eli5: Why does USA have military bases and soldiers in many foreign countries?

Question

eli5: Why does USA have military bases and soldiers in many foreign countries?

In: Other

Answer 1

Treaties, mostly. The US’s real strength isn’t so much in their forces, but in their logistics. Having a large Army doesn’t do you any good if you can’t feed the troops once you send them somewhere. The US learned this important lesson during the Spanish-American War, and spent the 20th century spreading their logistics network all over the globe. In return for basing rights, the hosting nations get the benefit of the US Defense Umbrella, Favored Nation trading status, and upgrades to their infrastructure.