United States military deployments

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The military of the United States is deployed in most countries around the world, with approximately 160,000 of its active-duty personnel stationed outside the United States and its territories. [1] This list consists of deployments excepting active combat deployments, including troops in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. [2]

Contents

Outside of active combat, US personnel are typically deployed as part of several peacekeeping missions, military attachés, or are part of embassy and consulate security. Nearly 40,000 are assigned to classified missions. [3]

Rationale

Statements by U.S. military and government

A longstanding justification for maintaining military installations worldwide for the United States is that a military presence abroad by the U.S. promotes and strengthens democracy. [4]

Statements by others

According to Hermann and Kegley, military interventions have boosted democracy in other nations. [5] The majority of academics, however, concur with professor of international politics Abraham Lowenthal that American efforts to spread democracy have been "negligible, often counterproductive, and only occasionally positive." [5] [6] [7]

JoAnn Chirico believes that the U.S. military presence and installations are often considered responsible for suppressing democracy in countries such as Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kuwait, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. [4]

In her essay, "Dictatorships and Double Standards", Jeane Kirkpatrick argued that although the United States should encourage democracy, it should be understood that premature reforms may cause a backlash that could give the Communists an opportunity to take over. For this reason, she considered it legitimate to support non-communist dictatorships, adding that a successful and sustainable democratic process is likely to be a long-term process in many cases in the Third World. The essence of the so-called Kirkpatrick Doctrine is the use of selective methods to advance democracy in order to contain the wave of communism. [8]

Current deployments

The following regional tables provide detail of where personnel from six branches of the US military are currently deployed. These numbers do not include any military or civilian contractors or their dependents. Additionally, countries in which US military are engaged in active combat operations are not included. The numbers are based on the most recent United States Department of Defense statistics as of December 31, 2023. [1]

Americas

JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
( excl. Alaska & Hawaii)
1,054,204362,343274,534243,030130,97834,8498,470
Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 20,78410,419418,569161,72613
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 671362224589
Flag of Cuba.svg Guantanamo Bay 616125442436
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 3652322120101
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1522938651253
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland 13511025
other74613414574335553
Total1,077,673373,282275,238251,990131,41837,2318,514

East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean

JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 54,7742,35119,59512,40520,3122190
Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 44,42318,71412,6155,4266,1201,390158
Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 24,23414,9713557,986848173
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam 6,5933,7882,2602522921
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 732558312845538
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 3101211102743
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 2291616723149
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 1113492642
other4258035312727
Total131,83136,23336,65828,29528,5891,726330

Europe

US military bases in Germany in 2014 US military bases in Germany.svg
US military bases in Germany in 2014
JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 35,06821,25039212,81344810155
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12,3754,0883,3954,741125125
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 10,0581822899,478441451
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 3,292302,777393911
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1,4382012381,3671
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1,10660190380332
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4181182722516302
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 402123522513
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 299161953112
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 24774517916
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 13919100128
other6131305813528361
Total65,45526,6187,63228,4502,45663236

West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Indian Ocean

JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 3,479172,81422316310
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 1,69012171,53131
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 53342923567
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 4063323971
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 3038371544118
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 258160175526
Flag of the Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory.svg Diego Garcia 223223
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 17726205477
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 17612092126
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 1206851334
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 11563101329
other1,13020376109742
Total8,6101,2933,1932,0091,78631118

Unspecified

JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Overseas
(incl. unincorporated US territories)
4,9761,79591,1402,011318
Domestic
(50 states and District of Columbia)
44
Total4,9801,79991,1402,011318

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Number of Military and DoD Appropriated Fund (APF) Civilian Personnel By Assigned Duty Location and Service/Component (as of March 31, 2024)". Defense Manpower Data Center. May 9, 2024.
  2. "Letter to the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate regarding the War Powers Report". whitehouse.gov. December 7, 2023.
  3. "America's Forever wars" . New York Times. 23 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 Chirico 2014, p. 70.
  5. 1 2 Hermann, Margaret G.; Kegley, Charles (1998). "The U.S. Use of Military Intervention to Promote Democracy: Evaluating the Record". International Interactions. 24 (2): 91–114. doi:10.1080/03050629808434922.
  6. Lowenthal, Abraham (1991). The United States and Latin American Democracy: Learning from History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 243–65.
  7. Peceny, Mark (1999). Democracy at the Point of Bayonets . University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. p.  183. ISBN   0-271-01883-6.[ dead link ]
  8. Wright 2007, p. 29.

Further reading