It is a well-known fact that the United States has the largest military power in the world. As of June 2024, the number of military service personnel in the US military has exceeded 1.43 million, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The military budget is $886 billion, accounting for 40 percent of the world's military budget. The United States has the most powerful and advanced military equipment in the world, and has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers with a displacement of more than 100,000 tons each.
The United States has more than 400 military bases and garrisons in 140 countries around the world. Why does the United States station troops in other countries? This has to do with the national strategy and military policy pursued by the United States. The United States needs to safeguard its national interests and global strategic layout, especially overseas interests, to combat terrorism and maintain regional stability. By stationing troops, it is convenient for the US military to monitor the world and intervene in regional affairs, so as to serve the country's political and economic strategy.
In addition, there is another point, the US military arranges military bases overseas, far away from the US mainland, which is also a strategy to protect the country by not drawing the flames of war to the mainland.
As mentioned earlier, the United States basically has troops stationed in all countries in the world, so what are the top 10 countries with military garrisons? Let's take a look.
1st place Japan
The United States has 53,973 troops stationed in Japan, making it the largest military presence overseas. Military bases are mainly concentrated in cities such as Tokyo and Yokosuka, such as Yokosuka base, Kadena base, Okinawa base, etc. The main thing is to protect Japan from the threat from the Korean Peninsula, and the other is to confront China and reduce China's strategic space.
2nd place Germany
The United States has 35,781 troops stationed in Germany, and as a defeated country in World War II, it is not surprising that the United States is stationed in the United States, which is one of the largest allies of the United States in Europe, and the United States has a large number of troops stationed in Germany. The mission of these forces is to assist European allies in maintaining security while countering potential threats from countries such as Russia. The army stationed in Germany is also dominated by the army and air force. Germany is home to the headquarters of the US military in Europe, and Ramstein Air Base is an important logistics center.
3rd place South Korea
The United States has 25,372 troops stationed in South Korea, and after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union competed for hegemony, resulting in the division of North Korea into South Korea and North Korea. In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, the United States led a 16-nation coalition to strongly intervene and support South Korea, also known as South Korea, and with the help of the Chinese support force, finally ended the war with the 38th parallel as the demarcation. Since then, the United States has been stationed in South Korea under the pretext of protecting South Korea and stationed a large number of military personnel.
4th place Italy
Italy is a developed country located on the Apennine Peninsula in southern Europe, a member of NATO, the G7 and the European Union, and it is reasonable to have US troops because of its NATO allies. Currently, the United States has 12,432 troops stationed in Italy, stationed in the US Navy's Sixth Fleet.
5th place UK
As one of the Five Eyes alliance formed by the United States, this is the most core ally of the United States. Especially after World War II, as a small follower of the United States, he swore to follow the United States to wage war everywhere. Britain does not want European unity at the least, but its own strength is declining, so it must hold on to the thigh of the United States to balance Europe and Russia. The United States currently has 9,840 troops stationed in the United Kingdom.
The sixth to tenth places are Guam, Bahrain, Spain, Turkey and Australia.