Posted on 11/03/2007 9:08:48 AM PDT by InfantryMarine
Also, there are about 6 million more people in California. Maybe more now that so many have left Iraq.
Did you try looking in the report?
1986 2,359,855
2006 1,664,014
Accidental deaths in 1980 - 1556; in 2006 - 465.
Deaths due to illness in 1980 - 419; in 2006 - 205.
Self inflicted deaths in 1980 - 213; in 2006 - 155.
Thanks. I am of the view that both the raw numbers and percentages matter.
I was responding to the comment about between the Bush and Clinton years, not back to 1980. However, if you take into account there were 2.1 million military in 1980, and 1.6 million in 2006, that explains part of the apparent difference. There have also been a lot of medical advances in the past 25 years which account for another part of the difference.
My point was that there isn’t any way that any president can prevent people from dying in accidents or from illnesses. If there was, then I would think he/she would have a pretty good case for becoming and remaining president forever.
The number of active duty military fatalities not meaningless. The percentage of military personnel who died is not meaningless. They are both important to answering different questions, addressing different issues.
No one is saying that people aren't dying in Iraq. What they are saying is that the numbers of military deaths are not unpredicented, even in peacetime. If you are trying to answer a different question, you analyze the data differently.
Sometimes rates matter more than absolute numbers. Sometimes they don't.
it was more dangerous to be associated with president clinton than it is to be in iraq
good ammo
While stationed at Minot in the early 70s tis ws proven true on three separate occassions.
A B-52 crashed on take-off. One of seven crewmembers survived. Investigation showed that the fueling plan had not been followed and too much fuel was pumped into the aft fuel tank. The co-pilot whose checklist job includes fueling parameters did not correct this situation by pumping fuel into the forward tank. He was the one survivor and the accident investigation pointed out his failure. Results six dead!
A Huey that was tranporting six Security Police to a launch control center crashed. Seven Dead! What happened? The baggage compartment wash not propery closed. The door came off in flight and struck the rear rotor. Pilot lost control and the ship crashed!
A B-52 was being refueled and caught fire and blew up. Why. The refueling chief was sitting in the cockpit SMOKING! Nearby aircraft were waved because the refueling crews manned the flight line fire extinguishers. The only fatality was the smokin' fool and he is probably still smokin' in hell!
The propoganda pulsating from the pusillanemous press is PHOOEY!
I went TDY to Ft Hood (a place in Texas, not hell) for a mixed force exercise in 1973 (yes, I am that old) and were told repeatedly to be very careful on where we chose to sleep - to avoid being run over by a tank/APC. We chose to sleep on top on my Mk-45 commo van.
Further, while we were there, a body, in a sleeping bag (and yes, it was in a rut from a tracked vehicle) was discovered. The soldier had gone missing on an earlier exercise (over a year prior) and with little investigation, he was listed as a deserter.
The war in RVN, rampart drug use and a host of other issues all contributed to the death rate.
And yes, stupidity can be fatal.
Anecdotes do not equal data, I know.
I went TDY to Ft Hood (a place in Texas, not hell) for a mixed force exercise in 1973 (yes, I am that old) and were told repeatedly to be very careful on where we chose to sleep - to avoid being run over by a tank/APC. We chose to sleep on top on my Mk-45 commo van.
Further, while we were there, a body, in a sleeping bag (and yes, it was in a rut from a tracked vehicle) was discovered. The soldier had gone missing on an earlier exercise (over a year prior) and with little investigation, he was listed as a deserter.
The war in RVN, rampart drug use and a host of other issues all contributed to the death rate.
And yes, stupidity can be fatal.
Anecdotes do not equal data, I know.
In looking at statistics over time one must look at percentages. That allows for an apples to apples comparison over different time periods. I think that is all he was saying.
Thanks - that helps place these numbers in proper context.
bfl
That is correct. Some people perhaps didn't go to college or are not too bright on math and statistics.
Bookmark
But the bumperstickers said “Clinton lied and no one died”. Well, except for those 8033 service members.....Give Bush a chance to tie Clinton, he still has a year left in office.
“In looking at statistics over time one must look at percentages. That allows for an apples to apples comparison over different time periods.”
For the record, The highest math I took in college was Discrete Structures, after Calculus IV. That is, if you don’t count Advanced Physics.
We are not examining ratios, relationships or percentages. We are counting the number, the NUMBER, of dead service-members and comparing them from year to year.
What percentage the deceased makeup of the armed forces is not the the topic here. It is the NUMBER of service-people killed in peacetime compared to the NUMBER of service-people killed during wartime.
This is not statistics, it is an examination of public record.
“Some people perhaps didn’t go to college or are not too bright on math and statistics.”
Given that I could have minored in Mathematics by the time I was a junior and your horriibly flawed arguments regarding this piece, I feel very comfortable in saying you have no idea what the hell you are talking about.
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