In Operation Iraqi Freedom, 4,474 soldiers were killed and 32,226 were wounded as taken from Operation First Response, and many others were MIA. Operation Enduring Freedom had 2,215 deaths and 20,026 casualties seen in National Defense Center site from 2013. We lose too many lives in war by sending over troops. I think that we should use more drone technology instead to reduce the amount of casualties in our soldiers. We know that sending troops out causes many fatalities, but we have new technology, we know the pros of said technology, and sadly the cons.
Being in combat causes many injuries both mental and physical. Many of these are accidents but still very costly. PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder, is one of the most common mental illnesses seen in military members. The National Center For PTSD in December of 2012 stated that about 1 in every 14 have PTSD. We cannot let these things happen to our soldiers and we need to find a better way to help other countries during war. A good question to ask is what can we use in war besides soldiers? As for an answer, technology.
Throughout the years we have had many advancements in technology from Iphones to new cars. A lot of this “new stuff” can be used for the military too like drones, unmanned aircrafts, earth rovers, and the list can go on forever. For example, the Global Security website has lists of unarmed ground vehicles (UGV’s) including light UVG’s, medium UVG’s, heavy UVG’s, and large UVG’s. With all these advancements, we could use less men out in the field and more machinery.
These UVG’s could quite possibly reduce the amount of injuries in our men, have better accuracy in attacking our targets, and harm fewer of the innocent population. Drone technology has also begun to grow and is currently in use of the military. The New Yorker from November 2014 shows how drones have better performances in terrain with wreckage which does make sense because drones can fly, unlike people.(This was also on the Washington post but wasn’t as detailed.) Airstrikes would also be easier with drones because they can be more accurate and harm only a small amount of people (the bad guys) instead of an entire population. Of course with any plan and choice, there are some downsides.
Using technology in war is good because it reduces the amount of our people hurt and increases the amount of accurate attacks but there is always a few threats. The New York Times said threats may include someone hacking into the drones and taking control over it, the drone could be seen on a satellite, or it could be followed by other drones. If hackers and what not get into our system our safety would be put into jeopardy. Same with the UGV’s. But I think this is a risk we may want to consider taking in order to reduce the amount of fatalities in our soldiers and the innocent.

In conclusion, our technology advancements will allow us to open more doors of success, like reducing casualties in war. Sadly with any plan there is a downfall but in order to win a war, we have to be willing to take a few risks. I suggest we use drones and UGV’s. Unless we find another way, this is the best option. This could possibly lower our amounts of dead, injured, hostage, or unaccounted soldiers.