How many military members actually see combat?

Being a Nam Era Navy Veteran, I never got close to action. My first ship took over as Command Ship 6th Fleet and the second was east coast, Atlantic. We went where we were sent. Ground and pounders a different story but not all of them see action either.

People who have a main issue of fighting for their country are concrete thinkers. It's a belief system that a person must "fight" to get what is rightfully their. A jarhead I believe is convinced to charge forward first into battle because of many reasons. My ex is developmentally delayed in some areas but is extremely intelligent with numbers. He said he was a cannon cocker. A Vietnam veteran, he cannot live a life except where people like him are present. I was a Medic that wrapped the stumps of young boys who used to have arms and legs. I didn't leave the base but those memories never leave my brain. Know what happens to people you send anywhere and recognize very few people know how to mend their broken illusions back into a sense of reality. The VA can medicate us but only God knows what's in their heart.

As a retired Marine Corpsman I can tell you it is not a true statement. Every place my marine unit went I went as the Corpsman. It did not matter if it was a walk down the street or on patrol in Vietnam, I live with and stood watch as any Marine. I was trained on every weapon and even went to demolition training. Semper Fi

I don't know about modern day combat, but you don't have a clue about the Vietnam War where over 58,000 Americans died!!! A War made by politicians for young Americans to die in and should never have been fought!!!!!

Brief background: (a) Sixty percent of VA mental health disability claims are for PTSD. (b) I'm a civilian who has worked as a C&P examiner (psychologist) for many years. (c) Part of our job is to screen/assess for minimizing or exaggerating/feigning symptoms and problems. (d) We review all relevant records before conducting the psychological evaluation.

Response/Discussion: My working assumption when I am scheduled to conduct an Initial PTSD C&P exam with a medic* is that it is highly probable that he or she suffers from PTSD.

I know this might (understandably) sound like a bias to some people, but I regard it as simply knowledge of base rates (prevalence) and informed by my record review. I'm still objective, I still screen for significant exaggeration/feigning, and still entertain the hypothesis that perhaps he or she is exaggerating or feigning.

But significant exaggeration is rare, and I've never seen outright faking by a medic.

I haven't seen any research on this topic yet (please tell me if you know of any), but in my experience, in almost all the Initial PTSD exams I've conducted with medics, the veteran suffered from PTSD, and it was usually severe PTSD.

The medics I've met have been exceptionally courageous and exhibit a tenacious dedication to doing whatever it takes to take care of their brothers and sisters in arms.

*medic = Navy Hospital Corpsman, Army Combat Medic Specialist, and Air Force Aerospace Medical Services Specialist.

On what planet do you primarily reside DC1? Ever hear of green side Corpsmen? Ever see an HM wearing a CAR? You do know how someone earns one of those, right? Here's a hint, NOT BY BEING A FOBBIT. Get it? If you're an 8404 with a Marine combat unit you're going outside the wire with your Marines. You go where they go, do what they do and you damned sure face the same dangers they face. I wish I knew about the Corpsman jobs you're selling, I might have full use of both my arms if I had one. But then the Marines I was with might not have made it home alive, so 86 that - we all made it home. They say there are no stupid questions, but this one is REALLY pushing the envelope.

You are ignorant. I can’t speak for everyone, but after 4 combat deployments with 3 separate units to Iraq and Afghanistan, and 16 years as a combat medic, I can say that unless you are one of the select few chosen for aid station duty, you are constantly on patrol, running the roads waiting to get blown up and engaged. I will admit, it’s a lot of hot driving with little action, but when it happens...and if you’re out regularly it will, it is intense. Educate yourself before making false claims to get recruits!

Well, Sailor, when I was training my corpsmen to go over to Vietnam with the Marines, the last thing I said to them when they moved on was: "If you really must get 1 of those little blue ones with the white stars, you'd BETTER come back walking under it", because I guarantee you, they were heading for combat, and medics/corpsmen had the highest rate of posthumous awards of Medals of Honor of all members in the military, so I think you'll want to revise that at least. That was also true when my parents served in WW II. Infantry are the guys in those front line trenches, and even truck drivers not infrequently find themselves in combat situations, like it or not. We have a highway, up on the Navajo /Hopi res named for the late Lori Piewestewa (I hope I spelled her name right), who was killed in Iraq when the convoy she was with was attacked. They were "just truckers" delivering supplies. I seriously doubt that has changed a lot even though the appearance of warfare has done.

Truth is most don't. No need to lie or fabricate stories of any kind. Combat is like baseball, sometimes the ball "finds you". Just hope you're paying attention when it does.

Infantry in Vietnam and the only time I saw the inside of a base was when I processed in and out. Deployed to Granada 11B, got wounded, earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star w/v-device. And as a Senior Transportation NCO, I was deployed to Desert Shield/Storm where I was setting up the transportation network. Never leave the base, you're WAY WAY off base here.