Top Ten Most Dangerous Occupations
The fatality rate for all occupations is 4.1 per 100,000 employed. But these hazardous jobs, all of which had a minimum of 30 fatalities in 2004 and 40,000 people employed, are far riskier. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS lists these occupations as 10 of the most dangerous in the nation:
1. Logging workers —Fatalities: 92.4 per 100,000 employed
2. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers—Fatalities: 92.4 per 100,000 employed
3. Fishers and related workers—Fatalities: 86.4 per 100,000 employed
4. Structural iron and steel workers—Fatalities: 47 per 100,000 employed
5. Refuse and recyclable material collectors—Fatalities: 43.2 per 100,000 employed
6. Farmers and ranchers—Fatalities: 37.5 per 100,000 employed
7. Roofers—Fatalities: 34.9 per 100,000 employed
8. Electrical power line installers and repairers—Fatalities: 30 per 100,000 employed
9. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers—Fatalities: 27.6 per 100,000 employed
10. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs—Fatalities: 24.2 per 100,000 employed
A SOLDIER DEPLOYED TO IRAQ OR AFGHANISTAN—FATALITIES: MORE THAN 10 TIMES AS DANGEROUS AS THE NUMBER ONE ON THE ABOVE LIST! AND, THAT IS NOT SEPARATING OUT A DESK JOB IN BAGHDAD. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RISK IS IF YOU ARE AN INFANTRY SOLDIER OR MARINE?
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If you were a civilian asked to work 12-14 hour days in one of the most treacherous climates on the earth knowing that at anytime you could be shot at, blown up or killed by a terrorist on any given day of work, would you work for $18.75 per hour? That’s about all these brave warriors will be earning IF WE GET THEM THE RAISE! We know what your answer will be to this question and we should do everything in our power to give this small token of appreciation to our most bravest who have given us their all and have been mandated to sacrifice more.
ENGINEERS HAVE ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS JOBS IN TOWN
Sgt. 1 Class Ronald D. Covington
First published May 7, 2003
"These men know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when they are given the 'go,' they may not return," said Capt. Dean R. Gosney, platoon leader of Company C (Forward), 206th Engineer Battalion. This engineer unit supports the present US rotation of SFOR. "The only thing that keeps us alive is knowing we've trained hard and are confident in our training."
Tuzla - If an SFOR soldier ends up in a minefield, it's Company C's job to get him out. Maps may show many of the minefields in Bosnia and Herzegovina , but more than 60 percent of the minefields have not yet been identified. Anyone can end up in a minefield if they become complacent about their mine awareness training
Most recent prototype equipment.
The engineers also ensure roads, bridges and tunnels are safe for travel, and confirm that new construction areas are cleared of unexploded ordnance.
Their inventory includes three pieces of the Army's most recent prototype equipment, including the D-7 mine-clearing, armour-protecting (MCAP) dozer, which gives the engineer some safety in operation. Two pieces of their equipment are operated by remote control, the mini-flail and the M-1 Abrams Panther both equipped with the mine plow and roller.Though this equipment offers the engineer some safety, it cannot be used any closer than 30 meters to a person in the open. At that point, the mine-clearing team employs its mine sweeping expertise, carefully probing inch-by-inch toward a mine victim. It takes men on the ground to safely extract a person from a minefield.
Combat engineers - also known as sappers - have a variety of skills they use on the battlefield. In addition to their expertise with land mines, they are skilled in building bridges, fortifications and battlefield obstacles. Sapper Point is their home here on Eagle Base.
Nothing else
"It is great being a combat engineer," said Spec. Chad E. Stidham, a member of the mine extraction team. "What other job could you have and do such versatile training?"
Even though the job is dangerous, most Company C sappers say they wouldn't want to do anything else. "I love operating heavy equipment," said Sgt. Woody Clark, and MCAP operator. " If you hit a mine, your bells will ring but you should be safe." This group of engineers was assembled from several different units, but Gosney said he is proud of the teamwork that they have developed. "Combat engineers are the hardest working, most highly trained and versatile soldiers on the battlefield," he said. "They love what they do. They don't think about the danger. They just focus on the mission."