And it's not always easy to distinguish whether a statistic includes civilians and dependents. For example, the 2011 figures show 192 personnel in Djibouti, Africa, but General Carter F. Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command (on NPR, March 8, 2012) mentioned "we’ve got about 2,500 U.S. personnel at the base in Djibouti right now." I believe the 2,500 figure includes dependents and civilians.
But, as of the summer of 2012, it appears that at least 250,000 active duty personnel are deployed around the world ... many who would welcome our Airborne Angel Cadets of Texas care packages.
Active Duty Military Personnel by Region and Country - 12/31/2011
(Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force)Compiled from the Defense Manpower Data Center
Total Worldwide (12/31/2011) - 348,248
North Africa, Near East, and South Asia - 4,604 total
(Not counting Afghanistan and Iraq)
Bahrain - 2,135; Diego Garcia - 303; Egypt - 238; Qatar - 596; Saudi Arabia - 270; United Arab Emirates - 175
* 13 other countries with 1-100 personnel.
Sub-Saharan Africa - 509
Djibouti - 192
* 32 other countries with 1-100 personnel.
Iraq - 49,800
Afghanistan - 102,200
Europe - 80,370
Bosnia and Herzegovina - 1,207; Germany - 53,526; Greece - 379; Greenland - 122; Italy - 10,817; Netherlands - 392; Portugal - 700; Spain - 1,481; Turkey - 1,504; United Kingdom - 9,317* 27 other countries with 1-100 personnel.
Former Soviet Union - 146 total
* 11 countries with 1-100 personnel.
East Asia and Pacific - 51,170 total
Australia - 185; Japan - 37,708; Philippines - 174; Singapore - 150; Thailand - 125
* 12 other countries with 1-100 personnel.
Western Hemisphere - 1,970 personnel
Canada - 135; Cuba (Guantanamo) - 954; Honduras - 357
* 27 other countries with 1-100 personnel.
Undistributed - 57,479
* Above numbers do not include military or civilian contractors or dependents.
* Above numbers do not include CIA, covert, or other special ops personnel.