WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The rate of suicide of US Army soldiers in service has increased dramatically over the past five years, a Pentagon report said on Thursday.

The report came after three US sailors working on the USS George W. Bush apparently committed suicide. Bush last week. The Navy said the incidents were separate.

The Pentagon's first annual suicide report said the rate of suicide for soldiers in service was 24.8 per 100,000, up from about 20 per 100,000 in 2013. The report said 541 soldiers committed suicide in 2018.

He said suicide with a firearm was the most common. "We are not moving in the right direction," said Elizabeth Van Winkle, who is in charge of the Pentagon dossier.

Previously, CNN reported that suicides among US special forces commanders had tripled in one year for no apparent reason, as did suicide in other sectors of the military despite psychological support programs.

The channel confirmed that 2018 witnessed 22 suicides within the Special Operations Command, a number three times higher than in the previous year.

Military commanders were unable to provide any logical explanation for the reasons for the doubling of suicides among the soldiers of the Special Operations Command, including the Navy, Air Force and Ground Forces.

The CNN pointed out that these suicides are not linked to the conditions of war, but to the consumption of drugs and experiences of private lives of soldiers, including financial bankruptcy.