In addition to several hundred US personnel deployed at the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, a few hundred more in Honduras and limited numbers in Canada and Greenland, there are also huge numbers of US troops in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
(Reader note: Keep in mind, in Dead Reign®, the year is
2008. Numbers of troops deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries are all set at current levels for that time setting. In 2014, there are still a large number of military contractors and security specialists in Iraq, and over 10,000 US troops in neighboring Ku- wait. In Afghanistan, roughly 30,000 US soldiers remain. Num- bers in Europe and Asia remain mostly unchanged. Adjust as is appropriate for any time period and current events.)
The Middle East
Afghanistan: 30,000 troops are stationed in Afghanistan to provide security, hunt down Taliban forces and rebuild infra- structure. Bagram Airfield, just north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, is their main center of operations, but there are smaller outposts and firebases throughout the country.
Iraq: Five years after invading the country and ousting Sad- dam Hussein, 150,000 US troops remain in Iraq, along with con- tingents from other nations like the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and France. There are several large airbases that serve as organizational hubs and supply depots, with the “Green Zone,” a secured area of Baghdad, as the primary administrative center.
Kuwait: In Iraq’s smaller neighbor to the southeast, America has kept a military presence there since the country was invaded at the start of the 1991 Gulf War. Roughly 10,000 personnel, pri- marily US Army, are based out of Kuwait.
Other: There are about 2,000 US soldiers and Navy personnel in Bahrain, headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, as well as a few hundred in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Attitudes towards the United States vary by country and re- gion, and also vary by ethnic, religious and political allegiance. In Afghanistan, Taliban fighters might be almost anywhere, and there is no telling how one warlord’s troops or village’s inhabit- ants might react during an encounter with US forces after the zombie outbreak. In Iraq, insurgents from outside the country and dissidents from a few particular factions are the biggest killers of American troops, with most locals just trying to keep their heads down. A lot of Iraqi citizens will turn a cold shoulder to Ameri- cans once society breaks down, and a sizable percentage will do much worse if they are given the opportunity. Cut off from the rest of the world and without fear of governmental reprisal, acts of revenge will be personal and ugly. Even the common enemy of the zombies will not be enough common ground for the most extreme factions to work together.
Europe
England: As one of the USA’s closest allies, there are near- ly 10,000 American military personnel stationed in the United Kingdom, the vast majority of them Air Force staff deployed at several large airbases that the Royal Air Force shares with units from the USAF.
Germany: Even decades after the end of the Cold War, the United States still maintains nearly 50,000 personnel in Ger- many. Most of these are from the Army and Air Force service branches, with only a few hundred Navy and Marine servicemen.
Italy: As the center of the US Navy in the Mediterranean, there are more than 10,000 American soldiers, sailors, Marines and air- men in Italy.
Other: Spain, Belgium and Turkey each house over a thousand US troops, with another few hundred in Portugal, Greece and the Netherlands.
In Europe, there is a relaxed and easy relationship between US troops and the local populace. Deployed to protect against Soviet aggression that never happened, they are viewed as a godsend now that there is a zombie menace looming over the land. Some soldiers and resources like aircraft were sent home as the Wave
consumed the USA, but American forces who remain in-country will bolster local defenders and try to assist with relief opera- tions. Ultimately, as the scale of the zombie outbreak becomes apparent, many bases will be sealed off and isolated by frightened defenders from within. As surviving soldiers start to reenter the world they will receive a mixed reception from local survivors, some welcoming, some suspicious.
Asia
Japan: Almost 40,000 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are deployed in Japan, two-thirds of them on the small island of Okinawa. There are thousands of spouses and family members living alongside the military personnel as well, how- ever.
South Korea: South Korea’s defenses against the North in- clude nearly 30,000 American troops stationed throughout the country. They have been helping protect the nation since the 1950s and cooperate closely with South Korean forces.
Other Nations: Nations like Thailand, Singapore and Kyrgyz- stan, as well as the islands of Guam and Diego Garcia, all host small numbers of US troops, usually just a few hundred each.
Stationed in Japan and on the Korean peninsula for decades, most American soldiers have an established presence in the com- munities around large bases. In some places in Japan, particularly Okinawa, relations have not always been smooth between locals and US servicemen, leading to prejudices and misunderstand- ings. It has been a long time since Americans were viewed as oc- cupiers, however, and once zombies overtake the land, most peo- ple will forget all about old grievances, and just be happy to see armed soldiers who can shoot zombies and stand up to Raiders and cultists. Professionals like the Japanese Self-Defense Force will be working alongside US troops from the very beginning of the Wave, happy to have any assistance and additional resources.
In South Korea, there are certainly citizens who resent the
American presence, but they are balanced out by others who are relieved that thousands of American troops help maintain the De- militarized Zone that separates North and South Korea and pro- tect the South’s sovereignty. When zombies threaten the world around them, US and South Korean forces will fall in and fight as one, doing everything they can in the doomed battle to protect civilians and suppress the Wave and the walking epidemic that is the zombie menace.