Far more US casualties in Iraq

Pentagon casualty reports show 2,390 service members dead from Iraq and Afghanistan and over 16,000 wounded. By far the vast majority of the wounded and dead are from Iraq.

But by Dec. 8, 2005, the military had evacuated another 25,289 service members from Iraq and Afghanistan for injuries or illnesses not caused directly by enemy bullets or bombs, according to the U.S. Transportation Command. That statistic includes everything from serious injuries in Humvee wrecks or other accidents to more routine illnesses that could be unrelated to field battles. ....

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides soldiers with medical care after leaving the military. An October V.A. report shows that 119,247 service members who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan -- and are now off duty -- are receiving health care from the V.A. Presumably, some of those health problems are unrelated to the war.

Now, certainly, a fair number of those Iraq and Afghanistan vets are seeking treatment for other things, but remember these guys are in the prime of their lives. Also, I don't have the number handy, but you have to figure that that 119,247 comes out of a total pool of 500,000(?) that have rotated through those theaters. I'm not sure of that number, but even if you double it, you're looking at 10%.

(This link is from Salon, so you have to watch the ad, but after that it's free.)