More soldiers die from suicide than combat

Another extremely sad revelation following a decade of war - new Pentagon statistics are showing that the military is losing an average of one soldier per day not to combat in Afghanistan, but to suicide.

As of this writing, according to an Associated Press investigation, there have been 154 suicides for active-duty troops in 2012 - nearly one per day of the year so far.

Besides a surging suicide rate, the military is also experiencing higher incidences of sexual assault, domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse and other forms of misbehavior.

Analysts say these figures are reflective of an over-burdened military that is reeling from multiple deployments over the past 10 years, mostly to Iraq and Afghanistan. It should be noted that these wartime deployments come in addition to peacetime obligations such as year-long, recurring commitments to places like Qatar, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, Kosovo and parts of Africa - assignments that are often handled by National Guard units from around the country because they are in excess of the staffing and manning capabilities of active duty components.

Needless to say, the American military is busy -- some say too busy. Still, military suicide rates had been leveling off; they fell in 2010 and 2011. So the increase now was not only unexpected but difficult to explain.

Or is it?