Soldiers who were never deployed were at highest risk for suicide attempts during their second month of service.
Risk among soldiers on their first deployment was highest during the sixth month of deployment.
And among those who'd completed deployment, risk peaked again five months after they'd returned home, researchers found.
"Suicide attempts are important targets for care," said lead author Dr. Robert Ursano, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. "We always talk about completed suicide, but completed suicide is just the tip of the iceberg."