United States Military Casualty Statistics: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom

United States Military Casualty Statistics:
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom
Hannah Fischer
Information Research Specialist
Knowledge Services Group
Summary
This report presents difficult-to-find statistics regarding U.S. military casualties in
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, Afghanistan),
including those concerning medical evacuations, amputations, and the demographics of
casualties. Some of these statistics are publically available at the Department of
Defense’s (DOD’s) website, whereas others have been obtained through contact with
experts at DOD.
Daily updates of total U.S. military casualties in OIF and OEF can be found at the
DOD’s website, at [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf]. In addition, CRS
Report RS21578, Iraq: U.S. Casualties is updated on a weekly basis.
This report will be updated as needed.
Table 1. Total U.S. Military Casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom
and Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Iraqi FreedomOperation Enduring Freedom
Non-Hostile Deaths778211
Hostile Deaths3,371366
Total Deaths4,149577
Total Wounded in 30,5682,409
Action
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^No^te:^Cur^r^e^nt^a^s^o^f^A^ugust²⁷^,^2008.

Rates of Amputation and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
for American Forces
Amputation and TBI statistics are provided to CRS by the Army Office of the
Surgeon General. Unless noted otherwise, all statistics include numbers from all services
combined. These injuries may overlap, that is, a single soldier may experience both a TBI
and an amputation.
As of August 1, 2008, DOD reported 1,214 individuals who are amputees, of whom

877 have suffered major limb amputations. Of the 1,214 total amputees, 606 (49.9%)

were wounded by improvised explosive devices. Also of the 1,214 amputees, 1,039
(85.3%) were wounded in OIF, 72 (6.0%) were wounded in OEF, and 103 (or 8.5%) were
wounded in an unaffiliated conflict in the Global War on Terrorism or in training. Battle
injuries were the most common cause of major limb amputations: 85% of the 877 major
limb amputees sustained their injuries in battle, another 13% sustained non-battle injuries,

1% sustained their injuries due to disease, and the cause was not reported for another 1%

of amputees. Of the 877 servicemembers with major limb loss, 586 have completed the
Medical Evaluation Board process, and of those 586, 90 are either Continued on Active
Duty (COAD), Continued in the Reserves (COAR), or Fit for Duty.
As of July 2008, DOD reported a total of 8,089 servicemembers suffering from
traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs. Of those, 5,792 (71.6%) sustained their injuries due to
a blast, 916 (11.3%) sustained their injuries due to a fall, 495 (6.1%) sustained their
injuries due to a vehicular incident, 401 (5.0%) sustained their injuries due to fragments,
190 (2.3%) sustained their injuries due to a bullet, and 295 (or 3.6%) sustained their
injuries due to other causes. Of the 5,852 cases of TBI in the Army, 5,150 (88.0%) were
counted as mild, 350 (6.0%) were counted as moderate, and 349 (6.0%) were counted as
“severe” (an additional 3 cases were not recorded).
Gender Distribution of Deaths
Tables 2 and 3 provide statistics on the gender distribution of OIF and OEF
casualties. All numbers are current as of August 2, 2008.
Table 2. OIF Gender Distribution of Deaths
GenderMilitary Deaths% of Total Deaths
Male4,02397.6
Female992.4
Total4,122100.0
^Source:^{DOD, Op}^eratioⁿ^Iraqⁱ^F^r^e^e^d^o^m^—^Military^Death^s^{, at}
^[^h^ttp^://siad^a^p^p^.^d^m^d^c^.o^sd^.m^il/p^er^soⁿⁿ^e^l/CA^S^UA^L^T^Y/oⁱ^f^-^d^eath^s^-^t^o^t^al.p^d^f^]^.

Table 3. OEF Gender Distribution of Deaths
GenderMilitary Deaths% of Total Deaths
Male54797.5
Female142.5
Total561100.0
^Source:^DOD^,^O^p^er^atioⁿ^En^d^u^rⁱⁿ^g^Fr^eed^o^m^{— Militar}^y^Death^s^{, at}
^[^h^ttp^://siad^a^p^p^.^d^m^d^c^.o^sd^.m^il/p^er^soⁿⁿ^e^l/CA^S^UA^L^T^Y/OEFDEA^T^H^S.p^d^f^]^.
Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
Tables 4 and 5 provide statistics on the race and ethnicity distribution of OIF and
OEF casualties. All numbers are current as of August 2, 2008. Percentages may not
total 100 due to rounding.
Table 4. OIF Race/ Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
Race/EthnicityMilitary Deaths% of Total Deaths
American Indian/Alaska Native401.0
Asian771.9
Black or African American3919.5
Hispanic or Latino44110.7
Multiple races, pending, or unknown431.0
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander481.2
White3,08274.8
Total4,122100
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Table 5. OEF Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
Race/EthnicityMilitary Deaths% of Total Deaths
American Indian or Alaska Native81.4
Asian61.1
Black or African American468.2
Hispanic or Latino488.6
Multiple races, pending or unknown20.4
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander81.4
White44379.0
Total561100
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^[^h^ttp^://siad^a^p^p^.^d^m^d^c^.o^sd^.m^il/p^er^soⁿⁿ^e^l/CA^S^UA^L^T^Y/OEFDEA^T^H^S.p^d^f].
Medical Evacuation Statistics for
U.S. Military Personnel
U.S. military personnel evacuation statistics from 2004 to January 2007 were
provided to CRS by DOD’s Deployment Health Support Directorate (DHSD) and the
Army Office of the Surgeon General. The August 2008 numbers were found at DOD
websites, at [http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OIF-Total.pdf] for
OIF and at [http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/WOTSUM.pdf] for
OEF, both of which are updated on a regular basis.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
According to DOD, a total of 42,808 individuals were medically evacuated from
OIF from March 19, 2003, to August 2, 2008. Of the total number of medical
evacuations, 33,529 cases were non-hostile-related medical air transports, whereas the
remaining 9,279 cases were of hostile-related wounded servicemembers with medical
air transport required.

Table 6. Medical Reasons for Evacuations
(in percent)
As ofAs ofAs ofAs ofAs of
SeptemberFebruaryJanuaryMarch 1,August
30, 200427, 200612, 200720082, 2008
Wounded in Action1720212221.7
Non-Hostile Injuries2117212120.7
Disease 63 63 58 57 57.7
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^[^h^ttp^://siad^a^p^p^.^d^m^d^c^.o^sd^.m^il/p^er^soⁿⁿ^e^l/CA^S^UA^L^T^Y/OI^F-^T^o^tal.p^d^f^]^.
Table 7. Distribution of Evacuations Among the Services
(in percent)
As ofAs of As ofAs ofAs of
SeptemberFebruaryJanuaryMarch 1,August 2,
30, 200427, 200612, 200720082008
Army 83 83 81.6 81.9 81.9
Marines 8 12 12.0 11.5 11.3
Air Force333.63.73.8
Navy222.73.03.0
^Source:^D^e^p^a^r^t^m^e^nt^o^f^D^e^f^e^nse^,^D^e^fe^nse^M^a^np^o^w^e^r^D^a^t^a^Ce^nt^e^r^,
^[^h^ttp^://siad^a^p^p^.^d^m^d^c^.o^sd^.m^il/p^er^soⁿⁿ^e^l/CA^S^UA^L^T^Y/OI^F-^T^o^tal.p^d^f^]^.
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Operation Enduring Freedom
According to DOD, a total of 8,271 individuals were medically evacuated from
OEF from October 7, 2001, through August 2, 2008. Of the total number of medical
evacuations, 7,037 cases were non-hostile-related medical air transports, whereas the
remaining 1,234 cases were of hostile-related wounded servicemembers with medical
air transport required.

Table 8. Medical Reasons for Evacuation
(in percent)
As ofAs ofAs ofAs ofAs of
SeptemberFebruaryJanuaryMarch 8,August
30, 200427, 200612, 200720082, 2008
Wounded in Action89111414.9
Non-Hostile Injuries2818242322.3
Disease 64 73 65 64 62.8
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Table 9. Distribution of Evacuations Among the Services
(in percent)
As ofAs of As ofAs ofAs of
SeptemberFebruaryJanuary 12,March 1,August 2,
30, 200427, 2006200720082008
Army 69 73 75.3 77.0 76.9
Marines 11 8 6.8 5.8 6.1
Air Force151614.313.112.7
Navy433.64.14.2
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