ABSTRACT
The military forces of the United States have been engaged in combat, encounters, military occupation, or operations against hostile or potentially hostile forces in all but two of the sixty-plus years since the end of World War II in 1945. Indeed, since 1776, if the United States had a “war gate” open only in times of peace such as that of ancient Rome, the gate would have been open for less than two decades over the two-hundred-plus years since the adoption of the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution. Contrary to popular perceptions, war and international confrontations rather than peace have been the rule rather than the exception as indicated in Table 0.1 denoting military engagements, 1776-2006.
