Operation Enduring Freedom: Not One More Life

 

 

Operation Enduring Freedom

United States Military Statistics

(Current to December 5, 2012)

 

Fatalities by Year and Month

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2001	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	4	12
2002	10	12	9	5	1	3	0	1	1	5	1	1	49
2003	4	7	12	2	1	3	2	4	2	4	6	1	48
2004	9	2	3	3	8	5	2	3	4	5	7	1	52
2005	2	1	6	18	4	27	2	15	11	7	3	3	99
2006	1	17	7	1	11	18	9	10	6	10	7	1	98
2007	0	14	5	8	11	12	14	18	8	10	11	6	117
2008	7	1	8	5	17	28	20	22	27	16	1	3	155
2009	15	15	13	6	12	25	45	51	40	59	18	18	317
2010	30	31	26	20	34	60	65	55	42	50	53	33	499
2011	25	20	31	46	35	47	37	71	42	31	18	15	418
2012	26	16	18	35	40	29	41	39	19	18	16	1	298

 

Wounded By Month

Period	Army	Navy	Marine	AirForce	Total
Oct-2001	0	0	0	0	0
Nov-2001	4	0	0	2	6
Dec-2001	20	0	1	6	27
Jan-2002	2	0	0	0	2
Feb-2002	1	0	0	0	1
Mar-2002	35	0	0	9	44
Apr-2002	2	1	0	0	3
May-2002	1	0	0	0	1
Jun-2002	0	0	0	0	0
Jul-2002	6	0	0	0	6
Aug-2002	1	0	0	0	1
Sep-2002	5	0	0	0	5
Oct-2002	2	0	1	0	3
Nov-2002	3	0	0	0	3
Dec-2002	5	0	0	0	5
Jan-2003	6	0	0	0	6
Feb-2003	2	0	0	1	3
Mar-2003	2	0	0	1	3
Apr-2003	8	0	0	3	11
May-2003	7	0	0	0	7
Jun-2003	0	1	0	0	1
Jul-2003	7	0	0	1	8
Aug-2003	9	0	0	0	9
Sep-2003	17	0	0	0	17
Oct-2003	2	0	0	0	2
Nov-2003	19	0	0	2	21
Dec-2003	10	0	1	0	11
Jan-2004	12	0	4	0	16
Feb-2004	14	0	0	1	15
Mar-2004	6	0	0	3	9
Apr-2004	5	0	3	0	8
May-2004	18	2	1	2	23
Jun-2004	19	0	10	0	29
Jul-2004	20	0	2	2	24
Aug-2004	17	0	2	0	19
Sep-2004	29	0	1	0	30
Oct-2004	14	0	9	0	23
Nov-2004	9	0	2	0	11
Dec-2004	7	0	4	0	11
Jan-2005	2	0	1	1	4
Feb-2005	4	0	0	0	4
Mar-2005	9	0	1	0	10
Apr-2005	10	0	0	1	11
May-2005	27	0	3	0	30
Jun-2005	29	0	0	3	32
Jul-2005	26	0	10	0	36
Aug-2005	38	1	18	0	57
Sep-2005	32	0	4	0	36
Oct-2005	13	0	7	1	21
Nov-2005	7	0	2	1	10
Dec-2005	13	0	2	2	17
Jan-2006	5	1	1	1	8
Feb-2006	7	0	0	0	7
Mar-2006	11	0	1	0	12
Apr-2006	11	0	0	1	12
May-2006	24	2	1	1	28
Jun-2006	47	0	0	3	50
Jul-2006	47	0	0	3	50
Aug-2006	44	0	0	1	45
Sep-2006	64	0	0	2	66
Oct-2006	54	0	0	4	58
Nov-2006	37	1	1	4	43
Dec-2006	20	0	0	2	22
Jan-2007	21	0	0	0	21
Feb-2007	13	0	0	2	15
Mar-2007	19	0	1	1	21
Apr-2007	52	0	0	1	53
May-2007	73	0	1	3	77
Jun-2007	79	1	8	0	88
Jul-2007	80	1	4	1	86
Aug-2007	84	0	2	0	86
Sep-2007	67	2	10	0	79
Oct-2007	114	2	2	1	119
Nov-2007	56	0	0	9	65
Dec-2007	37	1	0	2	40
Jan-2008	11	1	0	0	12
Feb-2008	12	0	5	0	17
Mar-2008	42	3	2	0	47
Apr-2008	28	1	3	1	33
May-2008	78	2	21	0	101
Jun-2008	77	9	53	0	139
Jul-2008	84	3	34	0	121
Aug-2008	75	6	37	3	121
Sep-2008	64	2	15	4	85
Oct-2008	54	2	14	1	71
Nov-2008	22	0	1	2	25
Dec-2008	16	0	6	1	23
Jan-2009	37	1	19	2	59
Feb-2009	24	0	2	1	27
Mar-2009	42	2	6	0	50
Apr-2009	41	0	5	0	46
May-2009	105	4	15	5	129
Jun-2009	136	4	33	2	175
Jul-2009	217	8	98	5	328
Aug-2009	299	9	104	4	416
Sep-2009	212	5	93	3	313
Oct-2009	194	5	72	5	276
Nov-2009	132	3	48	4	187
Dec-2009	78	5	50	5	138
Jan-2010	109	2	54	9	174
Feb-2010	111	7	98	2	218
Mar-2010	137	8	176	4	325
Apr-2010	139	4	146	5	294
May-2010	218	15	170	9	412
Jun-2010	289	12	236	3	540
Jul-2010	372	15	218	5	610
Aug-2010	319	9	280	12	620
Sep-2010	408	10	165	19	602
Oct-2010	340	14	228	7	589
Nov-2010	287	9	204	12	512
Dec-2010	196	5	137	12	350
Jan-2011	141	13	125	11	290
Feb-2011	129	5	84	1	219
Mar-2011	179	5	134	8	326
Apr-2011	244	3	110	12	369
May-2011	431	12	134	13	590
Jun-2011	456	11	172	7	646
Jul-2011	497	8	102	8	615
Aug-2011	516	13	107	25	661
Sep-2011	515	12	96	12	635
Oct-2011	330	5	77	5	417
Nov-2011	159	5	98	7	269
Dec-2011	98	4	58	2	162
Jan-2012	58	3	56	0	117
Feb-2012	63	2	34	8	107
Mar-2012	99	7	55	2	163
Apr-2012	195	4	32	8	239
May-2012	336	5	51	8	400
Jun-2012	417	10	50	2	479
Jul-2012	341	4	25	4	374
Aug-2012	343	1	36	14	394
Sep-2012	135	6	25	8	174
Total	12309	339	4630	396	17674

 

During the holiday season we must honor those who serve in the United States Armed Forces. We must be thankful to all the troops for performing their duty as Operation Enduring Freedom continues to rage in Afghanistan. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to these men and women.

Most of all, we must pause and reflect upon those who have paid the ultimate cost. Our relatives and friends continue to be wounded and killed in the war, yet the American press gives little recognition of the latest sacrifices of these brave troops. Not only is each statistic above a number, but also each number represents individuals who have lovingly touched so many lives. Too many have died while unselfishly defending our freedom.

I have the utmost respect for those who serve. These volunteers pledge to obey orders, leave their homes and families for foreign lands, and place their lives in jeopardy. Without question, these people are the best among us. No one else can equal their courage and commitment they exhibit. I wish I had the opportunity to thank each service member for everything they do. The best I can do is make a rather hollow generalization and say to all, “Thank you, and I love you. I hope you all return soon.”

Why Do Americans Fight?

That is a question filmmaker Sebastian Junger asked U.S. Combat soldiers in Afghanistan. He wanted to see what motivated soldiers to continue in battle, to face extreme danger, and to risk their lives in accomplishing their missions.He found most in the midst of war are not thinking about their country or their flag, but rather for each other.

“What I realized in the five months that I spent at this little outpost at the Korangal Valley in eastern Afghanistan -huge amount of combat, very isolated place – what I realized is that the guys were not fighting for flag and country,” Junger said. “They may have joined up for those sorts of reasons, but once they were there, they were fighting for each other and there was a completely kind of fraternal arrangement that had very little broad conceptual motivations behind it.”

According to Junger, not many American soldiers in Afghanistan take their time to reflect on why they are fighting this war, they are “just fightingit.”

“They did not debate why are we in Afghanistan very much,” he said. “It is like, well, 9/11, 3000 Americans were killed by attacks coming out of Afghanistan and we had to go to that country and fix it and find the people who killed our American brothers and sisters, and that is about the extent of their analysis.”

(Sebastian Junger,“American Soldiers in Afghanistan Fight

Not for the Flag, But for Each Other,”May 26 2011)

"For Each Other"

The U.S. military is unmatched in the raw combat power it is capable of unleashing in a conflict, yet today's U.S. soldiers, much like the soldiers of the past, fight primarily “for each other.”Ideological reasons for fighting such as liberation, freedom, and democracy are definitely present. In fact, soldiers who fight are highly sophisticated – sophisticated enough to grasp all the moral concepts of war. This is most likely the result of the transformation of the Army from a fledgling all-volunteer experiment to a truly professional force.


Yet, the ideological reasons for fighting are secondary, even non-existent for many. Since World War II, studies have argued and conventional wisdom has claimed that soldiers fight for each other. Cohesion, or the bonds between soldiers, traditionally has been cited as the primary motivation for soldiers in combat.


(Thomas A. Kolditz, Raymond A. Millen, Terrrence M. Potter. “Why They Fight: Combat Motivation...” July 2003)

The true strength of America's military lies not in its hardware or high-tech equipment, but in its soldiers. Today's soldiers trust each other; they trust their leaders; they trust the Army. They fight for each other – this ideology and the transformation of the U.S. Army from a demoralized draft army, to a struggling all-volunteer force, to a truly professional Army makes the U.S. Soldier the best in the world.

My Take

If it were in my power, I would withdraw the armed forces from Afghanistan and end Operation Enduring Freedom immediately. I do not want even one more wound or one more death to result from the war. I hate we are staying there until the projected withdrawal of 2014. I understand “peace with honor” and “the need for stabilization of a new government,” and “the assurance that no soldier died in vain,” but I also understand that our troops must be protected fully, not left to trust Afghans they train as their eventual replacements. I think we must do everything possible to protect our armed forces that remain in Afghanistan, and, to me, that means having enough American troops there to protect each other until the withdrawal.

I believe in the “for each other” mindset of our military personnel. I do not believe in American governmental policies with that same resolve. It is time to end wars fueled by money, politicians, and expansionist theory. When I consider the good men and women who lost their lives in Vietnam, the overseas struggle of my younger days, and I think about the positive impact they would have had on American society if they had returned, I get sick.

Now, we have lost far too many people in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the“best of us” continue to become disabled and die in these bloody campaigns, we have to consider the sacrifices and evaluate the gains for our involvement. I would not give one more life for the ideology being applied. Our Commander in Chief must put utmost effort into protecting these men and women. They deserve it.

God bless our brave troops. As the holidays approach let's consider their service and spend time praying for their safe return – the return of all of them.

The War Works Hard

by Dunya Mikhail
translated by Elizabeth Winsl

How magnificent the war is!

How eager

and efficient!

Early in the morning

it wakes up the sirens

and dispatches ambulances

to various places

swings corpses through the air

rolls stretchers to the wounded

summons rain

from the eyes of mothers

digs into the earth

dislodging many things

from under the ruins...

Some are lifeless and glistening

others are pale and still throbbing...

It produces the most questions

in the minds of children

entertains the gods

by shooting fireworks and missiles

into the sky

sows mines in the fields

and reaps punctures and blisters

urges families to emigrate

stands beside the clergymen

as they curse the devil

(poor devil, he remains

with one hand in the searing fire)...

The war continues working, day and night.

It inspires tyrants

to deliver long speeches awards medals to generals and themes to poets it contributes to the industry of artificial limbs provides food for flies adds pages to the history books achieves equality between killer and killed teaches lovers to write letters accustoms young women to waiting fills the newspapers with articles and pictures builds new houses for the orphans invigorates the coffin makers gives grave diggers a pat on the back and paints a smile on the leader's face. It works with unparalleled diligence! Yet no one gives it a word of praise.