How many military members actually see combat?

Closest I came was a tour on the DMZ in Korea in my prior service Army time 1/9th Infantry camp Greaves 1980-1981.

Was a medic as well as a truck driver and saw combat.

Infantry doesn't leave the base they're at? Are you NUTS?!?

The Infantry is the basic combat soldier. The fact that you became a recruiter and don't know this basic fact is frankly appalling.

Medic? They patch up the Infantry. How can they do that, if they're not on the front lines with them?

Drivers? They may not be driving a vehicle directly into combat. Then again, we have mechanized infantry and tanks... those go into combat.

Not trying to be offensive, but I find your lack of knowledge to be disturbing.

Even as a navy recruiter you can’t be serious....

I was on recruiting duty 03-06. Talk about a shit storm with IED body counts playing on the news every day. Teachers and parents looked at us like we were the enemy, wanting to send their kids into the meat grinder. Better than being in a convoy through the sand box I guess.
Anyway, if a kid has a fire in his belly to get out there and mix it up have him go see the Marine and Army recruiters. They may not be able to offer combat arms anyway. Give them your best pitch and maybe they will be back in a few days.
Now, it's easy for me to say this now. Back then I would have that kid wearing a dress blue jacket standing front of a mirror. I could sell that Kool Aid baby.

It's good that you recognize you have limited knowledge. Now, you need to go remedy that.

I am probably NOT the best person to answer this since I retired In 2012, but I will tell you my experience as a Supply (76/92Y) Sergeant (at the time I was deployed with an Infantry unit). In 2003 I went to Iraq with the 101st Airborne’s 2/327th Infantry unit serving in two companies in the three years I was at Fort Campbell. Before we deployed BOTH my SSG and I tested with the Infantrymen in our unit & passed the prerequisites to get our EIB (Expert Infantry Badge) which DIDN’T end well for the ACTUAL Infantrymen who came in behind us and/or failed the training. Anyway in 2003 we went into Iraq with the Marines and we definitely saw a lot of combat even after we had set up a FOB. Not only did ALL the Infantry/Medics/Truck Drivers see combat that year so did the Supply Personal & Cooks. I was promoted in theater & went out EVERY OTHER DAY in ground convoy’s to take the Infantryman in my company dinner (and spent a month also helping not only deliver chow, but also mail & laundry to the entire Battalion since I had the only operational supply truck during that time). The days I didn’t go out in a convoy my assistant went out on air drop missions after we spent the day preparing & staging the rations to be picked up and delivered in that way. So in my personal experience you are, in fact, telling untrue statements. But, as I said, I have been retired for close to a decade at this point so things may have changed. I would talk to your fellow Recruiters in the Army & Marines at/near your station to see if my experience is still the norm.

Well, I was one of those who never saw Combat! At times I regret it, but, then I quickly come to my senses, and THANK GOD that I was NOT! My father, several uncles, and my older brother were all combat vets. But, you do NOT have to be in Combat to be in danger for your life! I was less than 8.5 miles, as the crow flies, from the center of Mount Pinatubo, near Clark AB, Republic of the Philippines! While it can't possibly hold a candle to combat duty, not only was I in danger, but also my family, due to the actions of the local Communist movement, the New People's Army! They killed several US military personnel, and pointed guns at our CHILDREN! It's one thing to threaten me, and quite another to threaten my kids... Anyway, I spent just over 20 years total on Active Duty.

I was a staff officer in a divisional medical battalion in Vietnam (326 Med Bn, 101st Airborne Div). I was not in the combat arms, and my branch was Medical Service Corps. More than once while assisting on helicopter medevac flights I came under fire. Once my vehicle broke down during safe daytime hours, but I was not rescued until late at night while surrounded and taking fire from what I assume were Viet Cong. Myself and another officer were pinned under the disabled jeep, armed only with our M16's and very limited ammunition for about 45 minutes of pretty sustained hostile fire. I may not have served in the combat arms, but this was real combat as far as I am concerned. (When you are being shot at by enemy forces, and need to return fire, that counts as combat in my mind, regardless of the circumstances). Coming under rocket, mortar or artillery attack was not an everyday event when I was there, but it was not a rarity either. Don't be too quick to assume that because someone served in a support role that they never experienced the reality of combat. Trust me, it is not fun. It is frightening at best, terrifying at its worst. All things considered, the less of that to which I was personally exposed, the better. This all happened a very long time ago, but just sitting her typing this on my PC brought back an echo of the pulse raising adrenaline surge that I remember all too well.

I was an equipment operator with the Seabees and when I was in Vietnam, I spent most of my day off base. Getting shot at didn’t happen often but wasn’t a big surprise when it did. Truck drivers dealt with small arms fire and land mines while on convoy. Corpsmen went on patrol with infantrymen. A friend of mine who was a corpsman was wounded 3 times. Better get your facts right.