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As suicides rise, Army brass reassessing outreach

Within the ranks of the storied 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 10 soldiers have taken their own lives so far this year.

Credit: AP

Staff Sergeant Ryan Graves talks about the death of his fellow solider, Staff Sergeant Jason Lowe, during an interview on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, on Fort Bragg, N.C. Days before taking his own life, Lowe graduated second in his class in the Army's Advanced Leader Course. Graves told The Associated Press Lowe "Wanted to be the best. He probably was one of the best." (AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan)

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Within the ranks of the storied 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 10 soldiers have taken their own lives so far this year.

That number is pushing division leadership to reexamine how they're addressing suicide awareness.

Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue points to the coronavirus pandemic and the stressors that forced isolation have put on soldiers and their families.

But many of the questions surrounding these suicides, including in the case of a 27-year-old paratrooper on the verge of promotion, are still left unanswered.