U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ken Scar
OZY: U.S. Military Training Nearly Four Times Deadlier Than Combat
When an Army Black Hawk helicopter went down off Hawaii during a training mission in August 2017, five soldiers died in the crash. While enlistees know they risk death when they sign up, most troops assume if they die, it will be in combat — not during routine training. But the most recent National Defense Authorization Act found that:
This statistic, which showed 80 service members killed during training accidents versus 21 service members killed in combat, isn’t just a one-year blip. In fact, accidental deaths have exceeded combat deaths each year since 2015, according to Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He cites 185 service members lost in fatal, noncombat accidents from 2015 to 2017, compared to 44 military personnel who died in combat during that period.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: I have said this more than once. Serving in the military is not an easy or safe job.