars" to the military to improve its ability to provide mental health treatment, but said it will take more than money to resolve the problem.

"It takes leadership and it takes a change in the culture of war," she said. She said some soldiers had reported receiving nothing more than an 800 number to call for help.

"Many soldiers need a real person to talk to," she said.

Comment: Where is the discussion of increasing the numbers of uniformed providers who are embedded and organic to operational units? Improve availability and accessibility of care with providers who are sensitive to language, culture and customs of the military and the impact on the force of mental health issues will be improved.

Reference: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/01/military.suicides/index.html