TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT

THE U.S. MILITARY

Question #1 – How many United States military bases or installations

are there around the world?
a) 57 b) 226 c) 5,863 d) 7,284

Question #2 – In how many countries does the United States maintain

military bases?
a) 12 b) 22 c) 32 d) 42

Question #3 – What percent of your federal income tax dollars go to

the military?
a) 15% b) 24% c) 54% d) 64%

Question #4 – How much money do U.S. taxpayers spend each year on

the military?
a) $250 million b) $15 billion c) $890 billion d) $1.5 trillion

Question #5 – How much of the U.S. military budget is spent on

contracts with Vermont businesses?
a) $50 million b) $225 million c) $800 million d) $1 billion

(Answers on flip side)

----------------------
YOUR OPINION - Vermont’s state and federal representatives currently
seek military contracts for Vermont businesses. Do you
a. approve of that practice
b. prefer that our representatives seek exclusively non-military
federal contracts
c. have no opinion on this issue
d. other:
 What Is Your Military IQ?
Answer #1 – There are approximately 1000 U.S. military bases or installations
outside the U.S., although the military seems to be unsure of the exact number.1
There are also 4,863 U.S. bases or installations in the U.S. and its territories,2 for a
total of approximately 5,863 U.S. military bases around the world. By contrast,
there are only a handful of military bases operated by other nations outside their
borders.3

Answer #2 – The U.S. military acknowledges it has bases in 38 countries,4 although

there are at least four more: Afghanistan and Iraq are well known to house multiple
U.S. military bases; Qatar and Saudi Arabia are known to house thousands of U.S.
military personnel.

Answer #3 – In 2009, 54% of your income tax dollars paid for military personnel
and materials and for debts from past wars and deployments.5

Answer #4 – In 2009, U.S. taxpayers spent nearly $1.5 trillion for our military.6

Answer #5 – In 2006, 2007 and 2008, the U.S. military spent one billion dollars on
Vermont contracts. In 2009, the amount was $800 million.7
- - - - -
• The United States accounts for nearly half of the world’s total
military spending.8
• Military spending may provide an initial stimulus to the economy,
but after just a few years it results in a loss of jobs and a
weakened economy.9
• Vermonters may soon be startled by the screaming noise of one of
the Pentagon’s biggest boondoggles: F-35 aircrafts which may be
stationed in South Burlington. Price tag: $325 billion
*REDUCE U.S. MILITARY SPENDING
*SPEND FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY
*Vermont Action for Peace Box 296 Plainfield, Vermont 05667

1
Nick Turse, Empire of Bases 2.0
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175338/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_the_pentagon%27s_planet_of_bases__
2
Chalmers Johnson, Dismantling the Empire: America’s Last Best Hope (2010) page 127.
3
International Peace Bureau, Warfare or Welfare? At Chapter 5
http://ipb.org/i/pdf-files/Warfare_or_Welfare_Ch_5_Military_Bases.pdf
4
http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/bsr/BSR2010Baseline.pdf
5
See pie chart and explanatory notes at http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm
6
See footnote 5.
7
Greg Guma, Defense Money: A Vermont Snapshot, (2010) http://www.pjcvt.org/dbpjc/wp-
content/uploads/2010/11/NovemberDecember2010.pdf
8
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation table at
http://armscontrolcenter.org/policy/securityspending/articles/US_vs_Global/
9
See the 2007 study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research at
http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/military_spending_2007_05.pdf