Have foreign troops been stationed in the Continental United States historically?
Executive summary
Yes — foreign military personnel have been stationed on continental U.S. soil at various times in history, but usually not as independent “foreign bases”; the pattern ranges from allied training detachments and integrated commands in the Cold War and post‑Cold War era to allied expeditionary forces during the American Revolution (e.g., French contingents) [1] [2] [3].
1. The Revolutionary-era precedent: allied forces fighting and living on American soil
The earliest and clearest historical example of foreign troops on what is now U.S. territory comes from the Revolutionary War, when French forces — including high‑profile officers such as the Marquis de Lafayette and elements of the French army under Rochambeau — served in the Continental Army and operated on American soil as allied combatants and liaisons [3].
2. The modern distinction: “stationed” versus “sovereign foreign bases”
Contemporary reporting and defense analysis draw a hard line between independent foreign sovereign bases located inside the United States (which do not exist in the typical sense) and foreign military personnel or units hosted on U.S. installations under formal agreements; the U.S. commonly hosts allied detachments, training squadrons, and integrated units rather than autonomous foreign installations with sovereign control [2].
3. NORAD and permanent allied personnel embedded in U.S. facilities
Integrated multinational command structures provide the longest‑running example: since the creation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command in 1958, Canadian Forces personnel have been stationed at U.S. facilities such as Peterson Air Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain, operating side‑by‑side with U.S. personnel in air‑defense and early‑warning missions — a persistent foreign military presence on U.S. soil though not a foreign base in the sovereign sense [1].
4. Training detachments: foreign pilots and units embedded on U.S. bases
Practical, long‑term presences often take the form of training and exchange programs; for example, Singaporean airmen have been stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho as part of the Peace Carvin program, training and qualifying on U.S. aircraft in an integrated squadron model — another illustration of foreign troops living and working on continental U.S. bases under bilateral arrangements [2].
5. The German case and claims of “permanent presence”
Reporting notes that Germany maintains what has been described as a permanent presence in the United States, though accounts qualify that this presence is not a combat base owned by Germany but a sustained, cooperative posture within U.S. facilities and partnership programs; media coverage stresses the difference between permanent detachments and sovereign foreign bases [2].
6. Why the distinction matters: law, sovereignty and political signaling
Analysts emphasize that hosting allied troops on domestic installations is governed by status‑of‑forces agreements and other treaties that preserve U.S. jurisdiction and base control, and that allowing foreign units to train on U.S. soil serves diplomatic, military‑training, and signaling functions without ceding sovereign base rights [1] [2]. Critics who argue against extensive overseas basing of U.S. forces point out reciprocal implications for foreign basing and global posture, but those debates concern U.S. bases abroad rather than foreign bases here [4] [5].
7. Scope, limits and gaps in public reporting
Available sources document multiple concrete cases — Revolutionary War allies, long‑standing NORAD Canadian personnel, Singaporean training squadrons, and reported German presences — but comprehensive, public lists of every country with personnel ever stationed in the continental United States are scattered across historical archives, CRS reports and contemporary journalism; the reporting reviewed does not provide an exhaustive catalog of every bilateral arrangement or short‑term deployment [3] [6] [2].
8. Bottom line: historical reality with important qualifiers
Historically, foreign troops have indeed been stationed on continental U.S. soil, ranging from allied expeditionary forces in the eighteenth century to modern embedded personnel in integrated commands and training detachments; however, the United States does not host independent, sovereign foreign military bases in the conventional sense — most presences are governed by agreements that keep control and sovereignty with U.S. authorities [3] [1] [2].