Reply #8: Not so. This use of the actuarial tables is inappropriate [View All]

[Jackpine Radical]

for at least two major reasons.

First, the tables are based on a random sample of individuals in that age group. The military people, on the other hand, have been selected on various mental and physical criteria. For instance, None of them are likely to have been sent there with known cancers or other life-threatening diseases, and they are in better general physical condition than the general population within their age group.

Second, the kids in Iraq are less likely to die of, say, drunk driving than their age peers at home.

All told, the actuarial table overstates their likelihood of dying of non-military-related causes.