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 missions, military attachés, or are part of embassy and consulate security. Nearly 40,000 are assigned to classified missions.^[3]

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.^[4]

Statements by others[edit]

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[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 December 31, 2023.^[1]

Americas[edit]

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
United States (excl. Alaska & Hawaii)	1,054,204	362,343	274,534	243,030	130,978	34,849	8,470
Alaska	20,784	10,419	41	8,569	16	1,726	13
Puerto Rico	671	–	36	22	24	589	–
Guantanamo Bay	616	125	442	–	43	6	–
Honduras	365	232	2	120	10	1	–
Canada	152	29	38	65	12	5	3
Greenland	135	–	–	110	–	–	25
other	746	134	145	74	335	55	3
Total	1,077,673	373,282	275,238	251,990	131,418	37,231	8,514

East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean[edit]

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Japan	54,774	2,351	19,595	12,405	20,312	21	90
Hawaii	44,423	18,714	12,615	5,426	6,120	1,390	158
South Korea	24,234	14,971	355	7,986	848	1	73
Guam	6,593	–	3,788	2,260	252	292	1
Australia	732	55	83	128	455	3	8
Philippines	310	12	11	10	274	3	–
Singapore	229	16	167	23	14	9	–
Thailand	111	34	9	26	42	–	–
other	425	80	35	31	272	7	–
Total	131,831	36,233	36,658	28,295	28,589	1,726	330

Europe[edit]

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Germany	35,068	21,250	392	12,813	448	10	155
Italy	12,375	4,088	3,395	4,741	125	1	25
United Kingdom	10,058	182	289	9,478	44	14	51
Spain	3,292	30	2,777	393	91	1	–
Norway	1,438	20	12	38	1,367	1	–
Belgium	1,106	601	90	380	33	–	2
Netherlands	418	118	27	225	16	30	2
Greece	402	12	352	25	13	–	–
Poland	299	161	95	31	12	–	–
Portugal	247	7	45	179	16	–	–
Romania	139	19	100	12	8	–	–
other	613	130	58	135	283	6	1
Total	65,455	26,618	7,632	28,450	2,456	63	236

West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Indian Ocean[edit]

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Bahrain	3,479	17	2,814	22	316	310	–
Turkey	1,690	121	7	1,531	31	–	–
Kuwait	533	429	2	35	67	–	–
Djibouti	406	3	3	2	397	1	–
Qatar	303	83	7	154	41	–	18
Saudi Arabia	258	160	17	55	26	–	–
Diego Garcia	223	–	223	–	–	–	–
United Arab Emirates	177	26	20	54	77	–	–
Egypt	176	120	9	21	26	–	–
Jordan	120	68	5	13	34	–	–
Israel	115	63	10	13	29	–	–
other	1,130	203	76	109	742	–	–
Total	8,610	1,293	3,193	2,009	1,786	311	18

Unspecified[edit]

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Overseas (incl. unincorporated US territories)	4,976	1,795	9	1,140	2,011	3	18
Domestic (50 states and District of Columbia)	4	4	–	–	–	–	–
Total	4,980	1,799	9	1,140	2,011	3	18

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "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.
^ "Letter to the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate regarding the War Powers Report". whitehouse.gov. December 7, 2023.
^ "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.^{[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.