Jump to content

United States military deployments

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

[edit]

Statements by U.S. military and government

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
US military bases in Germany in 2014
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 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.
  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. ^ a b Chirico 2014, p. 70.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Lowenthal, Abraham (1991). The United States and Latin American Democracy: Learning from History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 243–65.
  6. ^ Peceny, Mark (1999). Democracy at the Point of Bayonets. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 183. ISBN 0-271-01883-6.[dead link]
  7. ^ Wright 2007, p. 29.

Further reading

[edit]