The Army faces an alarming number of suicides or suicide attempts among soldiers who have served in Afghanistan or Iraq. Last year alone, 2,100 soldiers attempted to commit suicide or injured themselves, compared to the 2002 statistics of 350 such cases, the U.S. Army Medical Command Suicide Prevention Action Plan reveals, and more than half of them occurred after returning to the United States.

The most recent case is that of Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, who was an exemplary officer, but suffered a psychiatric breakdown in Iraq last year, when she attempted to kill herself. Whiteside was waiting for the Army to decide whether to court-martial her at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, when she attempted another suicide on Monday evening with an overdose of pills.

Whiteside, 25, who was a University of Virginia graduate and a medic in Iraq, left a note saying “I’m very disappointed with the Army. Hopefully, this will help other soldiers.” Her suicide attempt came two days before the hearing officer dropped the charges against her.

Her case is just one of the numerous soldiers who have attempted suicide in the past year, reaching the highest level in almost three decades. The Army is currently dealing with a large number of post-traumatic stress disorders as a consequence of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which caught the Army unprepared with a sufficient number of counselors to improve the mental health of its soldiers.

The problems do not necessarily appear in Iraq and Afghanistan; most soldiers attempted suicide after coming back to the United States, caused by legal, personal or financial problems and sometimes the long period they have been away from home. The Army still seems to be overwhelmed by the situation, despite the fact that the raising number of mental distress cases should have raised alarm signals long time ago.