List of the lengths of United States participation in wars

Lengths of U.S. combat forces' participation in warsEdit

War in the context of this list is broadly construed to be armed conflict between organized U.S. military forces and organized forces of (a) belligerent(s).

War Dates Duration Duration (graphical representation)
1. War in Afghanistan 2001 – present[1][2] 19.5 years
(19 years, 6 months)
2. Vietnam War 1955 – 1975[3][4][5][6][a] 19.4 years
(19 years, 5 months)
3. Moro Rebellion 1899 – 1913 14 years
4. War in North-West Pakistan 2004 – 2017 13 years
5. Northwest Indian War 1785 – 1795 10 years
6. Iraq War 2003 – 2011[7][8][9][10][11][12] 8.9 years
(8 years, 9 months)
7. American Revolutionary War 1775 – 1783 8.4 years
(8 years, 5 months)
8. War on ISIS 2014 – present 6.9 years
(6 years, 10 months)
9. Second Seminole War
1835-12 – 1842

6.7 years
(6 years, 7 month)

10. First Barbary War 1801 – 1805 4.1 years
(4 years, 1 month)
11. American Civil War 1861 – 1865 4.0 years
12. World War II 1941 – 1945 3.7 years
(3 years, 8 months)
13. Korean War 1950 – 1953 3.1 years
(3 years, 1 month)
14. War of 1812 1812 – 1814 2.5 years
(2 years, 6 months)
15. Red Cloud's War 1866 – 1868 1.8 years
(1 year, 9 months)
16. Mexican–American War 1846 – 1848 1.8 years
(1 year, 9 months)
17. World War I 1917 – 1918 1.6 years
(4 years)
18. Russian Civil War 1918 – 1920[13] 1.6 years
(1 year, 7 months)
19. Great Sioux War of 1876 1876 – 1877 1.2 years
(1 year, 3 months)
20. Libyan Civil War (2011) 2011 – 2011[14] 0.6 years
(7 months)
21. Persian Gulf War 1990 – 1991[15][b] 0.6 years
(7 months)
22. Whiskey Rebellion 1794 – 1794 0.4 years
(5 months)
23. Spanish–American War 1898 – 1898 114 days
24. Kosovo War 1999 – 1999[16] 79 days
25. Invasion of Panama 1989 – 1990 42 days
26. Cuban Missile Crisis 1962-10-16 – 1962-10-28 12 days
27. Invasion of Grenada 1983-10-25 – 1983-10-29 4 days
28. Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961-04-17 – 1961-04-20 3 days

(Ongoing wars indicated in bold and with orange bars.) Sources are found in the main articles of each war, as well as the Associated Press.[17][18]

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

  1. ^ Direct U.S. involvement ended in 1973 with the Paris Peace Accords
  2. ^ (33)The term "Persian Gulf War" means the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation or by law. 38 U.S.C. § 101

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Knefel, John (January 7, 2015). "Drone Rules in Afghanistan Go Unchanged, And Other Reasons the War Isn't Really Over". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  2. ^ Sennott, Charles M. (May 5, 2015). "The First Battle of the 21st Century". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 15, 2015. Even after 14 years of war in Afghanistan, the U.S. military has not at all succeeded in restoring security to the country or defeating the Taliban. Now, at the request of the new Afghan government, the United States has delayed the completion of its troop withdrawal from the country until 2016 at the earliest.
  3. ^ Rohn, Alan (March 26, 2013). "When was the end of the Vietnam War?". The Vietnam War. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  4. ^ "Defense.gov News Release: NAME OF TECHNICAL SERGEANT RICHARD B. FITZGIBBON TO BE ADDED TO THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL". U.S. Department of Defense. November 6, 1998. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  5. ^ DoD 1998
  6. ^ Lawrence 2009, p. 20
  7. ^ "US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,452". San Diego Union-Tribune. May 3, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Why can't we stop our wars?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 18, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Wood, David (April 27, 2011). "Robert Gates' Pentagon Legacy: Unfinished Wars, Unfinished Budget Reform" – via Huff Post.
  10. ^ "Obama May Face Tough Decision as Iraqi Leader Signals U.S. Troops Could Stay".
  11. ^ "Pentagon Rethinks Iraq pull-out Plans". Financial Times.
  12. ^ Terkel, Amanda (May 11, 2011). "Iraq Withdrawal Date For U.S. Troops May Be Pushed Back Beyond 2011" – via Huff Post.
  13. ^ Robert L. Willett, "Russian Sideshow" (Washington, D.C., Brassey's Inc., 2003), page 267
  14. ^ "Nato chief Rasmussen 'proud' as Libya mission ends". BBC News. October 31, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  15. ^ "Our Longest U.S. War: Medical Treatments for Gulf War Illness Remain Elusive | Swords to Plowshares". Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  16. ^ "A Kosovo Chronology | War In Europe | FRONTLINE | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  17. ^ "U.S. Participation in Major Wars". Fox News. Associated Press. November 25, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  18. ^ "U.S. involved in Iraq war longer than it was in World War II". UT San Diego. November 25, 2006. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2021.

BibliographyEdit

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) (November 6, 1998). "Name of Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon to be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial". DoD.
Lawrence, A. T. (2009). Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-44517-2.
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