United States military deployments
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]
Outside of active combat, US personnel are typically deployed as part of several peacekeeping and classified missions, military attachés, or are part of embassy and consulate security.
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.[3]
Statements by others
According to Hermann and Kegley, military interventions have boosted democracy in other nations.[4] 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."[4][5][6]
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.[3]
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.[7]
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 June 30, 2024.[1]
Americas
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USAF | USMC | USCG | USSF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States (excl. Alaska & Hawaii) |
1,062,976 | 364,198 | 273,546 | 243,497 | 137,903 | 35,130 | 8,702 |
Alaska | 20,618 | 10,234 | 41 | 8,567 | 8 | 1,755 | 13 |
Puerto Rico | 631 | – | 37 | 22 | 10 | 562 | – |
Guantanamo Bay | 572 | 122 | 417 | – | 27 | 6 | – |
Honduras | 335 | 205 | 2 | 119 | 8 | 1 | – |
Canada | 156 | 29 | 36 | 69 | 15 | 4 | 3 |
Greenland | 139 | – | – | 110 | – | – | 29 |
other | 695 | 140 | 143 | 72 | 278 | 59 | 3 |
Total | 1,086,122 | 374,928 | 274,222 | 252,456 | 138,249 | 37,517 | 8,750 |
East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USAF | USMC | USCG | USSF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | 52,852 | 2,319 | 22,060 | 12,356 | 16,009 | 19 | 89 |
Hawaii | 44,747 | 18,445 | 12,709 | 5,428 | 6,540 | 1,467 | 158 |
South Korea | 23,732 | 15,042 | 339 | 8,117 | 158 | 1 | 75 |
Guam | 6,453 | – | 3,785 | 2,284 | 88 | 295 | 1 |
Australia | 300 | 48 | 79 | 141 | 23 | 2 | 7 |
Singapore | 221 | 16 | 163 | 23 | 11 | 8 | – |
Thailand | 108 | 33 | 9 | 26 | 39 | 1 | – |
other | 338 | 96 | 47 | 40 | 145 | 10 | – |
Total | 128,751 | 35,999 | 39,191 | 28,415 | 23,013 | 1,803 | 330 |
Europe
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USAF | USMC | USCG | USSF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Germany | 34,894 | 21,049 | 381 | 12,892 | 399 | 11 | 162 |
Italy | 12,319 | 4,016 | 3,454 | 4,764 | 58 | 1 | 26 |
United Kingdom | 10,180 | 217 | 284 | 9,559 | 51 | 14 | 55 |
Spain | 3,253 | 30 | 2,783 | 406 | 33 | 1 | – |
Belgium | 1,119 | 611 | 88 | 384 | 34 | – | 2 |
Netherlands | 405 | 115 | 26 | 215 | 13 | 34 | 2 |
Greece | 393 | 13 | 349 | 25 | 6 | – | – |
Poland | 281 | 143 | 96 | 32 | 10 | – | – |
Portugal | 254 | 6 | 51 | 179 | 17 | 1 | – |
Romania | 140 | 24 | 96 | 12 | 8 | – | – |
other | 648 | 159 | 67 | 177 | 238 | 6 | 1 |
Total | 63,886 | 26,383 | 7,675 | 28,645 | 867 | 68 | 248 |
West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Indian Ocean
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USAF | USMC | USCG | USSF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bahrain | 3,424 | 24 | 2,833 | 21 | 209 | 337 | – |
Turkey | 1,683 | 121 | 7 | 1,525 | 30 | – | – |
Kuwait | 500 | 468 | 3 | 21 | 8 | – | – |
Saudi Arabia | 270 | 167 | 15 | 65 | 23 | – | – |
Diego Garcia | 234 | – | 234 | – | – | – | – |
Qatar | 214 | 76 | 6 | 110 | 7 | – | 15 |
Egypt | 151 | 107 | 7 | 17 | 20 | – | – |
United Arab Emirates | 131 | 25 | 19 | 35 | 52 | – | – |
Israel | 118 | 67 | 10 | 13 | 28 | – | – |
Jordan | 98 | 68 | 4 | 13 | 13 | – | – |
other | 994 | 209 | 76 | 107 | 601 | 1 | – |
Total | 7,817 | 1,332 | 3,214 | 1,927 | 991 | 338 | 15 |
Unspecified
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USAF | USMC | USCG | USSF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overseas (incl. unincorporated US territories) |
7,612 | 1,482 | 12 | 1,174 | 4,912 | 4 | 28 |
Domestic (50 states and District of Columbia) |
3 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – |
Total | 7,615 | 1,485 | 12 | 1,174 | 4,912 | 4 | 28 |
See also
- List of notable deployments of U.S. military forces overseas since 1798
- List of United States overseas military bases
- List of United States military bases
- Marine Security Guard
- Military Assistance Advisory Group
- Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
- United States Taiwan Defense Command
- Status of forces agreement
- United States foreign aid
- United States militarism
References
- ^ a b "Number of Military and DoD Appropriated Fund (APF) Civilian Personnel By Assigned Duty Location and Service/Component (as of June 30, 2024)". Defense Manpower Data Center. August 13, 2024.
- ^ "Letter to the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate regarding the War Powers Report". whitehouse.gov. December 7, 2023.
- ^ a b Chirico 2014, p. 70.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Lowenthal, Abraham (1991). The United States and Latin American Democracy: Learning from History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 243–65.
- ^ Peceny, Mark (1999). Democracy at the Point of Bayonets. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 183. ISBN 0-271-01883-6.[dead link ]
- ^ Wright 2007, p. 29.
- Chirico, JoAnn (2014). Globalization: Prospects and Problems. SAGE Publication Ltd. p. 71. ISBN 9781483315447.
- Wright, Steven (2007). The United States and Persian Gulf Security. Ithaca Press. ISBN 978-0-86372-321-6.
Further reading
- "America's Forever wars". New York Times. 23 October 2017.
- Machain, Carla Martinez; Allen, Michael A.; Flynn, Michael E. (2 December 2019). "Why does the US pay so much for the defense of its allies? 5 questions answered". The Conversation. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- Allen, Michael A; Flynn, Michael E; Martinez Machain, Carla (2021). "US global military deployments, 1950–2020*". Conflict Management and Peace Science. 39 (3): 351–370. doi:10.1177/07388942211030885. ISSN 0738-8942. S2CID 237722626.
- Base Structure Report – Fiscal Year 2023 Baseline (XLS) (Report). U.S. Department of Defense.