This Sunny West coast State Has Lost More Troops in Afghanistan Than Any Other
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Business Insider
Eloise Lee
05/09/2012
Since Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan began in October of 2001, the United States has sustained more than 15,858 overall casualties (war injuries) and 1,526 killed-in-action fatalities, according to Pentagon records.
Hostile firefights, IEDs, suicide bombs, green-on-blue violence (Afghan forces turning on their Western allies), insurgent rocket attacks, and regrettable accidents are among the life-threatening risks that service members face. There is also one U.S. soldier, Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl of Idaho, who was captured in June 2009 is believed to be held as a prisoner of war. His whereabouts are unknown.
Below are two maps by the organization iCasualties focusing on U.S. troop sacrifices.
State-by-state casualties are shown in the first, indicating the number of U.S. troops coming home with war injuries — including amputations, disfigurement, traumatic brain injuries, bullet wounds, and the unimaginable.
The second map illustrates American deaths in Afghanistan since 2001. The state-by-state numbers speak for themselves.
The National Priorities Project's most recent findings on military recruitment shows the average number of U.S. recruits per 1,000 youth aged 18-24 is 2.28 — a calculation of recruitment rate. It seems a small number, yet those volunteers are signed up to defend the entire country when called. The NPP points out:
The number of recruits from a given location is useful information, but it does not give a complete picture of recruitment. For example, in FY2010, Maine and Nebraska contributed almost the same number of recruits (411 and 437 respectively). However, Maine's much smaller population means they contributed a larger percentage of their youth to the military, and this is reflected in the recruitment rate of each state.
Maine leads the FPP's country-wide rankings with an above-average recruitment rate of 3.59 (based on latest FY2010 data). Texas ranks 12th with a rate of 2.81. And the big state of California ranks 35th with a rate of 1.92 — but with its enormous population, it is also the state which has suffered the most casualties and fatalities.
