How many Americans have served in Iraq?  

I have found several references to the number who have served in both
Iraq and Afghanistan,
but I'd like to know the figure for only Iraq.  I figured this would
be an easy statistic to find, but no one seems to have reported on it.  

Note that I am not asking about the number of troops currently
deployed, nor the highest number ever deployed.  I am looking for the
total number of Americans who have ever served in Iraq (including the
current soldiers who are there).

---

Clarification of Question by allthewrongplaces-ga on 10 Aug 2006 22:18 PDT

Also note that I've found this, but several other sources use this 1.3
million figure for Iraq and Afghanistan, so I think it's not accurate:

Fifty years later in Iraq -- an unpopular war -- only 1.3 million are
fighting for a nation of 300 million. "Never have so few sacrificed so
much for so many," one Desert Storm veteran said recently. Iraq may be
the wrong cause for sacrifice. But Vietnam veterans taught us that
once war starts we must be willing to take care of everyone who gets
hurt in it.
(Salon, May 1, 2006)

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 10 Aug 2006 23:10 PDT

Hello allthewrongplaces-ga,

I?ve done some preliminary research and the sources I've found seem to
say that currently the number stands at about half a million and that
it grew by 100,000 per year from 2004 to now. The numbers come from
news reports and feature articles but I haven?t found the underlying
documents or official records they came from. Verifiable sources might
be located with further digging.

July 2006           About 500,000
August 2005         More than 400,000
February 2005       About 296,000
November 2004       Approximately 300,000

Will this information meet your needs? I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

The terorists can possiblly gain useful propaganda or even stratagy
from a detailed analysis of what has been done to date. Apparently,
you have been swayed by the propaganda.
My opinion is we need to fight terorists in countries that support
terorists, or we will fight them in our own villages and neighborhoods
next year. Terorists gain strength if they think they can subjagate
large portions of the world at the cost of only a few million
terorists lives.   Neil

I am also very interested in this question, broken down by service. I
wish I could add money to your request!