how deadly is serving in iraq?

The Washington Post has a breakdown of how dangerous serving in Iraq really is, and apparently not as dangerous as living in Philly. I think it is interesting that Army lieutenants have the highest mortality rate of any rank in the Army, and African American servicemen have a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of death than all others. Another tidbit:

The death rate of American troops in Vietnam was 5.6 times that observed in Iraq. Part of the reduction in the death rate is attributable to improvements in military medicine and such things as the use of body armor. These have reduced the ratio of deaths to wounds from 24 percent in Vietnam to 13 percent in Iraq.

Definatly an interesting read.

Story via Instapundit.