Military combat deaths via the last 10 presidents

That probably has more to do with the evolution of American technology on the battlefield than any political affiliation

quote:

---

It was such a failure under Carter that we now have Seal Team 6.

---

It really changed how everyone thought about special operations. The top level American generals, going all the way back to Washington (yes, that Washington) generally eschewed "special" or "elite" forces, because it over values those forces/capabilities, generally at the expense of others. And when you "spend" those forces, it seems like a greater cost so it results in more passivity, despite this tremendous capability you (maybe?) have developed.

To a degree, specialized forces were not really considered "elite" in U.S. strategic and operational thinkers mind until, really, World War II. There, forces like the rangers and airborne forces really began to challenge that. Even after the war, it wasn't really until JFK that US Army special forces had any sort of a champion.

The changing world of the 1970s (mainly, the rise of asymmetrical terror threats) forced a rethink of that. Charlie Beckwith had just created Delta Force in 1977. 6/Devgru wasn't even imagined until the aftermath of Eagle Claw. The need for such a capability spread throughout the U.S. military establishment and even agencies such as CIA and FBI developed similar (Tier 1) units.

The other thing that came out of Eagle Claw was "Think Purple". A big challenge for the operation was all the branches sort of did things their own way. "Purple" (the shortcut word for "joint") thinking caused folks to integrate and standardize things across operations.

Even something like Mogadishu/Blackhawk Down - while heavily Army (Delta, Rangers, 160th) on the ground, it was a fully purple operation, with Devgru, a MEU, carrier support, etc.

List is whack. Trump is allll the way at the bottom.

quote:

---

It was such a failure under Carter that we now have SOCOM and JSOC.

---

FIFY

True, no doubt he was a traitor. While Nixon and Obama “inherited” much of their conflicts, you might say Biden inherited hardly anything from Trump, and yet he still managed to FU and get soldiers killed.

I don’t know why Chat gpt didn’t list any for Carter, because I do remember that special operation going bad.

Nixon inherited a war started by Democrats and had to end it.

quote:

---

Approximately 48,399 U.S. military personnel died in the Vietnam War during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson (1964–1969).

---

Awesome that you stopped before you got to him.

quote:

---

I don’t know why Chat gpt didn’t list any for Carter, because I do remember that special operation going bad.

---

Didn't Ross Perot send in some special operators to get his people out after that debacle by Carter?

quote:

---

List is shite. Under Carter, we lost 8 in Operation Eagle Claw/Desert One alone.

---

I was coming to post this, and the fact Biden's number is low. Hell, my son lost 1/3 that number just in his unit under Biden.

I appreciate the deaths being down.

The amount of money spent is another variable that needs to be considered and fixed