3 ms·
Not likely. When the US is not at war, joining the armed forces is a viable path for many people: they don't pay you much, but they get your body in shape, take
by dsr_ 5y ago
Not likely. When the US is not at war, joining the armed forces is a viable path for many people: they don't pay you much, but they get your body in shape, take care of your food, housing and medical needs, and accumulate money towards education.
In war time, total deaths per military FTE is often in the 1/1000 rate each year. Obviously your MOS and assignment area are going to be big factors in that -- get assigned to a US base and your risk is less than that of a construction worker.
- hihihihi1234 5y ago> total deaths per military FTE is often in the 1/1000 rate each year This might derail the thread but I'm genuinely curious to know: if I joined the US military during wartime, what's the statistical chance that I would suffer a non-fatal but still life-changing injury? And what's the chance that I would survive combat with such a severe case of PTSD that it drivese to suicide? (On the latter point, I've read that significantly more American servicemen have killed themselves after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan than were actually killed while serving in those countries.)
- dsr_ 5y agoThe rate of wounded-but-not dead is about 9x the death rate - if 1/100 get wounded, and of those about 10% die of those wounds. There are lots of available statistics. So the rate of major injuries falls between those, but the rate of severe PTSD is probably independent.