The commander of a US Army base in Kentucky has ordered a three-day suspension of regular duties to focus on a spike in suicides among his troops amid concern over a wider trend across the armed services, AFP reported.
The "stand-down" entered its second day Thursday at Fort Campbell, which is home to the famed 101st Airborne Division and has recorded the highest rate of suicide in the Army, with at least 11 confirmed or suspected suicides.
Brigadier General Stephen Townsend announced the stand-down to focus attention on the problem after two more soldiers took their lives last week.
"It's bad for soldiers, it's bad for families, bad for your units, bad for this division and our army and our country and it's got to stop now. Suicides on Fort Campbell have to stop now," he told troops.
"Suicide is a permanent solution to what is only a temporary problem," Townsend said.
"No matter how bad your problem seems today, trust me, it's not the end of the world. It will be better tomorrow. Don't take away your tomorrow."
The trauma of combat combined with the effect of repeated tours has led to a record rise in suicides across the armed services and particularly the US Army -- which has carried the heaviest burden in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last year 128 soldiers took their lives, up from 115 in 2007, as tours of duty since 2001 have come ever more frequent and last longer.
With 64 confirmed or suspected suicides so far this year, the Army looks likely to surpass last year's record numbers.
Earlier this month a US soldier, Sergeant John Russell, allegedly sprayed his comrades with lethal gunfire at a mental health clinic at a US base in Baghdad, and he has been charged with five counts of murder.
The case has underlined concerns about the psychological well-being of those serving in the military.
Due to worries over the state of Russell's mental health, his commanding officer about a week earlier had ordered that the soldier's weapon be confiscated and that he should go for counselling, officials said.