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Rural soldiers more
likely to make ultimate sacrifice
Newswise — When the
nation goes to war, all Americans are
expected to make sacrifices. Today’s rural
Americans, however, are making the ultimate
sacrifice in disproportionate numbers, a
fact sheet from the Carsey Institute at the
University of New Hampshire finds.
The fact sheet – “Rural
Americans Continue to Account for
Disproportionate High Share of U.S.
Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan” – is the
Carsey Institute’s second annual Veteran’s
Day release of this data, drawn from U.S.
Department of Defense records.
“As we observe
Veteran’s Day this year, it is important for
Americans to recognize that rural families
are paying a disproportionately high price
for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” says
report author William P. O’Hare, a senior
fellow at the Carsey Institute.
Rural areas account for
only 19 percent of the adult population, but
have suffered 26 percent of the casualties.
Of the 4,197 American military deaths in
Iraq and Afghanistan, 1,102 are accounted
for by soldiers from rural areas. That
represents a death rate of 31 per million
among rural men and women, compared to a
death rate of 21 per million for urbanites –
a significant increase since October 2006,
when the death rate was 24 per million for
rural residents and 15 per million for
urbanites.
For the second year,
Vermont had the highest rural death toll at
61 killed per million adults. As a result,
Vermont’s combined rural and urban statewide
death toll was 47 killed per million adults,
the highest of any state in the nation.
Delaware had the second highest rural death
rate at 60 killed per million adults.
Nebraska (57 killed per million adults) and
Oregon (56 per million) followed.
O’Hare and co-author
Bill Bishop found that higher death rates
for soldiers from rural areas are linked to
the higher rate of enlistment of young
adults from rural America, which in turn is
often linked to diminished opportunities
there. “Transitioning from youth to
adulthood is more problematic in the rural
U.S. because there are fewer job
opportunities,” says O’Hare, who notes that
the unemployment rate among 18–24-year-olds
is nine percent in rural America compared to
seven percent in urban areas.
“This is a story of
American opportunity as much as it is one of
the military losses suffered by rural
communities,” says Mil Duncan, director of
the Carsey Institute. “Traditional rural
industries like farming, timber, mining,
fishing and manufacturing are employing
fewer workers than they have in the past,
and competition accompanying globalization
increasingly moves jobs overseas. As these
opportunities disappear, rural youth are
enlisting in the Armed Forces not only
because they are patriotic, but also to find
a path to a more promising future.”
To read the full
report, go to
http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/documents/FS9.pdf.
For more information about the Carsey
Institute, go to
http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu.
The Carsey Institute at
the University of New Hampshire conducts
research and analysis on the challenges
facing families and communities in New
Hampshire, New England, and the nation. The
Carsey Institute sponsors independent,
interdisciplinary research that documents
trends and conditions affecting families and
communities, providing valuable information
and analysis to policymakers, practitioners,
the media, and the general public. Through
this work, the Carsey Institute contributes
to public dialogue on policies that
encourage social mobility and sustain
healthy, equitable communities.
The Carsey Institute
was established in May 2002 through a
generous gift from UNH alumna and noted
television producer Marcy Carsey.
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