As America approaches the 25th anniversary of 9/11, an entire generation has grown up knowing only war.
The price paid in blood: nearly 45,000 U.S. service members, Defense Department personnel, and contractors lost their lives in post-9/11 conflicts from 2001 to 2021, according to analysis by Brown University’s Watson Institute and Defense Casualty Analysis System data compiled by The Center Square.
The numbers don’t include the estimated 30,177 U.S. military members and veterans who committed suicide over the same 20-year period — at least four times the number who were lost in combat.
After Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush launched the Global War on Extremism with the goal to destroy al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other militant organizations.
Operation Enduring Freedom launched in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001. Operation Iraqi Freedom followed on March 20, 2003. U.S. troops began operations against ISIS through Operation Inherent Resolve on Aug. 8, 2014.
Over 25 years, U.S. presidents sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to fight overseas. Congress authorized funding that pushed Americans nearly $10 trillion deeper into debt, including $1 billion in interest on Iraq and Afghanistan war debt alone.
The overwhelming majority of U.S. military members lost in these conflicts were white men under age 25 in the U.S. Army.
IRAQ: At least 8,281 U.S. casualties
U.S. casualties in Iraq include 4,616 military members (4,418 in Operation Iraqi Freedom, 74 in Operation New Dawn, 124 in Operation Inherent Resolve) as well as 15 DOD civilian personnel and 3,650 contractors.
An additional 32,790 U.S. military members were wounded in action in Iraq operations.
U.S. troops remained in Iraq until Dec. 15, 2011.
AFGHANISTAN: At least 6,381 U.S. casualties
U.S. casualties in Afghanistan include 2,458 military members (2,350 in Operation Enduring Freedom and 108 in Operation Freedom’s Sentinel) as well as six DOD civilian personnel and 3,917 contractors.
Nearly 21,000 U.S. military members were wounded in action in Afghanistan, including 20,149 in OEF and 620 in OFS.
U.S. military combat operations ended in Afghanistan on Dec. 31, 2014. U.S. troops remained in the country until Aug. 30, 2021.
After the U.S. fought al-Qaeda and the Taliban for 20 years, the Biden administration withdrew U.S. troops five years ago this August. The administration left $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment behind and returned control of Afghanistan to the Taliban.
Thirteen service members were lost during the withdrawal.
At least four times as many active-duty U.S. military members and veterans committed suicide than were lost in combat.
In 2022, 6,442 veterans committed suicide. In 2023, 6,398 did, according to Department of Veterans Affairs data. The average daily number of veteran suicides was 17.5 in 2023.
Within a year of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, suicides had skyrocketed. A National Warrior Call Day initiative was launched to respond to the crisis.
The conflict continues. Defense Casualty Analysis System data shows four U.S. military casualties and 279 military members wounded in action in “overseas operations” that began July 7, and 14 U.S. military casualties and 418 military members wounded in action in the Iran conflict, Operation Epic Fury, as of Aug. 18.
Nearly one million people were directly involved in post-9/11 conflicts from 2001 to 2021, according to the Watson Institute analysis. They include U.S. military service members, Defense Department civilians and contractors, U.S. military police, allied troops, opposition fighters, journalists, and humanitarian workers.
