U.S. Army suicides were up 7% in the first half of 2013 compared to 2012, but suicides among inactive reserve soldiers was up even more dramatically — 40% vs. a 13% decline for those on active duty, updated data from the Pentagon released on Tuesday afternoon shows.

There was a potential suicide on average every 1.2 days for active duty and inactive reserves combined, about same as a year ago. For inactive reserves, however, a potential suicide every 3.1 days a year ago is now every 2.3 days. Among active duty, it’s one every 2.4 days vs. 2.1 days in the first half of 2012.

The rise in suicides among inactive reserves compared to active duty began in late 2012 and has continued almost each month for most of this year. For June, inactive reserves were again lower than active duty, 8 vs. 14. The increase is not necessarily surprising given the recent drawdown in troops in Afghanistan and declines in active duty personnel.

The table below shows year-to-date data for this year and 2012.

SOURCE: National Security Zone analysis and aggregation of Pentagon data.

Each month, the Army reports potential suicides for the previous month, broken down by active duty and inactive reserves (Army National Guard and Army Reserves), and by number confirmed and still under investigation. Each release updates numbers from the previous month’s release, and includes a running year-to-date total, as well as annual totals for the previous year. The latter are updated during the first months of the following year to reflect additional confirmations.

Review and download our archived monthly and annual data on military suicides.