Does a list exist anywhere that shows from least to most hazardous what positions/jobs in the US Military are most likely to get you killed or injured?
Interesting question. I would suspect that the list would change over time depending on what type of engagements the US Military is engaged in as well as general changes in tactics and technology. I’d suspect that most jobs in the Navy onboard ships are a lot less dangerous now than they were in the War of 1812 or WW2. How many US Navy ships have been sunk with loss of life in the past 50 years? A dozen? Less? Now, how many were sunk each year in WW2? Infantry is probably still quite dangerous, though possibly less so than WW2, but almost certainly isn’t as safe as Naval duty nowadays.
I’ll bet you electrician’s mate on a nuclear attack sub would rank up there.
Not formally. How dangerous the job will be depends on the unit and what you actually do. For example, some 68W (combat medics) are on the line, which means that they patrol with the troops. Others ride inside armored vehicles. Others never leave the Aid Station in the FOB (Army base), which means they never see combat. The average 68W is probably in more danger than the average 68E (Dental Specialist).
88M (truck driver), 11B (infantry), and EOD (bomb crew) are probably amongst the most dangerous.
Is this a serious post? How many electrician’s mates died in the line of duty last year?
I think there may be a difference between the number or seriousness of theoretical risks in a job and the statistical/actuarial chance that a random person in that job would be seriously injured or killed. Sure, working with electricity is, in the public’s mind, arguably more dangerous than sitting behind a desk writing memos, and working on a nuclear sub includes dangers both related to nuclear power accidents as well as hull breaches (which would likely be more serious than a hull breach on board a surface ship), but I don’t know if that actually translates to a statistically significant increase in actual serious injuries or deaths. For example, I’d guess that nuclear subs are well monitored to mitigate the chances of large numbers of risks, and a problem is likely to result in swift action, whether or not it is related to the fact that it is on a sub or involves nuclear power or not. Now, people who sit behind a desk all day in Arkansas arguably could feel safer, but they could be done in by a dangerous weather incident and it’s unlikely that rescuers are monitoring them 24/7.
As a combat engineer let me tell you that EOD is not as dangerous as you might think. Certainly more than a desk job but a lot less than the Hurt Locker. For the most part EOD is not out there clearing lanes and searching for IEDs. They are sitting back on the FOB on call. When they are in a convoy they are not out front but buried somewhere back in the convoy. Engineer crews with Buffaloes and also infantry on patrol find the IEDs and secure them. Or find them by getting blown up. EOD comes later (sometimes much later after the troops are sitting on it for hours) and drops some C4 on it and blows it from a distance. No red wire or blue wire shit. Kicking in doors as infantry or driving down an uncleared road is much more dangerous.
Veterans views of The Hurt Locker range from amused to pissed off
Anecdotally from talking to other vets & buddies who transferred into artillery, infantry takes the cake: so many different ways to get hit, due to the up-close-and-personal nature of the job, lack of surrounding armor, & crossing paths with other humans trying to kill them.
hand-to-hand combat - everything from beating to bludgeoning to garroting
mines
i.e.d.s
shot
stabbed
mortar & artillery
grenade
drowning (if we count amphibious landings - opening scene in Private Ryan)
burning (flamethrower or chemical ammo, like phosphorus & Napalm - might as well add Molotov cocktail)
run over by tank or other heavy machine (a scene in Band of Brothers)
and so on. Sure, any of these scenarios can happen to any serviceman (ok, some are impossible for Navy & AirForce in daily routine, but once they’re on land it could happen), but just by nature of their deployment, infantry is exposed to all of them pretty regularly. It’s the law of averages which not having done the research, I still bet that if someone loox it up, the stats will back it. If they’re Airborne, I guess we can add in parachute failure or helicopter crash.
Footnote: the worst crocodile attack in history happened in Sri Lanka in Feb. 1945. 1,000 Japanese soldiers were corralled in a swamp by the British, who decided to starve them out rather than chase thru the treacherous terrain. Thru the nite, the Brits heard gnashing, shooting, & horrible screams coming from the swamp. In the morning, something like 7 Japanese came out of the swamp & told the Brits the crox had **eaten **the other 993 of them! So, danger also depends on locale.
ok, even allowing for the 500 that escaped (not proven, btw) - still a pretty hefty death toll. Truth is we’ll never know, and due to the blood flowing in the water & crox being carnivorous predators, the more likely scenario is almost all of the 900 (not 1,000) were croc’d. Like sharx, whose incident with the *Indianapolis *is alluded to at the end of the article, crox attacking would’ve drawn more crox to the area into a feeding frenzy. In the middle of the nite with all the chaos around them & blood in the water, hard to imagine many escaping.
Buy me a drink and I’ll tell you. I’m Green Delta Seal Group can’t tell you the unit # or I’d have to kill you guy sitting next to you at the bar. 
“Sharx”? Really?
Better stand out on the dox and shoot them when they come close, and hope they can’t jump out of the water.