While the Pentagon’s annual tally of military suicides for 2012 is officially expected any day now, early reports are there were 349 total self-inflicted deaths —  up 16% over 301 the year before. 

Those were the numbers the AP said it was given by a Pentagon source; others have confirmed them. 

That the number for 2012 exceeded combat deaths (311) was a part of the buzz with the new numbers when they hit the wires earlier this week. But as time.com notes: “There are simply far fewer troops dying in combat now than at any time in nearly a decade. So it’s only natural that the number of suicides would overtake the number of combat deaths at some point.” (time.com graphic at bottom of post.)

Historically, the suicides ”began rising in 2006 and soared to a then-record 310 in 2009 before leveling off for two years,” AP said in its story. “It came as a surprise to many that the numbers resumed an upward climb this year, given that U.S. military involvement in Iraq is over and the Obama administration is taking steps to wind down the war in Afghanistan.”

“We are deeply concerned about suicide in the military, which is one of the most urgent problems facing the department,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith told the Washington Post. “We are committed to taking care of our people, and that includes doing everything possible to prevent suicides in the military.”