A Look at Shutting Down Unneeded United States' Overseas Military Bases

When you think of a U.S. military presence, you might think of Afghanistan, Iraq, or the 38th parallel between North and South Korea. However, its presence is much more prevalent, especially when it comes to military bases. Estimates put the number of U.S. overseas military bases at over 800 bases in more than 70 countries (see database data here). The reason that proponents postulate that the United States needs that many bases is because of national security. Purported benefits include improved operational response, deterrence, assurance to allies, and improved understanding of cultural differences that would help in military operations. While the bases represent the United States' military prowess, they come with some drawbacks (see Glaser, 2017), which I will briefly cover now.

Source: Politico

One major drawback is the cost. According to a 2013 Rand Corporation report, the cost of a service member stationed abroad is an extra $10,000-40,000, compared to a troop stationed abroad. A conservative estimate of annual costs is $85 billion (2014), although I saw costs above $200 billion per annum. Another drawback is that technology has made overseas military bases less effective. Yes, there are scenarios in which in-person presence is helpful. However, since we have improved to the point where it is just as effective to deploy from domestic bases now that we have more advanced air and naval travel. There is also a question of whether human rights violations increase. One study examines the effects of U.S. military bases on human rights (Bell et al., 2016). The study suggests that because the host state leaders are less reliant on more local government, it leads to more human rights abuses.

Realistically, I do not see the United States government shutting down every last military installation abroad. Plus, being the most powerful country with the largest economy, there is plausibility to the idea that certain antagonistic forces, whether nation-states or stateless actors, wouldn't mind seeing the United States knocked down a peg. Nevertheless, there should be greater scrutiny in terms of which bases are vital to stopping a clear and present danger to the United States, as opposed to a theoretical or imaginary one. In 2016, the Pentagon found that 22 percent of military infrastructure is unneeded, which implies that such bases exist. The good news is that we have been shutting down unnecessary bases since 2003. The other good news is that we have seen a decline of war and violence since WWII, which renders the bases less necessary over time. The bad news is that they are still costing millions of taxpayer dollars every year. I know they didn't particularly scale back military spending, but maybe next year, Congress can focus on allocating funds to the military that are necessary instead of creating more government waste.

October 6, 2021 Addendum: The Quincy Institute released a study on overseas military bases. Even with the recent withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, there are still 750 U.S. military bases in 80 countries, which is three times the amount of embassies and consulates that the U.S. has abroad. Even better: these military bases costs the U.S. taxpayers $55 billion annually. That cost goes up to $80 billion when you include personnel to operate those bases.