U.S. Military Mortality

The United States military, or USAF, (United States Armed Forces), bears the responsibility of protecting the United States. More specifically, they “solemnly swear that will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Americans enlist in the military with the understanding that injury or death is a prominent possibility. When these possibilities become reality, they are reported in terms of casualty and mortality. Casualty statistics include all injuries and deaths which occur during service. Mortality refers only to death. Service in the military carries certain risks, but those fearful of the danger should examine casualty and mortality totals with several things in mind. Firstly, causation of death or injury varies, and deaths account for only a small portion of any casualty count. Secondly, comparison to civilian death statistics adds perspective to military mortality rates. Finally, the risk of death or serious injury varies greatly between different military branches. If these three conditions are taken into account, interpretation of mortality and casualty numbers will be more accurate, and irrational fear of death may be curbed.

Casualty Causation and Classification
The majority of casualty numbers are usually injuries, not deaths. In addition, causation of death or injury varies greatly among soldiers. From October 2011 to September 2012, 52,100 casualties occurred in connection to the war on terrorism. This number accounts only for soldiers who sustained injury or loss of life in association with Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Most of this statistic is from soldiers wounded in action (WIA).
Of the 52,100 soldiers, 45,889 were wounded. The remaining 6,211 died. These deaths are not all combat-related. 4,899 deaths were hostile, mostly due to an explosive device or gunshot. Smaller numbers are attributed to aircraft or vehicle crashes, falls or jumps, grenades, burns, smoke inhalation, drowning, and more. Many of the 6,211 deaths are also unaccounted for.
The final 1,312 casualties refer to soldiers who died in non-hostile situations. These deaths include those who suffered from heart or respiratory failure, stroke, drowning, electrocution, aircraft or vehicle crash, and falls or jumps. However, a majority of these deaths are also due to weaponry, mostly by gunshot, grenades, artillery, rocket-propelled grenade, or some kind of explosive device. Again, many soldiers’ causes of death are unknown.
Fatalities account for only a small number of casualties. Of the 52,100 soldiers who sustained loss, only 6,211 died. This number includes all deaths connected to the war on terror over a 10 year span. Assuming this sample is an accurate representation of the population, casualty counts in general are largely injuries, and many of the deaths included are not combat-related.
Comparison of U.S. Military and U.S. Citizen Deaths
Serving in the military is not drastically more dangerous than living life as a civilian. Civilian mortality rates in America are high. The National Vital Statistics System provides data regarding the top causes of death in the U.S. In 2007 the top 15 causes, from first to last, were:
# Heart disease
# Malignant neoplasms
# Cerebrovascular diseases
# Chronic lower respiratory diseases
# Accidents
# Alzheimer’s disease
# Diabetes mellitus
# Influenza or pneumonia
# Nephritis
# Septicemia
# Suicide
# Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
# Hypertension
# Parkinson’s disease
# Assault or homicide
All 2007 causes of death totaled to 2,423,712 lives. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the 2007 population at 299,398,000. Therefore, about 0.81% of the U.S. population suffered death in 2007.
According to the Defense Manpower Data Center, the total military FTE (Full Time Equivalent, which includes mobilized National Guard and Reserve), counted for 2011 was 1,603,904. The death rate per 100,000 serving was only 802. This means that about 12,864 soldiers died in 2011, which is about 0.802% of those serving.
If one compares the U.S. Citizen and U.S. Military death statistics, it appears that the military percentage of death is approximately the same as the civilian percentage; both are about 0.8%. But there are two problems with this statistic. First, if one accounts for the health and age of the soldiers in the military, many of the above causes of death become much less likely. The military accepts only applicants that are in pique physical condition, and trains them for 6 months to further improve health and fitness. It naturally follows that young, fit American soldiers are less likely to die than the average citizen in a non-hostile environment.
In 2002, The National Vital Statistics Report collected data to show the numbers of people who died in specific age groups. Citizens ages 25-34 accounted for a total of 40,451 deaths. However, all of the causes of death exemplified were largely inapplicable to military personnel, except for motor accident, placed 7th, and firearms, placed 10th. 17%, or 6,884 people, died in accident, while 14.3%, or 5,789 people, died from firearms. These numbers together total 12,673, and are close to the 12,864 counted in the military.
The second problem is that there are many more citizens than soldiers, and this difference of sample size must be accounted for. In 2002, there were 38,670,000 U.S. citizens age 25-34. This means that of all citizens age 25-34 in 2002, only 0.105% died. Compared to 0.8%, this is a large difference in percentage of death.
According to these specific statistics, the average American citizen aged 25-34 is about 7 times more likely to die in military service than in civilian life. Statistics results may vary due to differences in year, deployment location, military branch, and job. However, it is clear that in general, one risks a greater possibility of death in joining the military than in remaining a civilian.
Military Branches
There are several branches of the U.S. Military. They are the Army, Navy, USAF (United States Air Force), Coast Guard, and USMC (United States Marine Corps). While the Coast Guard is considered part of the military, it is not combat oriented, and will therefore be disregarded in this analysis.
The military branches have different jobs to do, and the level of danger is not the same for all branches. Generally speaking, the Marine Corps is considered to be the most dangerous of the branches, because they are the first to enter a hostile area. The Air Force tends to be the safest of the branches. The Army and Navy tend to stay somewhere in the middle of the danger zone.
Operation Iraqi Freedom is an example of this principle. For every 1000 men, the death rate for each branch of the military were as follows:
#Marine Corps-8.48
#Army-3.94
#Navy-0.83
#Air Force-0.40
While this is only one example of U.S. Military branch death rate, it is an accurate representation of the general danger of each group. The operation and war zone location will naturally affect the mortality rates of each branch. In this particular example, the navy has a much lower mortality rate than the army, most likely because the navy is used less frequently when the war zone is inland.

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