over one million served!

From washingtontimes

Post-9/11 conflicts send 1 million to battle zones

Nearly 1 million members of the U.S. armed forces have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other danger zones since the September 11 terror attacks, and almost a third of them have been sent more than once, figures released by the Pentagon show.

That figure has implications both for the military and society at large, analysts on the military say. For the first time in 30 years, a significant portion of society will have seen the misery and violence of war for an extended period. "
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"Since September 11, 2001, military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan combined are close to 1,500.

Today's military is billed as an all-volunteer, professional force, though tens of thousands of members of the National Guard and reserves are serving in Iraq.
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The pace of deployments to that country make it likely that the 1 million figure will be reached soon, if it hasn't already. The number will continue to grow along with the length of the U.S. stay in Iraq.

So far, more than 303,000 have been sent more than once, the figures show — evidence of the strain on a military that some say is too small for all the missions it is assigned. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argues otherwise, saying its reorganization of the force will ease the burden.

"What the Pentagon statistics reflect is a military that is fully committed, in fact overcommitted, worldwide," Mr. Thompson said.