FederalDaily - August 20, 2007
Army Suicide Rate Highest Since 1980
Soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, said a new Army report. About
one-quarter of those suicides occurred while the servicemembers were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan,
according to the report released Aug. 16. Produced by the Suicide Risk Management and Surveillance
Office at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Wash., the report lists 99 Army deaths by suicide
in 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest number since 102 suicides were reported in 1991.
The 99 suicides amounted to a rate of 17.3 per 100,000—the highest in the past 26 years, said
the report. The average rate over those years has been 12.3 per 100,000. Firearms were the most common
method of suicide. There also were 948 unsuccessful suicide attempts by soldiers in 2006, most involving
attempts in which servicemembers took overdoses or cut themselves, the report said. The report also
noted that there was a significant relationship between suicide attempts and number of days deployed
in a combat zone. The rise in suicides comes at a time when Army officials are working to establish
a range of new and stronger programs for providing mental health care. To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-news/2007/08/16/4459-army-suicides-up-prevention-efforts-strengthened
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GSA Announces 2007 CIO Graduating Class
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Chief Information Officers Council on Aug. 16 announced
that more than 150 students from the public and private sector are part of the 2007 CIO University
graduating class. The students, about half of whom are federal employees, were awarded the CIO University
Certificate in Federal Executive Competencies, GSA said in a statement. CIO University is a higher
education virtual partnership between GSA and brick-and-mortar universities that offers graduate level
programs that directly address federal executive core competencies. Partners include: Syracuse University,
George Mason University, George Washington University, Carnegie Mellon University, LaSalle University
and the University of Maryland. “CIO University is a unique partnership between the federal government
and academic institutions,” said Mary Mitchell, GSA deputy associate administrator. To see more,
go to: www.gsa.gov/ciouniversity.com.
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COLA Yields $686 Annual Increase for APWU Craft Employees
The latest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) under the American Postal Worker Union’s (APWU)
five-year contract will give the union’s craft employees an annual raise of $686, the labor union
said Aug. 15 on its Web site. July was the last month of the second six-month COLA measuring period
in the union’s 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement with the U.S. Postal Service. The COLA,
effective Sept. 1, will be reflected in Sept. 21 paychecks, the union said. Last September, APWU-represented
employees received an $812 COLA increase. To see more, go to: www.apwu.org/news/webart/2007/webart-0778-colaupdate-070815.htm
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