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)
1,060,367363,235277,055244,590132,76134,4028,324
Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 20,97710,660428,526191,71614
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 659412323572
Flag of Cuba.svg Guantanamo Bay 569112418336
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 386246212891
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1562938671453
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland 13911326
other68812713877289552
Total1,083,941374,409277,734253,524133,14836,7578,369

East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean

JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 55,4232,35319,76112,52420,6872177
Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 44,41318,88612,3725,4236,2371,336159
Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 23,81315,2943527,849251166
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam 6,45613,8112,2421172832
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 582488611432239
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 284111092513
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 2421316823299
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 10733102440
other4017538282537
Total131,72136,71436,60828,23628,1871,663313

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 35,12521,30940812,80743910152
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12,4084,1263,3694,770118124
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 9,9941722859,431421351
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 3,254322,740387941
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1,10558691390362
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4231183022617302
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 397113332429
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 249112933113
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 23654417017
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 2262112381541
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 141333132
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 13119891211
other5611265012825061
Total64,25026,6407,54728,4171,35262232

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

JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 3,569152,83320331370
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 1,74212661,57535
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 55144223572
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 3412223341
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 3249361624617
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 2671591552347
Flag of the Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory.svg Diego Garcia 211211
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 17512492121
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 16626205763
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 1106081230
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 1096151231
other1,08419275108709
Total8,6491,3003,1922,0561,70637817

Unspecified

JurisdictionTotal Army Navy USAF USMC USCG USSF
Overseas
(incl. unincorporated US territories)
5,3801,14761,1263,081317
Domestic
(50 states and District of Columbia)
88
Total5,3881,15561,1263,081317

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 December 31, 2023)". Defense Manpower Data Center. February 7, 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