I'd have to review the exact study you're talking about. I probably have heard the same stats from the Canadian Forces, because they presented recently at the symposium in Kingston. The data they have indicate that the rate of suicide in currently serving members has not changed, meaning that it hasn't gone up with recent deployments, in contrast to what has been presented in the U.S., where the rates of post-deployment suicide were higher.
Considering that we're all probably genetically similar, it's hard to read what the statistics or the research is showing. There are significant studies and research demonstrating that people who have depression have higher rates of suicidal ideation, or thoughts of suicide, and have increased risk of suicide, meaning completed suicides or suicide attempts. Then there was a study done in the U.S. indicating that just having PTSD symptoms increases your risk of suicidal ideation, so that for each additional symptom, you have more suicidal thoughts.
The challenge for us is that those who have more severe symptoms of PTSD or depression may have been released and are now civilian veterans. They would not be recorded in the data captured by National Defence, because they're no longer serving. What we don't have in Canada yet are stats specifically on that veteran population, meaning those who are released and are now considered civilians. Having those data, I think, would be very helpful.