United States military deployments
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/US_Troops_on_duty_as_of_September_30_2021.png/460px-US_Troops_on_duty_as_of_September_30_2021.png)
The military of the United States is deployed in most countries around the world, with between 160,000 to 180,000 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 Syria[2] and Yemen.[3]
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 in locations that the US government refuses to disclose.[4]
Rationale
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.[5] According to Hermann and Kegley, military interventions have boosted democracy in other nations.[6] The majority of academics, however,(how could you make this claim? who tf wrote this) concur with professor of international politics Abraham Lowenthal that American efforts to spread democracy have been "negligible, often counterproductive, and only occasionally positive"[6] [7][8] 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 and Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.[5]
In her essay, Dictatorships and Double Standards, Kirkpatrick argues 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.[9]
Current deployments
The following regional tables provide detail of where personnel from five branches of the US military are currently deployed. These numbers do not include any military or civilian contractors, dependents or the United States Space Force. 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, 2022.[1]
Americas
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USMC | USAF | USCG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() (excl. Alaska & Hawaii) |
1,100,974 | 377,154 | 290,400 | 138,547 | 259,375 | 35,498 |
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20,674 | 10,000 | 43 | 27 | 8,799 | 1,805 |
![]() |
594 | 135 | 422 | 32 | – | 5 |
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363 | 210 | 3 | 21 | 128 | 1 |
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165 | 92 | 31 | 20 | 22 | – |
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145 | 16 | 38 | 15 | 72 | 4 |
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140 | – | – | – | 140 | – |
other | 688 | 122 | 140 | 320 | 75 | 31 |
Total | 1,123,743 | 387,729 | 291,077 | 138,982 | 268,611 | 37,344 |
East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USMC | USAF | USCG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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55,485 | 2,525 | 20,363 | 19,645 | 12,935 | 17 |
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40,966 | 15,515 | 12,384 | 6,215 | 5,539 | 1,313 |
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25,873 | 17,239 | 336 | 258 | 8,039 | 1 |
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6,447 | 211 | 3,955 | 113 | 2,168 | – |
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1,862 | 39 | 70 | 1,652 | 100 | 1 |
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272 | 10 | 11 | 241 | 10 | – |
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202 | 9 | 155 | 11 | 21 | 6 |
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106 | – | – | 106 | – | – |
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101 | 30 | 11 | 37 | 23 | – |
other | 287 | 62 | 31 | 166 | 24 | 4 |
Total | 131,601 | 35,640 | 37,316 | 28,444 | 28,859 | 1,342 |
Europe
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/US_military_bases_in_Germany.svg/300px-US_military_bases_in_Germany.svg.png)
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USMC | USAF | USCG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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36,172 | 22,209 | 410 | 472 | 13,073 | 8 |
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12,477 | 4,244 | 3,306 | 147 | 4,778 | 2 |
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9,876 | 171 | 282 | 54 | 9,356 | 13 |
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3,535 | 27 | 3,034 | 93 | 380 | 1 |
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1,147 | 630 | 85 | 36 | 396 | – |
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462 | 47 | 87 | 299 | 29 | – |
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434 | 141 | 28 | 18 | 216 | 31 |
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375 | 8 | 320 | 22 | 25 | – |
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253 | 4 | 49 | 22 | 178 | – |
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236 | 5 | 2 | 226 | 3 | – |
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143 | 20 | 96 | 12 | 15 | – |
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99 | 23 | 14 | 26 | 36 | – |
other | 629 | 95 | 62 | 334 | 133 | 5 |
Total | 65,838 | 27,624 | 7,775 | 1,761 | 28,618 | 60 |
West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Indian Ocean
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USMC | USAF | USCG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
3,753 | 16 | 3,049 | 273 | 19 | 396 |
![]() |
1,725 | 153 | 5 | 30 | 1,537 | – |
![]() |
753 | 619 | 4 | 80 | 50 | – |
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443 | 169 | 4 | 41 | 229 | – |
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370 | 2 | 2 | 364 | 2 | – |
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315 | 177 | 22 | 45 | 61 | 10 |
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259 | 208 | 8 | 22 | 21 | – |
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217 | – | 217 | – | – | – |
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189 | 26 | 21 | 63 | 79 | – |
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153 | 6 | 1 | 144 | 2 | – |
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115 | 63 | 3 | 35 | 14 | – |
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99 | 50 | 8 | 28 | 13 | – |
other | 1,100 | 173 | 68 | 757 | 102 | – |
Total | 9,491 | 1,662 | 3,412 | 1,882 | 2,129 | 406 |
Unspecified
Jurisdiction | Total | Army | Navy | USMC | USAF | USCG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Domestic (50 states and District of Columbia) |
7,716 | 7,716 | – | – | – | – |
Overseas (incl. unincorporated US territories) |
5,936 | 398 | 6 | 3,415 | 1,171 | 946 |
Total | 13,652 | 8,114 | 6 | 3,415 | 1,171 | 946 |
See also
- 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
References
- ^ a b "Number of Military and DoD Appropriated Fund (APF) Civilian Personnel Permanently Assigned By Duty Location and Service/Component (as of June 30, 2022)". Defense Manpower Data Center. September 8, 2022.
- ^ Bo Williams, Katie (November 2, 2020). "Outgoing Syria Envoy Admits Hiding US Troop Numbers; Praises Trump's Mideast Record". Defense One.
- ^ "Letter to the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate Regarding the War Powers Report". whitehouse.gov. December 7, 2021.
- ^ "America's Forever wars". New York Times. 23 October 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Wright 2007, p. 29.
- Chirico, JoAnn (2014). Globalization: Prospects and Problems. SAGE Publication Ltd. p. 71.
- Greenwald, Glenn (2017). "Trump's Support and Praise of Despots Is Central to the U.S. Tradition, Not a Deviation From It". The Intercept.
- Wright, Steven (2007). The United States and Persian Gulf Security. Ithaca Press. ISBN 978-0-86372-321-6.
Further reading
- Machain, Carla Martinez; Allen, Michael A.; Flynn, Michael E. "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 2018 Baseline (PDF, 2.38MB) (Report). U.S. Department of Defense.