sad statistics
On a day when 13 US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, I went hunting for statistics about how many US soldiers die from various causes.
Over the past 15 years, about 2,700 US soldiers have been killed in action, with another 900 later dying from wounds received in combat. So, 3,600 over 15 years. 13 in one day is a lot, the average is less than one death per day.
But more US soldiers have committed suicide over the past 15 years than have died in or from combat. 4,600 suicides.
Serving in our armed forces is so stressful that more of our soldiers kill themselves, than are killed by the enemy.
I figured this out for myself just now, but I see from the search engine that this has already been reported by NPR and was something candidate Biden talked about. For every seven soldiers killed by the enemy, nine more soldiers killed themselves.
Over the past 15 years, about 2,700 US soldiers have been killed in action, with another 900 later dying from wounds received in combat. So, 3,600 over 15 years. 13 in one day is a lot, the average is less than one death per day.
But more US soldiers have committed suicide over the past 15 years than have died in or from combat. 4,600 suicides.
Serving in our armed forces is so stressful that more of our soldiers kill themselves, than are killed by the enemy.
I figured this out for myself just now, but I see from the search engine that this has already been reported by NPR and was something candidate Biden talked about. For every seven soldiers killed by the enemy, nine more soldiers killed themselves.