22.7 million veterans, 92% of whom are male [1]. Based on average suicide rates [2], the statistically expected number of suicides is (19/100000.0) x 22.7e6 x 0.92 + (4.9/100000.0) x 22.7e6 x 0.08 = 4057. So about 2500 suicides seem to be "excess".
This assumes the age distribution of veterans is the same as the US population as a whole.
Since this back of the envelope calculation disagrees widely with the "double to quadruple" number from the article, it would certainly be beneficial if they cited their sources in the same way random blog posts usually do. Newspapers suck.
[1] http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/quickfacts/Population-slidesh...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_r...
Est: 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year /25 = 260.
Older white men kill them selves significantly more than just about any other group. http://www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html To actually get accurate numbers you need to adjust for the population and it's demographics which is harder than you might think.
PS: Also, combat stress is not the only factor, the Divorce rate is significantly higher in the military and there is a significant link between Divorce and suicides.
CBS came up with similar overall rates a few years ago, and they published how they arrived at those figures (which is something you don't see often from broadcast journalists):
Note the words "this year" and "are dying". It doesn't say that there are 25 times as many suicide deaths as total combat deaths ever, which the HN title would seem to imply. Combat deaths are way down this year due to the withdrawal from Iraq and suicides are quite high.
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/release-calendar/index.html...)
I can't imagine I'd handle that well.
25 times just seems ridiculously high. There's around 5000 US soldiers killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan, so thats up to 125000 suicides.
Frankly, I didn’t expect it to end up on the front page, but it did. HN more or less regulates itself, so I’m not too worried about submitting an article that bears little or no relation to the IT field, as long as I myself find it to be valuable.
Or build angry birds in zombieville 2.
The 25 times number does surprise me but it's veterans, not necessarily veterans of the current war. So there'd be, what, 10 times as many veterans as current soldiers? Makes a bit more sense.