Michelle Malkin highlights a chart in the New York Times compiled by Lawrence Kolb and Nigel Holmes that puts lie to the myth that blacks have suffered a disproportionate share of the combat deaths in Iraq. Indeed, whites and hispanics both suffered higher casualty rates than blacks. This was also true, she notes, in all of our previous wars. The reason is the same in both cases: black soldiers are more likely to serve in combat support and service support roles. Through WWII, this was because blacks were denied the honor of serving in the combat arms; since, it’s been a matter of choice.
What’s also interesting is that Regular Army soldiers and Marines have suffered a much higher casualty rate, as a percentage of the force, than have Guard and Reserve personnel:
The reasons are largely the same: Most of the reservists called up are in the support branches.
