The cost of a soldier deployed in Afghanistan
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
JEREMY HOBSON: Ok, it’s quiz time here on the Marketplace Morning Report. And our quizmaster Stephan Richter of TheGlobalist.com joins us now from Washington. Good morning, Stephan.
STEPHAN RICHTER: Good morning Jeremy. Are you ready for today’s quiz?
HOBSON: I am ready.
RICHTER: This one is in the context of all the budget debates and what costs money in the United States and for U.S. taxpayers. So my question for you today is this: How much does it cost per year to support one U.S. service member deployed in Afghanistan? Is it A) $67,000 a year; B) $132,000 a year; C) a staggering $685,000 per year; or D) an unbelievable $1.2 million a year?
HOBSON: Well, I am going to guess it is on the higher end of things. But I will just go with a staggering $600,000-some a year, not the unbelievable $1.2 million.
Buzz
RICHTER: Not quite. This number would be right for the war in Iraq, according to numbers from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. $685,000, that’s by the way, over 10 times more than the cost of a soldier deployed in World War II. So these wars are getting more expensive all the time.
HOBSON: All right, so I’ll guess the $1.2 million.
Ding, ding, ding!
RICHTER: $1.2 million per year. Of course, the least of that is wages or salary for the soldiers themselves. Most of it is due to the sheer lack of infrastructure in Afghanistan; its geographical position as a landlock nation. And the biggest single item in this? Fuel costs.
HOBSON: Wow.
RICHTER: Per troop deployed: $200,000 to $350,000 a year just in fuel costs. With all this heavy stuff that’s coming in now, that number’s probably going to go up as the oil prices are going up.
HOBSON: All right, Stephan Richter, editor-in-chief at The Globalist. You can find out more about the world at theglobalist.com. Thanks again Stefan.
RICHTER: Good to be with you today.
UPDATE: The source for these figures are detailed on page 17 of the full PDF report.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
