By Alec Evans and Evan Cooper
The U.S. military is being tested by the many fires it is trying to put out abroad. These crises pull assets from the country’s network of hundreds of foreign bases, more than 170,000 troops deployed internationally and mutual defense treaties with upwards of 50 countries.
But amid these global missions, the military is increasingly burdened by its responsibility for extinguishing literal fires across the U.S.
The U.S. armed forces have engaged in domestic wildfire suppression for over a century, but as climate change and historical forestry malpractices increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires, the military’s role in fire response has ballooned.
