TRENTON — Five years ago, the country's top military officer touted the New Jersey Army National Guard as a model of success for the nation, noting that it had experienced no suicides among its members since the invasion of Iraq began in 2003.

The record was impressive and one matched by only a handful of other states. The overall suicide rate in the Guard steadily climbed through the decade and, by 2008, had exceeded the rate among the general population, federal statistics show.

Since then, the rise has continued, with the Guard hitting an all-time record of 120 suicides across the nation in 2013. New Jersey held steady at zero.

But that came to a quiet end this year, when, in the span of six months, three New Jersey Army National Guard members committed suicide, and a fourth died as a result of a possible drug overdose, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Their backgrounds, however, do not fit the profile of soldiers who ship off to war and struggle with post-traumatic stress and reintegration upon return. All four men were first-time enlistees, from 21 to 25 years old, and had never been deployed.

They are among a large and vulnerable group of young soldiers who enlist in the Guard and bring to the job the baggage of their everyday life, from family and relationship conflicts to financial and job problems, that puts them at risk.

“There are just as many, if not more, military suicides that fit that profile than what most people expect, the person who has been deployed in combat,” said Craig Bryan, executive director of the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.

Officials with the Guard confirmed the deaths, which have occurred on the watch of Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff, who was named adjutant general by Gov. Chris Christie in 2012 after working in an acting role following the departure of Glenn Rieth. Cunniff has also dealt with a fourth suicide, last year, in the Air National Guard. The officials say they are trying to understand why the deaths occurred after a decade free of suicides.

The Army National Guard deaths add to a tumultuous year for the Guard, which also saw one of its members, Ioannis Karazoupis, 27, arrested last month and charged with sexually abusing a woman during training at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Cunniff defended the Guard’s suicide prevention efforts and said the number of deaths remains low compared to other states. From 2009 to Nov. 3, only Delaware, Vermont and New Hampshire had fewer suicides among Army National Guards with zero, and New Jersey was tied with Rhode Island and Wyoming, Guard statistics show.

Minnesota had the most, with 29, the statistics show.

“Everybody has to take some responsibility when we lose a soldier,” Cunniff said. “It’s our duty as citizens, much less soldiers, to look after one another. That’s one of the cornerstones of our suicide prevention program here and the military on the whole.”

He said the Guard has taken steps to bolster efforts to identify and help those at risk, including holding outreach events after each suicide, stressing the importance of suicide prevention with leadership and hiring a second clinical psychologist.

The suicides this year, however, present a unique problem for the Guard, which in many cases only sees soldiers twice a month and two weeks every summer, yet still must live up to its promise to them and their families to look out for their well being.

“We are down three brothers in arms, and their families are down three sons,” said Shawn Found, a Guard chaplain. “We definitely want to begin with a very upfront acknowledgement of what’s happened, and it’s profound. It’s been a tough year.”

Part of the Guard’s notable record prior to this year could be attributed to the state’s relatively few suicides overall. In 2012, the suicide rate in New Jersey was the lowest of any state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Research published by Bryan and several other authors last year in the journal Comprehensive Psychology found suicide attempts prior to enlistment were among the best predictors of subsequent attempts after someone joins the military.

The study found that a small subgroup of people vulnerable to suicide before joining the military made up to 25 percent of those who eventually attempted suicide. That means more attention needs to be paid to initial screening, the authors said.

Bryan said there’s a growing recognition of the chronic risks among people who come to the military, such as financial or relationship problems, and how those then interact with the rigors of service. A one-size approach will not work, he said.

“Certainly individuals who have not deployed or are first-enlistment service members, they probably have a different cluster of risk factors and needs than those who have deployed and have been exposed to trauma, etc.,” Bryan said.

Of the 110 Guard members nationwide who committed suicide in 2012, the large majority were white males, age 17 to 34, with a high school education, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Defense statistics.

But because many of these soldiers have never been deployed for active military service, they do not meet the legal definition of a veteran and thus do not have access to benefits or care offered through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Everyone’s so focused on those who are deployed, we’re in essence not providing services or ignoring 50 to 70 percent of service members who are killing themselves but don’t fit into that particular profile,” Bryan said.

Found, the Guard chaplain, said that limits the places where young soldiers can turn during the roughly 28 days of every month when they are not training.

The New Jersey National Guard’s 8,300 members go through resiliency training to reduce the risk of suicide and promote prevention, and select members go through additional training to identify those who are vulnerable and intervene, Found said.

They also benefit from the state’s dense population and concentration of healthcare, higher education and non-profit organizations, which make it easier for soldiers to make connections with people and get help, as compared to western states, where soldiers are sometimes hundreds of miles from someone to talk to, he said.

“There’s no substitute for that human element in talking to people,” Found said.

The most recent annual climate survey showed the Guard’s efforts “were on the right track,” but that it is still hard for people to identify others who may be suicidal, Cunniff said. He also said the survey showed more needed to be done to address the stigma around soldiers seeking help.

Still, he is confident the training programs are working because people have identified friends they thought needed help, or stepped forward themselves.

“Your best friend is saying crazy things, and 10 years ago people would say, ‘Well, he’s just talking,’” Cunniff said. “Well through training, people realize he’s not just talking, he’s reaching out for help and you need to be the one to reach back.”

MORE INFORMATION: Soldiers seeking help can call the NJ Vet2Vet program at 1-866-838-7654, to talk to a counselor at any hour of any day.

Christopher Baxter may be reached at cbaxter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cbaxter1. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.