PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) — Fort Lee is joining in an Army-wide day devoted to suicide prevention.
The "stand down" Thursday on the Petersburg base involves events and training aimed at raising awareness of suicide prevention and sexual assault. A 2-mile run begins the day's activities. Other scheduled activities include remarks or presentations by Army substance abuse experts, the chaplain corps and health care professionals.
Fort Lee has been investigating whether four deaths this year were suicides. If confirmed, it would represent a sharp increase in the number of suicides.
The Army is the largest of the services and it has the highest number of suicides. The Pentagon has been struggling with a spike in the number of self-inflicted deaths this year.
