25% Of War Deaths Medically Preventable

An Afghan soldier runs past a U.S. Army paratrooper armed with an M249 squad automatic weapon during a firefight with insurgent forces near Joint Security Station Hasan near the village of Spedar in southern Afghanistan's Ghazni province, June 15, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

Study: 25% Of War Deaths Medically Preventable -- Army Times

A new study finds that nearly a quarter of the 4,596 combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011 were “potentially survivable,” meaning that under ideal conditions — and with the right equipment or latest medical techniques — the troops may have had a fighting chance.

But the study also notes that 90 percent of the deaths occurred before the injured reached a medical facility: of the 4,090 troops who suffered mortal wounds on the battlefield, 1,391 died instantly and 2,699 succumbed before arriving at a treatment center.

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My Comment: The stat that caught my attention was in the last sentence ....

.... As of June 28, 5,106 U.S. troops have been killed in action in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan according to the Defense Department.

Not A Good Day For U.S. Troops In Afghanistan And Iraq

CHECKPOINT CHECKS - U.S. Army Col. Byron Freeman visits a checkpoint, Feb. 14, 2009, during heightened security implementations at checkpoints throughout Baghdad, Iraq, to prepare for Arba'een, a religious holiday pilgrimage. Freeman commands the 8th Military Police "Watchdog" Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jessika Malott

Afghan Bomb Kills 4 US troops; Deadliest This Year -- Yahoo News/AP

KABUL – A roadside bomb killed four U.S. troops patrolling in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday in the deadliest single attack on international forces this year. An Afghan civilian working with the Americans also died.

The troops were patrolling with Afghan forces when their vehicle struck a bomb Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. military said in a statement. The military did not release the attack's location pending the notification of relatives.

The previous deadliest attack against U.S. forces this year was an explosion in Zabul province in January that killed three troops.

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More News On Us And Coalition Casualties In Iraq And Afghanistan

Blast kills 4 U.S. coalition troops, Afghan civilian -- Reuters
Afghan blast kills four US-led troops -- AFP
Bombing kills 4 coalition members in Afghanistan -- CNN
US soldiers wounded in Iraq police-station shooting -- AFP
Interpreter killed, US soldiers wounded in Iraq -- AP
Reports murky on whether U.S. soldiers killed by Iraqi police -- CNN
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,250 -- AP
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 581 -- AP

U.S> Military Deaths In Iraq And Afghanistan

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 555 -- AP

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,191 -- AP

Victory Watch: The Longest Stretch Without An American KIA

From Tigerhawk:

There have been only five American KIA in Iraq since June 26 (excluding one poor soldier who died on July 2 from injuries incurred in 2005). No American soldier has died in combat since July 15, the longest such period since the invasion. Recorded deaths of Iraqi civilians were at their lowest level since April 2005, notwithstanding a spate of female suicide bombings in the last week of the month. Still too high, but let's put it in perspective. If you annualize the 305 civilians who died in July and divide it into Iraq's population of 27.5 million, you get 0.00013. In July, at least, an Iraqi's risk of death from homicide was only 16% higher than in the United States during the first year of the Clinton administration. Now, you can take such thinking too far; the Iraqi statistics probably understate homicide because they are based on press accounts, and there is a big psychological difference between garden-variety homicide and deaths from bombing. But that does not make the improvement any less impressive.

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