(U.S.) Forces deployed since 9/11 near 1 million

[UpInArms]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050102/1016034.asp

WASHINGTON - Nearly a million members of the U.S. armed forces have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other danger zones since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001, and almost a third of them have been sent more than once, figures released by the Pentagon show.

Those figures have implications both for the military and society at large, experts 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.

"The only silver lining you can find in these numbers is that, for a generation to come, America will have many, many adults who understand the reality of what war is all about," said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute. "Today hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors are seeing war up close. They will carry that knowledge into the future as they return to the United States."

But during Vietnam, more Americans knew someone who served, and someone who died. The post-Sept. 11, 2001, wars are far less a part of the mainstream American experience, says Charles C. Moskos, a Northwestern University professor who is an expert on the military and society.

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