If i go to Iraq in the Marines, what is the chance that I will die?

Question

Dear macho B.S marines: EVERYBODY is afraid of dying. I am going to sign up, yet you know, I'd love to live, in fact im expecting to live, just wanted to know a little estimate.

Answer 1

the same as everybody else there.however you will die of boredom within like two weeks

Answer 2

My advice if you join the Marine Corps is join the infantry. Your chances of getting killed go up but you will know the job better than anyone. Thats what i decided when i joined and I am glad I'm in the infantry. We Marines are the most highly trained fighting force in the world and as an infantrymen I am at the core of that training. You chances of dying are incredibly low considering its a combat zone and if you don't go to baghdad your chances of survival go way up anyway. Hope this helps, plenty of people have already shown you the percentages just figured I would give you a little insight into my thoughts.

Answer 3

Looks like about 600 out of every 100,000 US troops will be killed in Iraq. That's just a bit more than 1/2 of 1%. Doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Here's my source:

http://www.cursor.org/stories/relativelethality.html

But you need to compare that to your chances of being murdered in the good old USA. Statistics say that out of every 100,000 people, just 6 will be murdered. So, in other words, your chances of getting killed over THERE are 100 times GREATER (6 vs. 600) than getting killed over here.

But that's not the whole story, either. Whether THERE, or HERE, your specific location plays into the formula. If you live in DC, for example, the rate goes up to over 10 per hundred thousand. Likwise, while I don't have the numbers handy, I'll bet Basra has a much lower rate than the Bagdad area. You get the idea. Source for US crime data is:

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/

If someone told me there was a 1/2 of 1% chance of a bullet being in the chamber when I pointed the barrel to my head -wouild I pull the trigger -on a $100,000 bet?

I dunno.

Answer 4

The majority of people in this world are afraid of dying, but not everyone. I personally am not afraid of dying. I know when it's my time, I will be ready to go. There is no way to know when your time is. So, there is no way to REALLY answer that question for sure. Your chances of dying are just as high as anyone else in the world. Just sign up and do your job. The media is messing with your head. The stories you watch on TV have nothing to do with you and your decision for joining the Marines. Good luck.

Answer 5

That's like asking, what are the chances an air plane will crash into my house? Any time you go into a combat scenario you have a 50/50 chance.
Every time i took my Team into combat the first thing that came to mind is- Is this my day to die?

Answer 6

if you listen to the salts who have been there for a while. you will have a good chance of surviving.don't think about it. just do it. and not everyone is afraid of death. and that's not b.s. I'm a former marine.

Answer 7

It depends entirely upon what your job (or Military Occupational Specialty... MOS) is. If you're in the infantry, the odds of being injured or killed are much greater than if you're in a support position... So it really depends on what job you choose... just like choosing civilian jobs.

Answer 8

You have a higher rate of dying here involved in a traffic accident than over there. Google death stats for your age and sex and see what you come up with.

Answer 9

Probably very small. I don't know how many soldiers have been rotated in and out of Iraq, but of that total only about 3,500 have been killed. That's what... 2%? 3%? 4%?

How many soldiers have been wounded and maimed (many permanently)? About 25,000 - 30,000? Your chances of getting wounded and maimed are 5 to 7 times higher than getting killed. So, we'll say, what... 20 - 25% chance of getting wounded or maimed?

Of course that still means you have less chance of getting killed or wounded or maimed than you have of not getting killed or wounded or maimed.

Answer 10

Calculate the hundreds of thousands who have rotated through Iraq. Divide it by the 3 thousand who have been killed....and the answer will be about 100% survival.

Answer 11

You might die in boot camp. There are place in the usa that are more a dangerous than Iraq. Such as our freeways.