US military occupation forces in Afganistan under Commander-in-Chief Obama suffered 23 combat casualties in the week ending January 3, as the official casualty total for both Iraq and AfPak wars rose to 111, 282
The total includes 79,390 casualties since the US invaded Iraq in March, 2003 (Operations “Iraqi Freedom” and “New Dawn”), and 31,892 since the US invaded Afganistan in November, 2001 (Operation “Eduring Freedom”) and none in Libya (March-October)
AFGANISTAN THEATER: US forces suffered 23 combat casualties in the week ending Jan 3 as the total rose to 31,892. The total includes 16,634 dead and wounded from “hostile” causes and 15,258 dead or medically evacuated (as of Dec 5) from “non-hostile” causes.
IRAQ THEATER: It’s not clear whether “Operation New Dawn” has officially shut down in Iraq, but the remaining US forces suffered no combat casualties in the week ending Jan 3 as the total remained at 79,390. That includes 35,752 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as “hostile” causes and 43,638 dead or medically evacuated (as of Dec. 5) from “non-hostile” causes.
LIBYA THEATER:Operation “Odessy Dawn” launched in March, officially ended Oct 31. US combat missions, in which an F-15E was downed with two crewmen slightly injuted, were replaced with drones,refueling missions and offshore missile strikes for most of the hostilities.
US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by only reporting regularly the total killed (6,338 – 4,486 in Iraq,1,852 in Afghanistan) but rarely mentioning those wounded in action (47,383–32,226 in Iraq, 15,157 in Afghanistan). They ignore the 57,561 (42,678 in Iraq,14,883 in AfPak as of Dec 5) military casualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medivaced out of theater, even though the 6,335 total dead include 1,335 (960 in Iraq, 375 in Afghanistan) who died from those same “non hostile” causes, including 308 suicides (as of Dec 5) and at least 18 in Iraq from faulty KBR electrical work.
WIA are usually updated on Tuesday at www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf
Non combat casualties are usually reported monthly at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm
The above report is published by Michael Munk via his email list.