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Millions of Americans gather with loved ones to celebrate Christmas holidays As the New Year approaches, hundreds of thousands of uniformed American men and women will be celebrating the holidays with their families in decidedly less festive corners of the world.
As of June, a total of 165,830 U.S. military personnel were deployed around the world. middle EastIndo-Pacific and Europe. That number is likely to rise further due to recent unrest in the Middle East, and it doesn’t include military personnel working at U.S. bases and civilians on overseas contracts during the holidays.
Here’s where service members will spend the holidays while deployed around the world:
middle East
As of October, there were about 43,000 troops stationed in the Middle East, up from the usual 34,000 troops amid recent unrest and wars between Israel and Iranian proxy forces Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Pentagon announced in October that it would deploy troops to Cyprus in preparation for an escalation of unrest in Lebanon. Last week, the Pentagon revealed that there were approximately 2,100 troops in Syria, not the 900 they had long claimed. Another 1,000 troops are in Iraq on a mission to defeat ISIS.
Map showing the location of U.S. naval assets in the Middle East. (Fox News)
Europe
U.S. military stationed all over europe Support NATO forces and deter any potential Russian aggression.
Major deployment areas include Germany (34,894), Italy (12,319) and the United Kingdom (10,180).
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Air Marshal Vidago Ikoputra, deputy commander of the Indonesian Army Training Center, and Maj. Gen. Joseph Harris II, commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard, inspected the training camp’s opening ceremony, with participants from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Military personnel held the “Super Eagle Shield” joint military exercise at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Situ Ajo, East Java, on August 26, 2024. (JUNI KRISWANTO/AFP Photo/AFP)
Asia
U.S. forces work with Asian allies to conduct joint exercises and coordinate responses to threats from China and Asia
Deployed areas include South Korea (23,732), Japan (52,852) and Guam (6,453).
South Korean and American soldiers pose for photos after a joint live-fire exercise at the Pocheon military training ground on March 14, 2024, as part of the annual “Freedom Shield” joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. (JUNG YEON-JE/POOL/AFP, Getty Images)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used his Christmas message to thank U.S. troops for their service during the holiday season.
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“We know firsthand that the holidays can be especially difficult if you are away from your loved ones. So to our troops around the world, we are deeply grateful for your sacrifice,” he said. “We know your families are serving too, and we “Our military families are the foundation of America’s strength.”
