Ø  Approximately 1.5 million service members have been deployed to Iraq and

            Afghanistan since 2001.

Ø  29,321 troops have been wounded in action in Iraq and Afghanistan

            as of August 2007.

Ø  While survival rates are higher today thanks to advances in body armor and

            medical technology, an estimated 1 in 4 soldiers returns from Iraq and Afghanistan

            with a service-related disability.  Common types of injuries include traumatic brain

            injuries, amputations and blindness.

Ø  For every American soldier killed in Iraq, 16 have been wounded – the highest

            fatality-to-wounded ratio in U.S. history. In Vietnam, the ratio was 2.6 wounded

            perfatality.

Ø  Of troops who are air evacuated, 80% return to the United States for more care

            or a disability discharge while 20% return to Iraq.  The unemployment rate among

            the nation’s 2.5 million service-disabled men and women is 15.8% - three times

            that of the general population.

News and Data

US Department of Labor April 2008 News Release 

Veteran Unemployment Statistics by State Listing

References:
Marchione, Marilynn. Goverment Struggles to Care for Wounded GI’s. AP. June 28, 2007.
US Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Affairs. “America’s Wars." Sept 30, 2006.
US Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center “Contingency" Tracking System.
US Department of Labor.