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Reservists Die in Iraq

By TChris, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Tue Oct 11, 2005 at 10:55:19 AM EST
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by TChris

Military reservists have recently taken more than their share of casualties in Iraq. About half of active duty troops in Iraq today are reservists.

For the first nine months of 2005 reservists accounted for 36 percent of U.S. deaths, and for August and September it was 56 percent, according to Pentagon figures. The Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve accounted for more than half of all U.S. deaths in August and in September -- the first time that has happened in consecutive months.

The mounting casualties among reservists in Iraq has been overshadowed by the attention focused on a rising overall U.S. death toll, now approaching 2,000. It complicates recruiting for the National Guard and Reserve, which often attract people who think of the military reservists' role as something other than front-line combat.

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    Reservists Die in Iraq | 8 comments (8 topical)
    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#1)
    by Johnny on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:53 PM EST
    Wait a minute... How come casualties are only counted as those who have died? Anyone else have a serious problem with this method?

    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:53 PM EST
    You might want to take that up with TChris. The article, as I read it, did a good job of making clear that the numbers referred specifically to deaths. It talked of casualties also, but only in vague terms. I'm still stuck on how the reservists have "taken more than their share", recently or otherwise.

    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#3)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:53 PM EST
    The injured and wounded are also casualties. US total casualties in Iraq would be 17-18,000 I'm guessing. But a number less than 2000 makes it seem like such a smaller affair.

    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#4)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:53 PM EST
    I've seen that misunderstanding about 'casualities' over and over. BTW desertswine, don't you think it is amazing that we now 'accept' 2000 deaths as a smaller affair? Going in, most americans wouldn't have thought that was acceptable. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that the goal posts have moved. And apparently that number is way less than the actual deaths (of american soldiers) because they only count battlefield deaths. If you die on the medivac or at Ramstein, you don't count.

    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#5)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:53 PM EST
    Also, deaths of GI's that happen outside of Iraq from injuries or other events are not counted as deaths at all. Go Figure

    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#6)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:55 PM EST
    As I've written before, this war is unsustainable. In the article, Charles Krohn, a former Army deputy chief of public affairs, said reservists are taking up the slack for the "highly stressed active-duty Army". We are reaching the point where the number of soldiers leaving, either in body bags or not reenlisting, is greater than the number enlisting and reenlisting. Speaking of recruiting, an Army recruiter called my house today and wanted to speak to my son, who is in his last year of high school but still not 18. I didn't think that any organization could directly solicit minors.

    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dark Avenger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:55 PM EST
    jh: Under No Child Left Behind, the school district can release info about schoolchildren to the military recruiters, unless you as a parent decide to opt-out. I would go to the principal of the institution your child is in and ask a few pointed questions. Democracy Now! covered this a while ago.
    Under a mandate authorized by the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act, recruiters are entitled to get the names, addresses and phone numbers of high school juniors and seniors, unless parents or students sign a form requesting that the data be withheld. Districts that don't comply stand to lose millions in federal funding. As one Pentagon spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times, the policy “Allows the Department of Defense to recruit from a much broader, diverse and more representative group of the youth of America."
    Hope the link helps you find answers to your questions.

    Re: Reservists Die in Iraq (none / 0) (#8)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:55 PM EST
    Thanks for the info DA. As far as my son and many other kids he knows are concerned, the Army recruiter is wasting his time. As I've said before, the Iraq occupation is not sustainable. The reliance on reservists demonstrates that this war is causing the regular Army to become stressed out.

    Reservists Die in Iraq | 8 comments (8 topical)