Iran Press/America: Donald Trump called the epidemic of veteran suicides "a tragedy of staggering proportions" before signing a measure on Tuesday aimed at creating a federal task force that will tackle how agencies can help prevent veteran suicides.
"Hard to believe an average of 20 veterans and service members take their lives every single day. Who would believe that's possible?" he said according to Iran Press.
From 2008 through 2016, more than 6,000 US veterans took their lives each year – totaling more than 54,000 deaths.
According to the most recent VA National Suicide Data Report, the veteran suicide rate in the US increased nearly 26% between 2005 to 2016, with a slight decrease from 30.5 per 100,000 population to 30.1 per 100,000 populations between 2015 and 2016. 101/211/213
