One of the leading causes of death among military personnel, and it is a matter of much concern among base commanders and of the DoD in general, is off-duty automobile crashes in the U.S.A. and its territories. Even young men (and women) with high IQs and college degrees can act stupidly while driving an auto, especially with the aid of a few beers or margaritas.
Another leading cause of death is helicopter crashes while engaged in training exercises or routine flights in non-combat areas (i.e., stateside).
I’ve seen data showing that even in Iraq about 25 percent of the milpers killed lost their lives in non-combat accidents. My number may be off a bit, but the percentage is not insignificant.
The numbers cited here may be total military fatalities, both combat related and not.
When I was going through flight school at Pensacola we were told of a study that followed Navy-Marine Corps pilots for 20 years. Aviation is inherently dangerous, military aviation moreso and naval aviation the most dangerous. Yet the leading cause of death for pilots in this 20 year survey, which included war years, was auto accidents.
“Another leading cause of death is helicopter crashes while engaged in training exercises or routine flights in non-combat areas.”
When I was a Marine, I always had feeling of relief when the chopper touched down. A few of us thought that a man only had a finite number of helo flights on his “slate”, and then it was time to buy the farm.
Semper Fi,