U.S. casualties from Iraq war top 9,000
By Mark Benjamin
Published 11/14/2003 2:06 PM
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The number of U.S. casualties from
Operation Iraqi Freedom -- troops killed, wounded or evacuated due to
injury or illness -- has passed 9,000, according to new Pentagon data.
In addition to the 397 service members who have died and the 1,967
wounded, 6,861 troops were medically evacuated for non-combat
conditions between March 19 and Oct. 30, the Army Surgeon General's
office said.
That brings total casualties among all services to more than 9,200,
and represents an increase of nearly 3,000 non-combat medical
evacuations reported since the first week of October. The Army offered
no immediate explanation for the increase.
A leading veterans' advocate expressed concern.
"We are shocked at the dramatic increase in casualties," said Steve
Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center.
Of the non-combat medical evacuations:
-- 2,464 were for injuries, such as those sustained in vehicle
accidents.
-- 4,397 were due to illness; 504 of those were classified as
psychiatric, 378 as neurological, and another 150 as neurosurgery.
"We are especially concerned about the psychological and neurological
evacuations from this war," Robinson said. "We request a clarification
of the types of illnesses people are suffering from so we do not have
a repeat of the first Gulf War. We need to understand the nature and
types of illnesses so scientists can determine if significant trends
are occurring."
Army Surgeon General's Office spokeswoman Virginia Stephanakis told
United Press International Thursday that it is misleading to combine
psychiatric and neurological problems. Some of the neurosurgery might
be operations on the spinal cord, for example.
"Those are apples and oranges," she said.
She also said that some troops evacuated for psychiatric reasons later
returned after getting a rest.
In early October, the Army Surgeon General's office said 3,915
soldiers had been evacuated from Operation Iraqi Freedom for
non-combat injuries and illnesses, including 478 with psychological
problems and 387 for neurological reasons.
The new total of 6,861 reported non-combat evacuations is a rise of 57
percent since then.
The latest data on non-combat evacuations includes 1,628 orthopedic
(bone) injuries. Other leading causes for evacuations include:
-- 831 surgeries for injuries;
-- 289 cardiology cases;
-- 249, gastrointestinal;
-- 242, pulmonary (lung);
-- 634, general surgery;
-- 319, gynecological;
-- 290, urological;
-- 37, dental.
Stephanakis said the pulmonary problems included soldiers who suffered
from pneumonia as part of a cluster investigated by the Army in
August.
The numbers don't include service members treated in theater or those
whose illnesses -- such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder -- were not
apparent until after they returned to the United States.
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