Order Code RS22452
Updated September 9, 2008
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 Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom
Non-Hostile Deaths
778
211
Hostile Deaths
3,371
366
Total Deaths
4,149
577
Total Wounded in
30,568
2,409
Action
Source: Department of Defense, [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf]. Weekly updates of this
information can be found in CRS Report RS21578, Iraq: U.S. Casualties, by JoAnne O’Bryant.
Note: Current as of August 27, 2008.

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CRS-2
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
Gender
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
Male
4,023
97.6
Female
99
2.4
Total
4,122
100.0
Source: DOD, Operation Iraqi Freedom — Military Deaths, at
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-deaths-total.pdf].

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CRS-3
Table 3. OEF Gender Distribution of Deaths
Gender
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
Male
547
97.5
Female
14
2.5
Total
561
100.0
Source: DOD, Operation Enduring Freedom — Military Deaths, at
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OEFDEATHS.pdf].
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/Ethnicity
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
American Indian/Alaska Native
40
1.0
Asian
77
1.9
Black or African American
391
9.5
Hispanic or Latino
441
10.7
Multiple races, pending, or unknown
43
1.0
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
48
1.2
White
3,082
74.8
Total
4,122
100
S o u r c e : D O D , O p e r a t i o n I r a q i F r e e d o m — M i l i t a r y D e a t h s , a t
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-deaths-total.pdf].

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CRS-4
Table 5. OEF Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
Race/Ethnicity
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
American Indian or Alaska Native
8
1.4
Asian
6
1.1
Black or African American
46
8.2
Hispanic or Latino
48
8.6
Multiple races, pending or unknown
2
0.4
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
8
1.4
White
443
79.0
Total
561
100
S o u r c e : D O D , O p e r a t i o n E n d u r i n g F r e e d o m — M i l i t a r y D e a t h s , a t
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OEFDEATHS.pdf].
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.

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CRS-5
Table 6. Medical Reasons for Evacuations
(in percent)
As of
As of
As of
As of
As of
September
February
January
March 1,
August
30, 2004
27, 2006
12, 2007
2008
2, 2008
Wounded in Action
17
20
21
22
21.7
Non-Hostile Injuries
21
17
21
21
20.7
Disease
63
63
58
57
57.7
S o u r c e : D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e , D e f e n s e M a n p o w e r D a t a C e n t e r ,
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OIF-Total.pdf].
Table 7. Distribution of Evacuations Among the Services
(in percent)
As of
As of
As of
As of
As of
September
February
January
March 1,
August 2,
30, 2004
27, 2006
12, 2007
2008
2008
Army
83
83
81.6
81.9
81.9
Marines
8
12
12.0
11.5
11.3
Air Force
3
3
3.6
3.7
3.8
Navy
2
2
2.7
3.0
3.0
S o u r c e : D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e , D e f e n s e M a n p o w e r D a t a C e n t e r ,
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OIF-Total.pdf].
Note: Navy Totals Include Coast Guard. Navy totals were reported by Force Health Protection and
Readiness.
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.

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CRS-6
Table 8. Medical Reasons for Evacuation
(in percent)
As of
As of
As of
As of
As of
September
February
January
March 8,
August
30, 2004
27, 2006
12, 2007
2008
2, 2008
Wounded in Action
8
9
11
14
14.9
Non-Hostile Injuries
28
18
24
23
22.3
Disease
64
73
65
64
62.8
S o u r c e : D e p a r t me nt o f D e fe nse, Deployment Health Support Direc t o r a t e ,
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/WOTSUM.pdf].
Table 9. Distribution of Evacuations Among the Services
(in percent)
As of
As of
As of
As of
As of
September
February
January 12,
March 1,
August 2,
30, 2004
27, 2006
2007
2008
2008
Army
69
73
75.3
77.0
76.9
Marines
11
8
6.8
5.8
6.1
Air Force
15
16
14.3
13.1
12.7
Navy
4
3
3.6
4.1
4.2
So u r c e : D e p a r t me nt o f D e fe nse , D e p l o yment Health Support Directorate,
[http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/WOTSUM.pdf].
Note: Navy Totals Include Coast Guard. Navy totals were reported by Force Health protection and
Readiness.

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