Marine Casualty Rate?

[Jonathan Goss]

I hate even asking this, but I'd like to know what the casualty % is for active service Marines. I'm thinking about (and have been) joining Infantry in a year or so, which sucks having to wait on things to finish in life before I can move on. But, I ask not for my sake (otherwise I wouldn't be cut out for it, would I?), but for my parents, specifically my mom. I'm 25 and while I don't owe them, I love them and want to know as much as I can so I don't give them too much or too little hope for their well being based on mine, which is important to me as I'm my mother's oldest son.

So yeah, my heart is and always has been set on Infantry. I'm not in it to be sold on and score some "cushy" job (relatively speaking) or benefits or knowledge for a civilian market. If I'd wanted to do something in the civilian world I would've been ****ing well doing it by now. Infantry is only found in the military and the best is the Corps, hands down. I know there are other "hands on" fields, but my heart's set on Infantry. Ex-joint services, Marine relatives/spouses, pastor, friends, coworkers and family have all tried to goad me into specialty fields and elite units (Intel, FORECON, OCS--chaplain) but I'm not interested in any of that yet and I sure as Hell don't want to be an officer without experiencing what the men under command will go through when an order is given. I want to prove myself from the boot leather up if I decide to go career. Which is why, for my parents' sake, the info is so important to me. They'll worry, and I want to give them the truth and protect them as much as I can if I can.

I can't imagine what an unsavory topic this might be for many of you to address and please forgive me if it comes off as juvenile or offensive. My aim is to know what to tell my parents. Again, I don't live under their authority and my life choices are mine, but this is one scenario where it's not about me; it's about those who love me, no matter how old I am. I've heard everything from 20% (which sounds insulting) to less than 1% (which feels more accurate but is still suspect). And it has to be made clear that whatever the number is, for my own sake, it won't stop me. Otherwise I have no right asking.

Thanks for taking the time to read,
J

[Achped]

2/7 currently has 30 or so KIA and 120 WIA. A battalion has roughly 700 Marines. 4.5%? Or 2nd LAR which is just returnining has zero KIA and zero WIA. 0%.

What the **** kind of question is this? If you are afraid of getting hurt this isn't the game to play. We need men who realize what they're getting into and not little kids who are trying to protect their parents.

Protect them by picking up a weapon and standing a post, not by telling them what the odds are you'll die defending that post.

[bgsuwoody]

Yup thats the numbers I got...Guess who's relieving 2/7...that's right this guy...You can't kill a God its pretty hard lol. This job isn't going to be easy with those numbers from 2/7...1 of 4 convoys is getting attacked, 1 of 6 days a FOB is getting attacked and it isn't easy. Get over the realization that this will be cushy. There is no cushy job...My friend Matt here has prob one of the most "cushy" jobs in the Marine Corps, but guess where he is...IRAQ...holy ****. Everyday is a chance to die and a chance to live, youu make it through the day based on your decisions and your ability to escape the wrath of God. Do you have it in you?....God knows I do!

[Jonathan Goss]

Yeah, I hate asking and I personally don't care. But there have been a couple questions from people in the past several months that I don't have answers for. I don't like not having answers, especially in regards to the ones who raised me for the first 2/3's of my life. And I don't care what the answer is as long as it comes from a credible source. This place is a credible source. So if that answer is "there's no way to tell" then that's the answer I'll give them because it's the truth.

[WalkingMan]

Yeah, I hate asking and I personally don't care. But there have been a couple questions from people in the past several months that I don't have answers for. I don't like not having answers, especially in regards to the ones who raised me for the first 2/3's of my life. And I don't care what the answer is as long as it comes from a credible source. This place is a credible source. So if that answer is "there's no way to tell" then that's the answer I'll give them because it's the truth.

I served in Vietnam 68 and 69 with the Bravo 1/3 FO team and a few other 'snoopin and poopin' units.

We used to joke that before we could be killed or wounded, we had to fill out the correct request form, and send it back to the Rear Area, and it had to be approved, but that at the moment, they were COMPLETELY OUT OF REQUEST FORMS, so... PERMISSION DENIED. :)

I think that casualties were considerably higher in Vietnam, especially in Grunt Companies, Recon, FO teams and other forward deployed units, than they are now... especially at the present time, when casualty rates are way down (for the moment at least) in Iraq.

Combat Medicine has evolved considerably since Vietnam, and so have things like MedEvac capabilities, so that injuries that killed Marines 40 years ago can be survived today at a much higher rate, and with a better outcome.

What I remember being the 'big thing' topic under discussion, was not the casualty rates (KIA/Wounded), but the Life Expectancy for various MOS's, which was measured in 'minutes under fire'. I don't believe the 'statistics' were scientifically calculated or anything, I would guess it was all scuttlebut.

I remember that Tunnel Rats had the lowest life expectancy, Officers and Corpsmen, were on the 'Dead Man Walking' list, and that my MOS ...a 2533 radio operator humping a PRC 25 radio, walking point, doing night ambushes, and getting dropped off on some Very Forward hilltop to Observe, Report and Direct Fire Missions and Air Support... was also pretty crappy.

When you see your Brothers (and nowadays Sisters) die or get wounded in combat, it sucks, but Marine Corps training really does kick in when the sh*t starts, and it saves a lot of lives, not to mention helping to keep one reasonably sane, under insane conditions.

Jarhead Humour saves a lot of lives.

[Diep]

Most of the casualty marines are marines that return from deployments and get into car accidents, I believe..

[Accord]

Yup thats the numbers I got...Guess who's relieving 2/7...that's right this guy...You can't kill a God its pretty hard lol. This job isn't going to be easy with those numbers from 2/7...1 of 4 convoys is getting attacked, 1 of 6 days a FOB is getting attacked and it isn't easy. Get over the realization that this will be cushy. There is no cushy job...My friend Matt here has prob one of the most "cushy" jobs in the Marine Corps, but guess where he is...IRAQ...holy ****. Everyday is a chance to die and a chance to live, youu make it through the day based on your decisions and your ability to escape the wrath of God. Do you have it in you?....God knows I do!

The reason 2/7 got so ****ed up is because of lack of having their own air and their own arty, a luxury that I had in Afghanistan. They were just a grunt battalion, but we were a grunt battalion with an entire MEU with our own ACE, our own CLB, our own arty, etc. 1/6 would have had just as many casualties as 2/7 if we didn't have air and arty to bail us out when we got too deep into the **** every single day. We had priority over 2/7 for air and arty and as a result the only time 2/7 got air was when we didn't need it, which was almost never.