The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Mon, Aug. 30, 2010
Commentary
The immeasurable costs of a war
By Daniel L. Davis
Sometimes a single word tells the story. But sometimes a word can hide what's happening. A few recent headlines: "U.S. casualties in Afghanistan hit record high"; "Casualties rise for U.S. troops in Afghanistan"; "U.S. casualties hit record in Afghanistan." Likewise, television pundits and war experts have been calmly explaining to their audiences that it's not surprising that "casualties" have risen this summer.
Hidden beneath the clinical term casualties, however, is something very consequential: indescribable pain, shattered lives, and grief difficult to imagine or endure.
I fear that as a consequence of knowing constant war for almost a decade, Americans have become inured to the harsh realities that characterize the lives of the members of our armed forces and their families. A fresh look at what they do for you is in order.
It's not that the American people are indifferent; far from it. In the past nine years, I can't remember a single time when I traveled in uniform and did not receive some sort of congratulatory pat on the back from some kind person. I have always been humbled and grateful for it.
But what about the sons, daughters, wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers of our service members? They wear no uniform. They receive no pat on the back. But they wander through the same airports, enduring sometimes excruciating stress and anxiety.
More than 45,000 service members have lost their lives or been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to iCasualties.org. There has been a troubling rise in the number of service members abusing prescription and illegal drugs to cope with year after year of deployment in combat zones, according to a report in the Army Times. And lost amid headlines about June's record number of Americans killed in Afghanistan was the Army's record number of suicides that month.
Post-traumatic stress syndrome is the hidden scourge of this war. Much of the suffering doesn't fall into easily measured categories.
More than a million uniformed men and women have served in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11, most doing multiple tours. While we keep detailed records of the killed and wounded, there is no measuring how many service members were shot at but not hit or walked away from vehicles hit by improvised explosive devices. Those who avoid getting shot, blown up, or otherwise physically injured still don't escape war unscathed.
Without having endured it, the average American is simply unable to comprehend the cumulative effects of years of combat on the human psyche. Steve Chapman recently wrote in the Chicago Tribune that the total cost to the United States of both wars could exceed $3 trillion. But the unquantifiable cost to those filling the uniforms and their families may be greatest for the country.
Whether the wars have been just or unjust, whether we should continue fighting in perpetuity or get out tomorrow, is best decided by others. But the anguish that many in uniform suffer, and the agony I see endured by those left behind, is difficult to bear.
Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis is an Army cavalry officer who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. He can be reached at