As an OIF combat wounded above the knee amputee myself, I feel compelled to correct an error in accounting regarding the number of amputees that have come out of the conflict. Here are the actual numbers, as published in the President's Commission On Care For America's Returning Wounded Warriors Final Report -July 2007.
Number of deployments
2,200,000
Number of service members deployed
1,500,000
Air evacuated for illness or injuries
37,851
Wounded in action
28,000
Treated and returned to duty within 72 hours
23,270
Seriously injured (TSLGI recipients)7
3,082
Traumatic Brain Injuries
2,726
Amputations
644
Serious burns
598
Polytrauma
391
Spinal cord injuries
94
Blind
48
I don't argue the severity of the injuries, nor the massive amounts of troops returning home with life altering injuries. But if we are to be the voice of reason, then we need to correctly list the numbers we quote.