American Deployments

The US Armed Forces have ventured out of their country multiple times, whether it may be
the World Wars, Peace Keeping missions, War on terror or whether in condemnation of
human law violations in attempts to “stabilize” a country.
The US military has 1.3 million men and women on active duty with 450,000 of them
deployed overseas on different bases and conflict zones. There are about 11,000 to 12,000
troops in Afghanistan and about 6,000 personnel in Iraq taking part in an operation called
Inherent Resolve which aims to take down ISIS. Then there are about 1,800 soldiers in
support of the operation, stationed in Syria.
There are also 15,000 soldiers spread among different airbases in Kuwait including about
4,000 soldiers from 1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
In Poland, there are about 3,500 soldiers stationed as part of the Atlantic resolve which seek
to halt Russian aggression. These soldiers also train local forces and provide security in
Poland and to other near and small European states after stretching out.
About 40 soldiers are also stationed in Somalia to assist the central government by training
its forces to fight again terrorist groups like Al Shabab.
Apart from regular servicemen, soldiers of US Marines are also widely deployed.
Approximately 400 Marines are posted in Syria in support of Mission Inherent Resolve.
About 300 are positioned in Afghanistan in support of Mission Resolute Support. 40 Marines
are distributed in Sudan to protect the US Embassy and about 300 Marines are guarding
the Norway border with Russia as part of a bilateral agreement between Oslo and
Washington.
The US air force also has international deployments as 400 airmen are stationed in the
middle east in support of Mission Inherent Resolve and 12 pilots of F-16 are posted in South
Korea "help maintain a deterrent against threats to regional security and stability."
While above mentioned deployments were the most significant, many surveillance
deployments are also worth mentioning; There are about 1,500 military personnel stationed
in Jordan along with a squadron of F-16s, almost 7,000 men are stationed in Bahrain where
a large number of US airmen operate out of the Sheikh Isa Air Base.
The US has been widening its presence ever since World War 2. It has been gaining allies in
Europe by providing security and supplying weapons to countries near Russia to maintain
a dominance in the area so as to contain any sudden threats from Russia.
In Asia, it has been fighting the War on terror in Afghanistan. While the US invasion of Iraq
was due to a different reason, their presence there in the post Saddam era is predominantly
due the emergence of ISIS. Same is the case Syria, The US is trying to contain the threat
caused by Daesh.
Their presence in the Arabic states like, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain is largely to keep an eye
and act if needed from these stations to the hotspots.
However, their presence in South Korea is because of the threat to their national security
caused by North Korea.
The US as a superpower always tries to maintain its presence in every part of the world to
showcase power, gain allies or as contingencies for when things start to go wrong. This
expansion of the military has somewhat helped them in Europe, however the war waged in
Afghanistan has done more harm than good. The military has been called back from
Afghanistan by President Donald Trump but only time will tell if they decide to leave or not.
However, they keep on strengthening their forces in Iraq and Syria to fight against and nullify
the threat caused by ISIS.