Iyow - in your own words

Jacob Weisberg’s article in Slate is an eye-opener re mortality and injury trends in the Iraq war. He points out that while the risk of being killed in Iraq is lower than in Vietnam, the chance of being injured is significantly higher – 3.1% as opposed to 1.8% of all those who have served. A major reason for this is that advancements in military medical care are now able to save patients that would have had no chance with previous wars’ treatment capabilities, according to surgeon Atul Gawande in this New England Journal of Medicine article. This Department of Defense table, circa Dec. 2004, illustrates this, and Weisberg cites the current number of injured or killed now around 20,000.

But, both articles point out that the military is having a harder and harder time recruiting new enlistees, both for combat and highly skilled medical positions. The main point of Weisberg’s article is the military is lowering admissions criteria to the point of endangering competency standards in order to meet its recruiting goals – and still missing them. And for medical professionals, Gawande says ”(t)he pay has never been competitive. One now faces a near-certain likelihood of leaving one’s family for duty overseas. And without question, the work is dangerous.” Which leaves as incentives only school loan obligations and/or true belief in the cause.