U.S. casualties
from Iraq war top 9,000
By Mark Benjamin Published 11/14/2003 2:06 PM View
printer-friendly version
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.
-0-
e-mail: mbenjamin@upi.com
Copyright © 2001-2003 United Press
International
View
printer-friendly version | |