Order Code RS22452
June 8, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
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, while 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.dior.whs.mil/mmid/casualty/castop.htm]. In addition,
the CRS Report RS21578, Iraq: Summary of U.S. Casualties is updated on a weekly
basis.
This report will be updated as needed.
Table 1. Total U.S. Military Casualties — Operation Iraqi Freedom
and Operation Enduring Freedom, As of May 15, 2006
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom
Non-Hostile Deaths
503
137
Hostile Deaths
1,822
143
Total Deaths
2,325
280
Total Wounded
17,469
718
Source: Department of Defense, [http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OIF-Total.pdf.].
Weekly updates of this information can be found in CRS Report RS21578, Iraq: Summary of U.S.
Casualties.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Medical Evacuation Statistics —
U.S. Military Personnel
All U.S. military personnel evacuation statistics are provided to CRS by DOD’s
Deployment Health Support Directorate (DHSD) and the Army Office of the Surgeon
General. The numbers listed in this report are taken from DOD’s May 18, 2006; March
7, 2006; July 14, 2005, February 8, 2005; and October 18, 2004 updates. All numbers
have been generated using the Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) Regulation and
Command and Control Evacuation System (TRAC2ES).
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
According to DOD, a total of 26,802 individuals were medically evacuated from OIF
from March 19, 2003, to May 18, 2006.
Table 2. Medical Reasons for Evacuations
As of
As of
As of
As of
September 30,
December 31,
July 11,
February 27,
2004
2004
2005
2006
Battle Injuries
17%
19%
19%
20%
Non-Battle
21%
22%
17%
17%
Injuries
Disease
63%
59%
64%
63%
Source: Department of Defense, Deployment Health Support Directorate.
Table 3. Distribution of Evacuations Among the Services
As of
As of December
As of
As of
September 30,
31, 2004
July 11,
February 27,
2004
2005
2006
Army
83%
83%
80%
83%
Marines
8%
10%
6%
12%
Air Force
3%
5%
3%
3%
Navy
2%
2%
7%
2%
Othera
N/A
N/A
4%
N/A
Source: Department of Defense, Deployment Health Support Directorate.
a. This category was added in the July 14, 2005 update and includes civilians, foreign nationals, and others.
It was dropped in the March 7, 2006 update.

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Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)

According to DOD, a total of 4,619 individuals were medically evacuated from OEF
between October 27, 2001 through February 27, 2006.
Table 4. Medical Reasons for Evacuation
As of
As of
As of
As of
September 30,
December 31,
July 11,
February 27,
2004
2004
2005
2006
Battle Injuries
8%
9%
8%
9%
Non-Battle
28%
27%
17%
18%
Injuries
Disease
64%
64%
75%
73%
Source: Department of Defense, Deployment Health Support Directorate.
Table 5. Distribution of Evacuations Among the Services
As of
As of December
As of
As of
September 30,
31, 2004
July 11,
February 27,
2004
2005
2006
Army
69%
84%
67%
73%
Marines
11%
8%
7%
8%
Air Force
15%
7%
16%
16%
Navy
4%
1%
4%
3%
Othera
N/A
N/A
6%
N/A
Source: Department of Defense, Deployment Health Support Directorate.
a. This category was added in the July 14, 2005, update and includes civilians, foreign nationals, and others.
It was dropped in the March 7, 2006 update.
Amputation and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Statistics for American Forces
Amputation and TBI statistics are provided to CRS by the Army Office of the
Surgeon General. These injuries may overlap, that is, a single soldier may experience
both a TBI and an amputation. The Army has subdivided its numbers to show this
possible overlap; according to their statistics in March 2006, of the total 1,124 Army
soldiers injured in the Global War on Terrorism (or GWOT, which includes OIF, OEF
and some additional contingencies that do not contribute large numbers), 895 (or 80%)
sustained a single injury, while 229 (or 20%) sustained multiple injuries.

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CRS-4
Keeping these possible overlaps in mind, as of May 3, 2006, DOD reported a total
of 674 amputations during OIF and OEF. Of the total number of amputations, 575 were
sustained in OIF, 41 were sustained in OEF, and 58 were sustained during non-
deployment. Of all amputations, 42.1% were caused by improvised explosive devices
(IEDs).
As of March 31, 2006, DOD reported a total of 1,179 traumatic brain injuries, or
TBIs, during OIF and OEF. Of those TBIs, 96% or 1,128, were sustained during OIF,
while 4%, or 50, were sustained during OEF. Of the total injuries in OIF and OEF, 222
were counted as “severe” or “penetrating.”
Gender Distribution of Deaths
Statistics in Tables 6 and 7 concerning the gender distribution of OIF and OEF
casualties are available on DOD’s military casualty information website. All numbers are
current as of April 29, 2006.
Table 6. Operation Iraqi Freedom
Gender
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
Male
2,345
97.8%
Female
52
2.2%
Total
2,397
100.0%
Source: DOD, Operation Iraqi Freedom — Military Deaths, at [http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/personnel/
CASUALTY/oif-deaths-total.pdf].
Table 7. Operation Enduring Freedom
Gender
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
Male
272
97.1%
Female
8
2.9%
Total
280
100.0%
Source: DOD, Operation Enduring Freedom — Military Deaths, at [http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/personnel/
CASUALTY/OEFDEATHS.pdf].

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Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
Statistics in Tables 8 and 9 concerning the race and ethnicity distribution of OIF and
OEF casualties are available on DOD’s military casualty information website. All
numbers are current as of April 29, 2006. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
Table. 8 Operation Iraqi Freedom
Race/Ethnicity
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
American Indian or Alaska Native
26
1.1%
Asian
43
1.8%
Black or African American
240
10.0%
Hispanic or Latino
270
11.3%
Multiple races, pending or unknown
31
1.3%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
25
1.0%
White
1,762
73.5%
Total
2,397
100.0%
Source: DOD, Operation Iraqi Freedom — Military Deaths, at [http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/personnel/
CASUALTY/oif-deaths-total.pdf].
Table 9. Operation Enduring Freedom
Race/Ethnicity
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
American Indian or Alaska Native
4
1.4%
Asian
2
0.7%
Black or African American
21
7.5%
Hispanic or Latino
24
8.6%
Multiple races, pending or unknown
1
0.4%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
3
1.1%
White
225
80.4%
Total
280
100.0%
Source: DOD, Operation Enduring Freedom — Military Deaths, at [http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/personnel/
CASUALTY/OEFDEATHS.pdf].

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