November 25, 2005: The war in Iraq has been, for U.S. Army officers, safer than Vietnam. Only 10.4 percent of the dead in Iraq have been officers, compared to 14 percent in Vietnam. Currently, about 14 percent of the people in the army are officers. The better survival of officers in Iraq has a lot to do with better body armor, and poor marksmanship by the enemy. In Vietnam, there were a lot more mortar shells and bullets flying around, and the aim of enemy troops was better. Officers are usually not right up in front, but are often where there is some bad stuff flying through the air. Today's protective vests and helmets provide better protection, producing a wounded officer for a hit that, during Vietnam, would have killed the guy. Another important factor is better base security. In Vietnam, the enemy didn't have suicide bombers, but did have thousands of even more effective commandoes called "sappers." These well trained troops could penetrate the best security, and get in to where the officers worked and lived, and do a lot of damage.

In Iraq, most of the officers killed are captains (who command companies) and lieutenants (who command platoons). These account for over two thirds of the officer losses, as was the case in Vietnam. In Iraq, a larger proportion of enlisted troops are out on missions (especially convoy duty), where a lot of roadside bombs are encountered, with fewer officers present. Many of these operations involve non-combat troops. For combat operations, the officers are present, and, for the captains and lieutenants, usually in the middle of the action.