Pretty similar *. The problem is that the raw
numbers can lead you astray. How many were in Theater; how many elsewhere in the world. How many in CONUS. Any combat tours? If so, how many? Where? What was the catalyst? Spousal problems? Money problems? Stress? Combat stress or other stress? How many male? How many Female?
IIRC, the current rate is still lower than the 19-25 non-military demographic in the US for males but higher for females. I also seem to recall reading somewhere that the in theater rate was lower than anyone expected and the majority were not in the two theaters.
Without detailed info, the raw number is borderline meaningless. The fact that it's the highest in 20 years is at least partly due to the fact that as a result of the surge the active duty end strength is higher than it has been in 20 years...
* That similarity is from memory (and I'm old, so it may be flaky). Not an issue to me but Google may be able to provide definitive numbers of a sort.
Ben Shephard's A War of Nerves
I have to be honest and say that I've not read it, but Roger Spiller, formerly a Prof at CGSC, thinks very highly of Ben Shephard's "A War of Nerves" Harvard Univ Press, 2001. Shephard focuses on 20th century soldiers so the book runs the gamut from WWI to the Faulklands and includes WWII Army Air Forces. Shephard "writes widely on psychiatry and its history," according to the book blurb.
Ben
"Reluctant Warriors" - IDF
An interesting account of the after effects of battle is found in: "Reluctant Warriors - Israelis Suspended Between Rome and Jersualem" by Nathan Szajnberg (can be found on Amazon.Com). Dr. Szajnberg studed kibbutzniks enrolled in elite combat units of the IDF. The study focused on, "How do these citizen soldiers, residents in a democratic society, manage to be effective soldiers, yet maintain their humanity as men? How did their transitions from adolescence to young adulthood influence their inner lives, their views of life and the tense, tangled world in which they lived." The author, a psychoanalyst by profession, conducted a series of interviews during over two dozen trips during the Intifada.