Saving Lives in War

| published May 18, 2026 |

By Bob Armstrong,
Thursday Review contributor

Over Memorial Day weekend we honor those who lost their lives serving in the United States Armed Forces. In the case of our long twenty-year war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we should also honor the Department of Defense for its greatest accomplishment: saving lives.

In the journal Military Medicine, Matthew S. Goldberg, the former Deputy Director for research at the Institute for Defense Analysis, notes "improved survival in Iraq is due to factors such as improved body armor, the innovative use of forward aid stations located closer to the combat units, and advances in aeromedical evacuation."

That last one also saved lives on a daily basis in Vietnam. Although sometimes delayed by an on-going battle, as a Marine Corps veteran I can attest that nothing was sweeter than seeing a Huey helicopter swooping into a landing zone to ferry out the wounded. Advances in battlefield medicine, along with military tactics to lower casualties, take place in every war. For Saigon, Baghdad, and Kandahar vets, this lifesaving leap has been extraordinary.

Other steps have been taken: in Iraq and Afghanistan, blood transfusions closer to the front line; old fashioned tourniquets requiring two soldiers to apply them replaced by the one handed tourniquet; and the wounded grunt taken off the battlefield as soon as possible. Better still, get the trauma care needed closer to the action on the front line. Wounds infected by dirt or shreds of the rifleman's uniform are quickly treated. Improved blood-clotting methods reduce the risk of death from severe loss of blood. In the Second World War, almost half of the estimated 400,000 American G. I.s killed in action bled to death, according to Goldberg's report.

Unlike the catastrophe following Pearl Harbor, only about 7,000 troopers lost their lives during our longest war—4,586 in Iraq through 2020; 2,465 in Afghanistan through 2021, according to iCasualties.org, an independent website which tracks casualties and compiles the data. Every battle death is a tragedy, but compared to other wars this number is, thankfully, very low. However, a similar slightly larger number, despite the solemnity of Memorial Day observations, brings to fore a disturbing matter. About 8,000 private military contractors were killed in the war zone, many of them American and most of them foreign nationals from the two countries who were assisting our military forces, especially with translation and military intelligence.

The participation of a large number of contractors working for private security firms and the defense industry provided ammunition for anti-war activists who wrote them off as mercenaries. In 2004, four American contractors were dragged from their cars by insurgents, beaten and dismembered; their corpses left hanging off a bridge in the city of Fallujah. The incident was captured by American TV networks. The footage enraged people all over the country watching the news, but not Markos Moulitsas, founder of the progressive blog, Daily Kos. "I feel nothing over the death of mercenaries," he posted on April 1, 2004.

Envenomed by his progressive ideology and the warm blood of social justice flowing through his heart on down to his finger tips on his keyboard, he continued to tap: "They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are trying to help make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit." As a final flourish, he added this to his sewage flow: "Screw them." Give this despicable influencer credit for honesty. Many progressives, while fully agreeing with Moulitsas, would never be so candid.

Over the course of the war the number of contractors met or even exceeded the number of troops in the conflict zone. For example, in March, 2011, there were 154,592 contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan and nearby countries while the troop level stood at 145, 460, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

Although the current escalating conflict in Iran has not included any contractor fatalities, there is a potential bonanza down the road for Daily Kos devotees and their ilk dreaming of Imperial Amerika's decline, defeat, and the death of mercenaries. The Department of Defense will continue to rely on private contractors to support military operations throughout the world. If American combat boots do end up stomping into Iran, contractors will be on hand to obtain supplies and distribute goods needed to feed, clothe and shelter the troops—everything from mess halls to fueling stations to laundry service to wi-fi connections. In addition, building military bases across Iran and nearby countries requires a great number of skilled workers trained for construction, maintenance, transportation, aviation, communication, logistics and mundane tasks like stockpiling ammo.

It is too early to say if Iran is the next chapter in the Forever Wars. While hostilities only began two months ago, polling indicates the war does not have broad-based public support, but almost certainly in any future conflict the body bag count will be low and many of them will be contractors.




Bob Armstrong is freelance journalist and the author of the book No Exit From Vietnam: A Memoir by a Marine Corps Veteran, published by Pen & Sword Books, 2026; available from Amazon, or from Pen & Sword Books

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