The U.S. Military Today

Many People know that the U.S. military is currently deployed in countless places around the world today. Few Americans know exactly how large the U.S. armed forces are and what the breakdown is of those who now serve. How many soldiers are in the U.S. military today? How many women serve? How old are they on average? Here is a quick look at some of the details. The U.S. armed forces are currently 86% male and 14% female. Current troop strength is 1,447,000. This is down from 2,065,000 in 1990. 53% of those serving are married. This is up from 40% in 1972. 45% of the enlisted are between the ages of 18-25. 21% are between the ages of 26-30. 13% are between ages 31-35. 11% are between 36-40. 10% are over 40 years old.
The decline in troop strength from over two million in 1990 to the current about 1.5 million is due in large part to the famous "Peace Dividend" that many Americans have been hearing about for about twenty years. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 it was thought that the United States did not need to maintain such a large military force any longer and so it was reduced in numbers during the Clinton administration in order to save money and help balance the U.S. budget. The move worked and without any real sacrifice to the quality of the fighting force. President Clinton left office in 2001 with not only a balanced fiscal budget but a surplus in fact.