I've come to this question through a couple of avenues.
First, I've always heard that a new 2nd lt. in Vietnam had a life expectancy of just a few minutes. This always made me assume it was because they were new or 'green' and didn't have the experience to survive in combat. Is there any truth to this?
Also, I know it sounds lame but popular culture tends to show grizzled veterans a lot and they tend to survive battle. For example, shows like Band of Brothers or the Pacific etc.. these are 'true' story events (true in quotes due to the hollywood aspect of doing 'true' stories) that depict veterans living through battle after battle and not wanting to get to know new recruits because they feel they would die soon. Is this just the nature of the show, that they focus on men who survived and told their story or is there something to the notion that 'greener' troops were more likely to die in combat.
(Also, I know these shows show veterans dying a lot as well. It is just a perception I have come away with)
I'm interested in this because it often feels like the nature of death in battle is random chance, and I wanted to know how true that was.
While I don't have statistics, I was an infantry veteran as was my father and my two grandfathers fought in WW2. I hope I can shed a little light on this. Band of Brothers and The Pacific were based on autobiographies. Other movies that depict the expendability of new replacements include Platoon and The Big Red One. I have read extensive biographies on WW2 and the Vietnam War. I enjoy the works of Farley Mowat of his war time experiences since I served in his old regiment. As for new replacements, it largely depended on the unit. Remember that even though new soldiers may not have seen combat, they did have training in weapons and heavy weapons and were useful in a platoon or squad. A squad or platoon with good leadership tries to work as a team. They are the ones that fair better. So a good sergeant, good lieutenant, who provide mentors for new replacements, will have a successful platoon. Bad things still happen, but with a cohesive unit, needless deaths are avoided. An uncaring sergeant, or captain or lieutenant and unit cohesiveness falls apart and cliques form excluding new comers exposing them to danger. When this happens, due to bonding from surviving battles, then new soldiers are isolated, not trained, left out, and probably killed. The same thing with new lieutenants who are transferred to a unit where them men have bonded and trust the platoon sergeant. It also depends on the personality of the new replacement. Some are very charismatic and might be accepted right away, while others may not be as popular. New replacements gain respect through courage and loyalty under fire. There are always leaders like Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias. Without hard numerical statistics, it is difficult to get an accurate picture.