WASHINGTON — Army commanders are failing at the day-to-day task of monitoring troubled young soldiers in their barracks back home, which is helping push suicides to record numbers, the head of the Army's suicide task force said.

The Army has built a fighting force second to none, said Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, but "we have young leaders who have not been trained in the art of just taking care of soldiers," particularly after they return from combat.

McGuire's findings come after three months spent reviewing records of Army suicides, talking to soldiers and commanders and visiting installations throughout the country, she said.

The Army reported a record 143 suicides among active-duty soldiers last year, the highest since statistics were first kept in 1980. So far, suicides this year are on track to break last year's record, Army statistics show.

Most suspected suicides are later confirmed as suicides, records show.

Risk-taking is common among soldiers who are suicidal. Such behaviors include sleep deprivation, erratic conduct, excessive alcohol use and abuse, violations of Army regulations, high-risk driving, mishandling finances and infidelity, McGuire said.

These behaviors can further aggravate existing mental health problems, creating a downward spiral that can end in suicide, McGuire said.

Along with soldiers who engage in risky behaviors, McGuire said, the Army has more troops who entered the service with pre-existing anxiety or depression or who have stopped taking their behavioral medication to meet entrance requirements.

Managing soldiers at home is different than in combat, McGuire said. Often, commanders can lead troops in battle but lack the skills to monitor troops closely at home.

The Army's failure to police risky behaviors has made it harder to identify and seek help for the smaller numbers of soldiers who may be suicidal, she said. "(It's) talking to soldiers. 'Who's the loner? Who's isolated? What are you guys doing this weekend?'" McGuire said.

About two-thirds of suicides occur in or around installations, Army statistics show. Half are among combat veterans. The other half are soldiers who never deployed. About one-third of suicides occur in either Iraq or Afghan- istan.

Army officials acknowledge that classes in how to manage troops at home get pushed back to accommodate combat training.

In the past year, 7,600 staff sergeants promoted to sergeant first class delayed such classes for 270 days to prepare for combat, said Lt. Col. Mike Moose, an Army spokes- man.

Improved garrison supervision may only go so far, said David Rudd, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science at the University of Utah, a leading authority on civilian and military suicides.

The longer the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, Rudd said, the more likely it is that soldiers who have seen combat will kill themselves. Also, young men, in the military and civilian life, are often reluctant to seek help, he said.

"There's only so many things you can do and then it becomes the responsibility of the individual" to receive counseling, Rudd said.