The Military is a dangerous occupation.
Even in the 1980’s we would kill or maim about 2,000 soldiers a year. Lack of proper training and supervision can increase those number but when you “play” with explosives, tanks, missiles, and guns, the chances of getting injured are much higher than the normal desk job.
Indeed!
My son’s 82nd unit was on mission August 1991 and he came back from Iraq the following April. He said more of our troops were killed in auto accidents than in battle while he was there. When he was in training, he called unexpectedly one day, and said while he was out on a field doing training, a C-130 passed overhead practicing low level drops at 200 feet. Two men were sucked out with the load, and smashed on the field. I could tell he was shaken and could not admit that he really wanted to talk with his mother after that shock.
He now is in SF and has over 20 years including 2 tours in Afghanistan. After his first enlistment he was out for a few years, but went back in and stayed. I asked once why he liked the military rather than a civilian job. He said, “I like to get up at 6 am and run 5 miles.” I said, “Oh.” One night when he was a teen in JROTC I came down to the kitchen at 10 pm and he was sitting there with a mirror and in his BDUs dabbing camo paint on his face. When I asked him what on earth he was doing at that hour, he explained he and his troop were going to a large wooded local park and spend the night. When I pointed out it was illegal, he said the point was NOT to get caught. “Oh well,” I thought, “At least he’s not out dealing drugs.” My respect for the men and women who serve, and empathy for the parents who worry at home.