15,220 Live with the Wounds of War

[unhappycamper]

15,220 Live with the Wounds of War
By Phil Sands
The San Francisco Chronicle
Thursday 27 October 2005

Rawa, Iraq - Less than two months into his first tour as a combat medic with the US Army, Sgt. Erik Howard has treated 14 wounded soldiers at the scenes of bomb blasts.

None of the men in his squadron, the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, is among the 2,001 US military personnel who have died in Iraq since the war began in March 2003. But for Howard and many other soldiers, death is not the main concern. They pay more attention to the ever-spiraling casualty rate.

As of Oct. 15, according to the Pentagon, 15,220 members of the US military had been wounded in action since the Iraqi operation began in March 2003 - 542 during the war that ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and 14,678 since US troops began battling the insurgency. Nearly half of those wounded were injured severely enough that they could not return to duty within 72 hours.

"Personally, I think there's a difference between living and being alive," Howard said. "A lot of us fear losing an arm or a leg; a lot of guys worry they'll get hurt and lose their genitals. It's the head injuries that are the worst, in my opinion. I fear getting a head wound - having brain damage and still being alive, but not being able to care for my wife or kids."

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