03/08/10

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ Utah's Hill Air Force Base says it has
hired a psychologist and others to deal with a rash of suicides,
mostly among civilians complaining of harsh working conditions.

Ogden Air Logistics Center commander Maj. Gen. Andrew Busch says
two civilians and an airman have committed suicide this year.

Hill spokesman Rich Essary says that brings to at least 25 the
number of confirmed suicides since 2006 that were mostly committed
off the base.

Bonnie Carroll, a military widow who founded the advocacy group
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, says suicides also have
been a problem at Fort Campbell, an Army base in Kentucky and
Tennessee.

Carroll says the U.S. Defense Department has added thousands of
mental health professionals to the ranks of the military because of
a greater awareness of the suicide problem.


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