text: Heck no.  Once your buddy finishes basic training they'll send him off to another base where he'll learn how to be an infantryman.  There is a possibility that he could be sent to Iraq after that, but it's POSSIBLE, not DEFINITE.\n\nP.S.:  The vast majority of men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces who have served in Iraq (better than 98%) have come back alive, in one piece, without any debilitating injuries or loss of limbs.  Yes, being an American soldier in Iraq is dangerous, and there's always a chance that your friend could be sent to Iraq and could die there, but don't believe the garbage being spit out by the mainstream media.  They want you to think that going to Iraq is a death sentence for every soldier that has to go, and it's simply not true.  BOTTOM LINE:  Yes, your friend could get sent over to the sandbox and he could end up dead or maimed, but chances are he'll do his time (if he even has to) and come back no worse for wear.