How many military members actually see combat?

You must be mildly mentally handicap or something.

Infantry, medics see lots of combat. Truck drivers see their share too, how do you think supplies get to the bases?
LOGPACs are a favorite target... stop supplies and cripple the force. No given MOS is safe anymore due to guerilla tactics but these 3 see more than most.

No, that is not a true statement, especially about the infantry not leaving the base. In the kind of wars we are currently fighting, insurgencies, the infantry is the arm of choice. To answer your main question, historically 10–15% actually come in contact with the enemy.

After twenty years in the military and retiring as a CW3 in 1994 from the Army, I saw no combat. In 2007, I went to Camp Bucca, Iraq as a contractor. On Easter Sunday morning 2008, I went through a mortar attack on the base in which 12 rounds were dropped on us. Two contractors were killed, seven were injured and I got knocked off my feet. I didn’t think much of it until I started feeling numbness at the nipple line and down my legs. I came home in July 2008 for mid-tour leave. An MRI found I ruptured discs in the cervical region, thoracic region and lumbar region. Five surgeries later and word that my thoracic injury will leave me paraplegic. My point is, FOBs are not safe from “combat” and yes, we had Navy reservists guarding prisoners at Camp Bucca.

Okay so, first we have to define combat.

All you need to get the CIB and CAB (and maybe the CMB) is to get shot at ONCE, one time, you don't have to return fire.

There is a term called FLOT (Forward Line Of Troops). In Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan their was no FLOT as we were fighting an ASYMMETRICAL (uneven or guerilla) war.

In Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam the number one priority was maintaining the MSR and ASR ( Main supply route, Auxiliary supply route). This means the number one "troops" to see combat were MP's, as an MP's job in combat is MSR security, Transportation, and anyone on FOB/MSR security. FOB security is usually done by ANY combat arms be them Infantry, Armor, Cavalry, or even Artillery (as dismounts).

My NG unit was an armored battalion we were deployed as motorized infantry, and only a single company (Bravo Company) brought tanks to Iraq. The rest of us were in Humvee's, and most of those were not up armored either. All of the chow was contracted out, as such all 15 or so of our cooks, except the E-8 in charge of the mess section were sent to fill in slots in Alpha company as infantry (11X). Same with some of our signal, supply, and other non combat people.

The next thing you have to understand is that WAR is not non stop combat. My unit arrived in country on March 15th, 2004. We had the Battle of Fallujah (1 and 2), Sadir city during the elections, and the battle for Mosul. Four major engagement in the 13 months we were deployed. Bravo Company participated in one of them, where they earned the valorous unit award while attached to the 25th Infantry in Mosul, February-March of 2005.

The rest of us provided FOB security, and we were mostly sniped at. We did a few cordon and searches, and found a large weapon cache. We had one man killed by mortar fire, and 13 wounded, 1 team hit by an IED, with 2 wounded men. We were mortared and rocketed about once a month.

My team and I were responsible for a 3 mile a radius around our FOB and the MSR and ASR routes that flowed through it. I was almost ran over like 5 times, doing traffic control points, and random searches on people in and around our FOB.

When you look at the show band of brothers, the BOOK has a place in the epilogue where it mentions in the three years "E"asy company was deployed in WWII it spent a total of four months "on the line" (this is the FLOT.)

The movie platoon is based off a single deployment and their are like 3 major engagements in the whole film.

We were soldiers tells of the first contact of the Ia Drang valley, total time for that battle was about 1 month, the only engagement in that deployment.

Full metal jacket is based off a book, which is a memoir of 1 mans time in country, and their was also 1 engagement, for him

Jarhead is the memoir of Private(LCPl?) Swafford, and he says he never fired his weapon one time in the entire deployment.

My son was going to join the Marines, in the entire office there was only 1 recruiter out of 5, a commo guy, who had the Combat Action Ribbon (Eq. of the CIB/CAB).

So you can deploy as infantry, and you may still not see any combat, it really is the luck of the draw.

Finally, if they want to see combat enlist them as Corpsman, it is the largest rate in the Navy, or RP's, or even CB's.

Stick to your Navy recruiting and quit telling war stories.

“I’ve seen a little... on TV.”

The combat arms troops will see some combat during a deployment, because their job is to find and close with the enemy, but the logistics support chain is a real area of vulnerability and is much more likely to get ambushed or hit by an IED.
I was a fobbit during OIF3, and we were mortared pretty consistently, but Balad was so big that the odds on being hit were very remote.
If your recruits really want to see combat, send them to a Walmart on Black Friday.

How do you drive a truck and have resupply convoys without leaving the FOB?

How do you treat injuries in combat without being in the battle with the people being injured?

Are you the recruiter that told my SPC that the Air Force was made up of infantry?

Focus on selling your branch. I don't talk about the other branches because I don't want to give them bad info. If they want to know more about the army, send them to the army recruiter. In the end, it's about them finding the branch that fits them the best. That's why I checked out all the branches before I joined.