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

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

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
United States (excl. Alaska & Hawaii)	1,060,367	363,235	277,055	244,590	132,761	34,402	8,324
Alaska	20,977	10,660	42	8,526	19	1,716	14
Puerto Rico	659	–	41	23	23	572	–
Guantanamo Bay	569	112	418	–	33	6	–
Honduras	386	246	2	128	9	1	–
Canada	156	29	38	67	14	5	3
Greenland	139	–	–	113	–	–	26
other	688	127	138	77	289	55	2
Total	1,083,941	374,409	277,734	253,524	133,148	36,757	8,369

East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Japan	55,423	2,353	19,761	12,524	20,687	21	77
Hawaii	44,413	18,886	12,372	5,423	6,237	1,336	159
South Korea	23,813	15,294	352	7,849	251	1	66
Guam	6,456	1	3,811	2,242	117	283	2
Australia	582	48	86	114	322	3	9
Philippines	284	11	10	9	251	3	–
Singapore	242	13	168	23	29	9	–
Thailand	107	33	10	24	40	–	–
other	401	75	38	28	253	7	–
Total	131,721	36,714	36,608	28,236	28,187	1,663	313

Europe

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Germany	35,125	21,309	408	12,807	439	10	152
Italy	12,408	4,126	3,369	4,770	118	1	24
United Kingdom	9,994	172	285	9,431	42	13	51
Spain	3,254	32	2,740	387	94	1	–
Belgium	1,105	586	91	390	36	–	2
Netherlands	423	118	30	226	17	30	2
Greece	397	11	333	24	29	–	–
Poland	249	112	93	31	13	–	–
Portugal	236	5	44	170	17	–	–
Norway	226	21	12	38	154	1	–
Finland	141	3	3	3	132	–	–
Romania	131	19	89	12	11	–	–
other	561	126	50	128	250	6	1
Total	64,250	26,640	7,547	28,417	1,352	62	232

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

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Bahrain	3,569	15	2,833	20	331	370	–
Turkey	1,742	126	6	1,575	35	–	–
Kuwait	551	442	2	35	72	–	–
Djibouti	341	2	2	2	334	1	–
Qatar	324	93	6	162	46	–	17
Saudi Arabia	267	159	15	52	34	7	–
Diego Garcia	211	–	211	–	–	–	–
Egypt	175	124	9	21	21	–	–
United Arab Emirates	166	26	20	57	63	–	–
Israel	110	60	8	12	30	–	–
Jordan	109	61	5	12	31	–	–
other	1,084	192	75	108	709	–	–
Total	8,649	1,300	3,192	2,056	1,706	378	17

Unspecified

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Overseas (incl. unincorporated US territories)	5,380	1,147	6	1,126	3,081	3	17
Domestic (50 states and District of Columbia)	8	8	–	–	–	–	–
Total	5,388	1,155	6	1,126	3,081	3	17

References

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.

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