Mortality in Iraq

This is a fascinating post from the invaluable www.strategypage.com. (People like to use the world "invaluable" on blogs a lot, but I really mean it.)

September 8, 2003: New body armor, new tactics and new medical procedures are producing much lower death rates in combat. During the recent Iraq fighting, only 14 percent of those injured in combat were killed. In World War II, 30 percent of those hurt in combat died. In Korea, where body armor was first introduced, and helicopters first used to rapidly get wounded troops to a hospital, it was 25 percent. It wasn't much better in Vietnam, at 24 percent, and was about the same in the 1991 Gulf War. Note that the World War II rate was same as it was during the American Civil War (1861-65) and the 1847 war with Mexico. During the American Revolution (1776-81), 41 percent of those hit in combat died. So what has happened in Iraq is a major shift in how troops are protected in combat? The better protection for the torso and head has meant that 80 percent of the wounds are in the arms and legs. During World War II, 65 percent of the wounds were in the arms and legs. Military doctors saw this trend coming, and provided additional training in treating arm and leg wounds for doctors and nurses going to Iraq.

Fascinating stuff. You can see from these stats the dramatic change in surgical procedures from the American Revolution to the Mexican War...though frankly I am more than a little surprised that sanitation and antibiotics didn't kick the stats down from the Civil War to the Second World War. This drop due to body armor, better treatment and (don't forget) better training is extraordinary.