Canada's military suicide rate doubles

OTTAWA, April 20 (UPI) -- The suicide rate among Canadian soldiers doubled from 2006 to 2007, military figures indicate.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Sunday that the suicide rate among military personnel is triple that of the general population.

In 2007, the number of suicides among regular and reserve members of the Canadian Forces rose to 36, the highest in more than a decade. The average number of suicides among Canadian Forces military members for both active duty personnel and reservists between 1994 and 2007 was 16 per year.

In 2006, the number of suicides among members of the military rose to 20 and then increased to 36 the following year.

Dr. Greg Passey -- a former military psychiatrist and head of a post-traumatic stress disorder clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia -- said the increase in military suicides is "disturbing" but not surprising.

"We're now a number of years into that mission and the frontline, the combat soldiers, and even the support staff are having to do multiple tours," he said.