The Changing Shape Of Warfare

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Oscar De Lira sits on a light armored vehicle in the morning sun prior to live-fire training at a gunnery range area near Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Aug. 17, 2009. De Lira is a light armored vehicle driver assigned to Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is ashore conducting sustainment training in Kuwait and serving as the theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin M. Martinez

Some Radical Changes In Warfare Just Took Place -- Strategy Page

August 25, 2009: One of the more amazing, and underreported, aspects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are the dramatically lower casualties compared to Vietnam, and previous 20th century wars. The casualty rate (adjusting for the number of troops involved) in Iraq was a third of what it was in Vietnam. It's even lower in Afghanistan.

There are also differences in the types of casualties. For example, in Vietnam, bullets caused 38 percent of the deaths. In Iraq, it was only 19 percent and 27 percent in Afghanistan. The Iraqis are notoriously bad shots, even though the urban battle space in Iraq was very similar to Vietnam. There is more of a tradition of marksmanship in Afghanistan, despite (or probably because of) the frequently longer distances involved. The superior body armor has made life much harder for enemy marksmen, as chest shots are now frequently useless.

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My Comment: I can only assume that technological advances in robotic and surveillance systems will also help to expedite these trends even more.