US military suicides rising, even as combat eases

WASHINGTON - Suicides among active-duty U.S. troops are surging, averaging nearly one per day this year.

That is the fastest pace since America began a decade of war.

Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press show there were 146 suicides in the first 148 days of this year. That is 17 percent more than at the same point last year and 24 percent ahead of the 2010 pace.

Suicide totals had leveled off in 2010 and 2011 after rising rapidly since 2006.