The document provides information on military personnel and expenditures for various countries from 2008. It notes that the United States has the 3rd largest active military size at 1.54 million personnel. It also discusses US military facilities globally, instances of US military conflicts abroad since 1798, the over 22 million US veterans as of 2010, and costs of US wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and the "Global War on Terror" surpassing $1 trillion. Casualties of US and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq are also listed.
2. Military: Number in service (active and reserves) Rank Country 2008 % World -- World 27,469,342 1 China 2,885,000 10.50 2 India 2,582,000 9.40 3 United States 1,540,000 5.61 4 Russian Federation 1,476,000 5.37 5 Korea, Dem. Rep. 1,295,000 4.71 6 Pakistan 921,000 3.35 7 Egypt, Arab Rep. 866,000 3.15 8 Brazil 721,000 2.62 9 Korea, Rep. 692,000 2.52 10 Turkey 613,000 2.23 11 Indonesia 582,000 2.12 12 Iraq 577,000 2.10 13 Iran, Islamic Rep. 563,000 2.05 14 Myanmar 513,000 1.87 15 Vietnam 495,000 1.80
3. Military expenditure (% of GDP) Country Name 2000 2008 Change 1 Georgia 0.62 8.52 7.91 2 Saudi Arabia 10.59 8.05 -2.55 3 Oman 10.59 7.66 -2.93 4 Chad 1.91 7.31 5.41 5 Israel 7.78 6.96 -0.82 6 Jordan 6.25 5.88 -0.36 7 Yemen, Rep. 5.02 4.45 -0.57 8 United States 3.09 4.29 1.20 9 Singapore 4.64 3.95 -0.69 10 Lebanon 5.39 3.92 -1.47
4. According to the U.S. DoD baseline report 2009, “The Department manages a global real property portfolio consisting of more than 539,000 facilities (buildings, structures and linear structures) located on more than 5,570 sites, on approximately 29 million acres… the Department’s real property assets represent 57% of the federal government real property portfolio” (p. 2). Of the sites, 4,742 are in the U.S., 121 are in U.S. territories, and 716 are overseas, spread over 38 countries. There are 235 sites in Germany, 123 sites in Japan, and 87 sites in South Korea. http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2009Baseline.pdf
5. U.S. Military Conflict Abroad is a Mainstay of American Life Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2009 “ Some of the instances were extended military engagements that might be considered undeclared wars. These include the Undeclared Naval War with France from 1798 to 1800; the First Barbary War from 1801 to 1805; the Second Barbary War of 1815; the Korean War of 1950-1953; the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1973; the Persian Gulf War of 1991; global actions against foreign terrorists after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States; and the war with Iraq in 2003. With the exception of the Korean War, all of these conflicts received Congressional authorization in some form short of a formal declaration of war. ” What does this mean? Since 1945, there have only been 5 years in which the American military has not been used abroad. This means that from 1945 to 2011, the U.S. military has been deployed abroad for 61 of 66 years. Source: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32170.pdf
6. U.S. Military Conflict Abroad is a Mainstay of American Life According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as of September 30, 2010 there are over 22 million (22,658,145) living veterans in the U.S. Source: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Veteran_Population.asp
7. The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11 … is over 1 trillion dollars. “… Congress has approved a total of $1.283 trillion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks: Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan and other counter terror operations; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)… According to CBO’s latest projection, war costs for FY2012-FY2021 could total another $496 billion if troop levels fell from 180,000 in FY2011 to 45,000 by FY2015 and remained at that level through FY2021. Under that scenario, war costs through FY2021 would total $1.8 trillion.” The Global War on Terror (GWOT) Source: http ://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
8. The Global War on Terror (GWOT) U.S. and Coalition Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq, 2001 – 2011 (June 1) Source: CNN.com Note: There are two soldiers POW/MIA, one in each country. Numbers slightly different from icasualties website: http://icasualties.org/ . For American casualties only, see DoD website: http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf . See also American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics (2010) http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf . Country Dead Wounded Total Afghanistan 2,489 11,541 14,030 Iraq 4,773 32,102 36,875 Total 7,262 43,643 50,905
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11. Ribbon: Scarlet, white and blue represent the United States. Light blue refers to worldwide cooperation against terrorism. Gold denotes excellence. Obverse: A bronze color metal disc charged with a shield adapted from the Great Seal of the United States surrounding two swords hilts to base saltirewise enclosed within a wreath of laurel; overall an eagle, wings displayed, grasping in its claws a serpent. The shield and eagle represent the United States. The swords denote readiness and the resolve to fight international terrorism, which is symbolized by the serpent crushed in the eagle's claws. The wreath denotes honor and achievement. Reverse: The eagle, serpent and swords from the front of the medal within the encircling inscription "War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. http://usmilitary.about.com/od/medalsanddecs/l/blwotmedals.htm
12. The Mission by Dana Priest (2003) From 1998 to 2002, Dana Priest, a journalist from the Washington Post, interviewed top U.S. military officers and was embedded with U.S. military units deployed during the Balkans conflict. Priest’s thesis: the U.S. civilian government increasingly uses and depends on the deployment of military personnel for non-combat uses. As the State Department atrophies, the Department of Defense (DoD) takes on an ever larger role in nation-building, diplomacy and other foreign affairs efforts.
14. Table of NATO Terms for Military Units Name Number Personnel Fire and Maneuver Team 2 Fireteam 3 - 5 Patrol 5 - 10 Squad 7 - 13 Platoon 25 - 40 Company 60 - 250 Battalion 300 - 1000 Regiment 500 - 2000 Brigade 2000 - 5000 Division 10,000 – 20,000