U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: Operation
New Dawn, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and
Operation Enduring Freedom
Hannah Fischer
Information Research Specialist
June 12, 2012
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS22452
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Summary
This report presents statistics regarding U.S. military casualties in Operation New Dawn (OND,
Iraq), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF, Iraq), and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, Afghanistan),
including those concerning post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI),
amputations, evacuations, and the demographics of casualties. Some of these statistics are
publicly 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 OND, OIF, and OEF can be found at the DOD’s
website, at http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf. In addition, CRS Report R40824, Iraq
Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces, contains
statistics on U.S. military and Iraqi civilian casualties, while CRS Report R41084, Afghanistan
Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians, contains statistics on U.S. military and Afghan civilian
casualties.
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn have ended. However, updates to the casualty
statistics continue for both operations.
This report will be updated as needed.
Congressional Research Service
U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Contents
Current Operations........................................................................................................................... 1
Rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Amputations...................... 1
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).................................................................................... 1
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) .................................................................................................... 3
Amputations .............................................................................................................................. 5
Gender Distribution of Deaths......................................................................................................... 6
Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths............................................................................................. 7
Self-Inflicted Wounds ...................................................................................................................... 8
Medical Evacuation Statistics for U.S. Military Personnel ............................................................. 8
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn................................................................. 8
Operation Enduring Freedom .................................................................................................... 9
Figures
Figure 1. Annual Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnoses in All Services ................................. 2
Figure 2. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 2000-2011 Q4 ................................................................... 4
Figure 3. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 2000-2011 Q4 ................................................................... 5
Figure 4. Major-Limb Amputations Due to Battle Injuries in OIF/OND and OEF......................... 6
Tables
Table 1. Annual New Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnoses in All Services........................... 2
Table 2. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 2000-2011 Q4..................................................................... 4
Table 3. Individuals with Battle-Injury Amputations by Service for OIF/OND and OEF............... 5
Table 4. OIF/OND Gender Distribution of Deaths.......................................................................... 7
Table 5. OEF Gender Distribution of Deaths................................................................................... 7
Table 6. OIF/OND Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths .............................................................. 7
Table 7. OEF Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths....................................................................... 8
Table 8. OIF/OND Medical Reasons for Evacuations..................................................................... 9
Table 9. OEF Medical Reasons for Evacuation ............................................................................... 9
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 10
Congressional Research Service
U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Current Operations
On August 31, 2010, President Obama announced that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq (Operation
Iraqi Freedom, OIF) had ended. A transitional force of U.S. troops remained in Iraq under
Operation New Dawn (OND), which ended on December 31, 2011.
As of May 7, 2012, 4,409 servicemembers died in OIF and 31,924 servicemembers were
wounded in action. In addition, there were 40,241 non-hostile-related medical air transports.1 In
OND, as of May 7, 2012, 66 servicemembers died and 301 were wounded in action. A further
2,516 required non-hostile-related medical air transports.2
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) continues in Afghanistan. As of May 7, 2012, 1,951
servicemembers have died, 15,858 servicemembers have been wounded in action, and there have
been 16,196 non-hostile-related medical air transports in OEF.3
Rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic
Brain Injury, and Amputations
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
The U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), using the Defense Medical Surveillance
System (DMSS), provided the statistics below on the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) cases. According to Dr. Michael Carino of the OSG, a case of PTSD is defined as an
individual having at least two outpatient visits or one or more hospitalizations at which PTSD
was diagnosed. The threshold of two or more outpatient visits is used in the DMSS to increase the
likelihood that the individual actually had PTSD. A single visit on record commonly reflects
someone who was evaluated for possible PTSD, but did not actually meet the established criteria
for diagnosis.
For those who have been diagnosed with PTSD during deployment, although the diagnosis of
PTSD occurred at least 30 days after the individual deployed, there is no way to determine that
the PTSD resulted from an event associated with the deployment. The PTSD could have resulted
from an event that occurred prior to a deployment.4 Table 1 and Figure 1 present yearly PTSD
diagnoses for all services.
1 Department of Defense, “Global War on Terrorism – Operation Iraqi Freedom by Casualty Category Within Service,”
March 19, 2003, to May 7, 2012, at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-total.pdf.
2 Department of Defense, “Global War on Terrorism – Operation New Dawn by Casualty Category Within Service,”
September 1, 2010 to May 7, 2012, at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/ond-total.pdf.
3 Department of Defense, “Global War on Terrorism – Operation Enduring Freedom by Casualty Category Within
Service,” September 1, 2010, to August 1, 2011, at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/wotsum.pdf.
4 Personal communication with CRS from Department of Defense Office of the Secretary of Defense liaison,
September 21, 2010.
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Table 1. Annual New Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnoses in All Services
As of May 7, 2012
Year Not
Deployed Deployed
2000 1,610
—
2001 1,706
—
2002 1,689 133
2003 1,596 1,091
2004 1,739 3,835
2005 1,882 6,899
2006 1,839 7,579
2007 2,283 11,766
2008 2,619 14,379
2009 2,690 13,967
2010 2,820 14,892
2011 2,943 14,875
2012 836 4,279
Total 22,688 82,015
Source: Personal communication with Dr. Michael Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012. Data
source is the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS).
Figure 1. Annual Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnoses in All Services
As of May 7, 2012
20,000
18,000
16,000
14,000
12,000
ases
C 10,000
D
S
8,000
PT
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Total
Not Deployed
Deployed
Source: Personal communication with Dr. Michael Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data source is the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS).
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Of the total 233,425 traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases since 2000, 178,961 have been mild,
38,943 have been moderate, 6,188 have been severe or penetrating, and 9,333 have not been
classifiable.5 Table 2 and Figure 3 show the relative rates of mild, moderate, severe, penetrating,
and not classifiable TBIs.
5 Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center at http://www.dvbic.org/TBI-Numbers.aspx. The DOD categorizes TBI
cases as mild, moderate, severe, or penetrating. Mild TBI is characterized by a confused or disoriented state lasting less
than 24 hours; loss of consciousness for up to thirty minutes; memory loss lasting less than 24 hours; and structural
brain imaging that yields normal results. Moderate TBI is characterized by a confused or disoriented state that lasts
more than 24 hours; loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes, but less than 24 hours; memory loss lasting
greater than 24 hours but less than seven days; and structural brain imaging yielding normal or abnormal results. Severe
TBI is characterized by a confused or disoriented state that lasts more than 24 hours; loss of consciousness for more
than 24 hours; memory loss for more than seven days; and structural brain imaging yielding normal or abnormal
results. A penetrating TBI, or open head injury, is a head injury in which the dura mater, the outer layer of the system
of membranes that envelops the central nervous system, is penetrated. Penetrating injuries can be caused by high-
velocity projectiles or objects of lower velocity, such as knives, or bone fragments from a skull fracture that are driven
into the brain.
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Table 2. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 2000-2011 Q4
As of February 10, 2012
Incident
Diagnoses
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2000-2011
Severe or Penetrating TBI
450
478
380
449
463
407
521
591
686
809
553
401
6,188
Moderate
TBI
4,150 3,553 3,077 2,643 2,281 1,906 2,466 3,708 3,343 3,751 4,294 3,771 38,943
Mild
TBI
6,326 7,760 8,974
9,770 10,536 9,857 13,919 18,665 21,859 22,673 24,989 23,633 178,961
Not
Classifiable*
37
39
39
36
32 41
52 210 2,679 2,022 1,571 2,575 9,333
Total
Incident
Diagnoses 10,963 11,830 12,470 12,898 13,312 12,211 16,958 23,174 28,567 29,255 31,407 31,380 233,425
Source: Personal communication with Dr. Michael Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012. Data source is Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS),
Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, http://www.dvbic.org/TBI-Numbers.aspx.
Notes: * Requires additional incident information and further investigation prior to TBI categorization.
Figure 2. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 2000-2011 Q4
As of February 10, 2012
Source: Personal communication with Dr. Michael Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012. Data source is the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center
(AFHSC), Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, http://www.dvbic.org/TBI-Numbers.aspx.
CRS-4
U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Figure 3. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 2000-2011 Q4
As of February 10, 2012
Source: Personal communication with Dr. Michael Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data source is the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS), Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center,
http://www.dvbic.org/TBI-Numbers.aspx.
Amputations
Table 3 shows the number of individuals with amputations for OIF/OND and OEF. The total
number of amputations in all conflicts is 1,599.
Table 3. Individuals with Battle-Injury Amputations by Service
for OIF/OND and OEF
As of May 3, 2012
Theater
Type of Amputation
Army
Marine
Navy
Air Force
Grand Total
OIF/OND
Major Limb (e.g. Leg)
598
154
16
7
775
Minor Limb (e.g. Partial Foot,
169 37 4 3
213
Fingers)
OEF
Major Limb (e.g. Leg)
299
255
14
13
581
Minor Limb (e.g. Partial Foot,
18 10 1 1
30
Fingers)
Total
1,084
456 35 24 1,599
Source: Personal communication with Dr. Michael Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 3, 2012.
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
From 2003 until the first quarter of 2009, the majority of the major limb amputations due to battle
injuries in the Army occurred in OIF. In the second quarter of 2009, however, the trend changed,
and since that time the majority of the major limb amputations due to battle injuries in the Army
have occurred in OEF. Figure 4 charts the number of Army major-limb amputations due to a
battle injury in OIF/OND and OEF from January 2009 to June 2011.
Figure 4. Major-Limb Amputations Due to Battle Injuries
in OIF/OND and OEF
January 2009 to March 2012
Source: Personal correspondence with Dr. Michael J. Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Gender Distribution of Deaths
Table 4 and Table 5 provide statistics on the gender distribution of OIF/OND and OEF casualties
(also available on DOD’s website, http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/). All numbers for OIF/OND
and OEF are current as of May 7, 2012. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Table 4. OIF/OND Gender Distribution of Deaths
As of May 7, 2012
Gender
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
Male 4,365
97.5
Female 110
2.5
Total 4,475
100.0
Source: Personal correspondence with Dr. Michael J. Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data from Defense Manpower Data Center, accessible at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-
deaths-total.pdf and http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/onddeaths.pdf.
Table 5. OEF Gender Distribution of Deaths
As of May 7, 2012
Gender
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
Male 1,917
98.3
Female 34
1.7
Total 1,951
100.0
Source: Personal correspondence with Dr. Michael J. Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data from Defense Manpower Data Center, accessible at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/
oefdeaths.pdf.
Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
Table 6 and Table 7 provide statistics on the race and ethnicity distribution of OIF/OND and
OEF casualties (also on DOD’s website, http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas). All numbers for OIF
and OEF are current as of May 7, 2012. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
Table 6. OIF/OND Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
As of May 7, 2012
Race/Ethnicity
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
American Indian/Alaska Native
42
0.9
Asian 83
1.9
Black or African American
434
9.7
Hispanic or Latino
477
10.7
Multiple races, pending, or unknown
49
1.1
Native Hawai an or Pacific Islander
52
1.2
White 3,338
74.6
Total 4,475
100.0
Source: Personal correspondence with Dr. Michael J. Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data from Defense Manpower Data Center, accessible at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-
deaths-total.pdf and http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/onddeaths.pdf.
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Table 7. OEF Race/Ethnicity Distribution of Deaths
As of May 7, 2012
Race/Ethnicity
Military Deaths
% of Total Deaths
American Indian or Alaska Native
23
1.2
Asian 34
1.7
Black or African American
148
7.6
Hispanic or Latino
168
8.6
Multiple races, pending or unknown
29
1.5
Native Hawai an or Pacific Islander
22
1.1
White 1,527
78.3
Total 1,951
100.0
Source: Personal correspondence with Dr. Michael J. Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data from Defense Manpower Data Center, accessible at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/
oefdeaths.pdf.
Self-Inflicted Wounds
According to DOD’s casualty website, as of May 7, 2012, 235 servicemembers died of self-
inflicted wounds while serving in OIF/OND and 79 have died of self-inflicted wounds while
serving in OEF.6
Medical Evacuation Statistics for
U.S. Military Personnel
U.S. military personnel evacuation statistics as of August 1, 2011, can be found at the following
DOD websites: http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-total.pdf for OIF,
http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/ond-total.pdf for OND, and
http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/wotsum.pdf for OEF.
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn
According to DOD, a total of 51,797 individuals were medically evacuated from OIF/OND from
March 19, 2003, to May 7, 2012. Of the total number of medical evacuations, 42,757 were non-
hostile-related medical air transports and the remaining 9,040 were for servicemembers who were
wounded in action. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
6 Department of Defense Personnel and Procurement Statistics, Statistical Information and Analysis Department, OIF at
http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-total.pdf, OND at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/
CASUALTY/ond-total.pdf, and OEF at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/wotsum.pdf.
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Table 8. OIF/OND Medical Reasons for Evacuations
As of May 7, 2012
Number
Percentage
Wounded in Action
9,040
17.5
Non-Hostile Injuriesa 10,830
20.9
Disease/Other Medical
31,927
61.6
Total 51,797
100.0
Source: Personal correspondence with Dr. Michael J. Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data from Defense Manpower Data Center, accessible at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-
total.pdf and http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/ond-total.pdf.
a. The Department of Defense defines a “non-hostile injury” as an injury that is not directly attributable to
hostile action or terrorist activity, such as casualties due to the elements, self-inflicted wounds, or combat
fatigue.
Operation Enduring Freedom
According to DOD, a total of 21,047 individuals were medically evacuated from OEF from
October 7, 2001, through May 7, 2012. Of the total number of medical evacuations, 16,196 were
non-hostile-related medical air transports and the remaining 4,851 were for servicemembers who
were wounded in action. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
Table 9. OEF Medical Reasons for Evacuation
As of May 7, 2012
Number
Percentage
Wounded in Action
4,851
23.0
Non-Hostile Injuriesa 4,113
19.5
Disease/Other Medical
12,083
57.4
Total 21,047
100.0
Source: Personal correspondence with Dr. Michael J. Carino, Army Office of the Surgeon General, May 7, 2012.
Data from Defense Manpower Data Center, accessible at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/
wotsum.pdf.
a. The Department of Defense defines a “non-hostile injury” as an injury that is not directly attributable to
hostile action or terrorist activity, such as casualties due to the elements, self-inflicted wounds, or combat
fatigue.
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U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: OND, OIF, and OEF
Author Contact Information
Hannah Fischer
Information Research Specialist
hfischer@crs.loc.gov, 7-8989
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