U.S. Forces Overseas: Do We Have the Right Bases in the Right Places?

The Department of Defense has about a quarter of a million servicemembers and civilians stationed outside the United States in a massive network of bases. This force posture includes a heavy presence in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, a medium presence in the Middle East, and smaller numbers in Africa and the Americas. Do current U.S. positions abroad meet U.S. security needs? Are forces deployed only where they are necessary? Are deployments occurring at a sustainable pace in light of the need to repair and train?  The Biden administration conducted a review of questions like these in late 2021 and claimed that things were about where they should be. We'll assess that view and provide an alternative.   Our guest Gil Barndollar is a senior fellow at Defense Priorities and a senior research fellow at the Catholic University of America’s Center for the Study of Statesmanship. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The National Interest, The American Conservative, and US Naval Proceedings, among other publications. Gil provides frequent commentary and analysis on U.S. foreign policy to national and international media and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, the BBC World Service, and the Fox Business Network. From 2009 to 2016 he served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps, deploying to Afghanistan twice, to Guantanamo Bay, and to the Persian Gulf. He holds an AB in history from Bowdoin College and MPhil and PhD degrees in history from the University of Cambridge.   Relevant links:  The Pentagon's release on the Global Posture Review https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2855801/dod-concludes-2021-global-posture-review/   Barndollar's report on the Global Posture Review https://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/global-posture-review-2021   2022 Student Foreign Policy Essay Contest https://jqas.org/2022-student-foreign-policy-essay-contest/   Upcoming Events  The UAE: A Destabilizing Partnership? (w/ Jonathan Hoffman of GMU) Weds 1/26, 7pm ET. https://standtogether.zoom.us/webinar/register/7516414179565/WN_CrcTuafyTBCkMdHxDp9nvQ   Andrew Bacevich on Why American Foreign Policy Keeps Failing. Weds 2/2, 7pm ET. With Columbia Political Union/Columbia University JQAS. https://standtogether.zoom.us/webinar/register/2716426270344/WN_jaQf0cz6T1edPU6GUIe0NQ    Is U.S. Deterrence in Asia Failing? (w/ Ben Friedman of Defense Priorities) Weds 2/9, 7pm ET. With The King’s College JQAS. https://standtogether.zoom.us/webinar/register/3316414182081/WN_bNsnONEmTEmoCPyO9a-7Ww