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How dangerous is being a soldier?
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A word about risk
- The risk of being a soldier can’t be known exactly because:
- soldiers are posted to different places in the world where the risks are different
- not all army jobs carry the same level of risk
- it is impossible to predict risk in the future – for example, the Falklands War in 1982 took everyone by surprise and large numbers of soldiers were sent unexpectedly to fight in a short war that killed 255 people on the British side.
Every job in the army carries some level of risk. The most dangerous job in the army in Afghanistan was infantry rifleman, because the infantry were on the front line. A few other jobs were very dangerous in Afghanistan – for example, searching for and dismantling explosive devices. It is possible to join jobs in the army that carry less risk, but no job is without some risk.
Most common combat risks in Iraq and Afghanistan
Researchers asked armed f...
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