It has been reported by the Department of Defense that 33 Marines have killed themselves in 2009. We have seen an increase in suicides over the past three years, and we have four months remaining. The outreach and prevention programs have never worked so hard to isolate the problems, with videos, briefings on the signs and symptoms and confidential counseling. With all this the trend has actually worsened. All suicides have been male and 27 of them were between the ages of 18-24. There is no evidence that ones Military occupational status is the contributing factor. 18 Marines were reported to have attempted suicide in July. At this pace it would be about 165 attempts for the year, the most since the invasion in 2003. Rest assured this perplexing phenomena is being addressed on a daily basis.