List of the lengths of United States participation in wars explained

This article contains the length and list of major conflicts, invasions and wars participated by the United States Armed Forces since its creation in 1775.

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

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

(Note: Ongoing wars are indicated in bold and with red bars.)

Rank	War	Dates	Duration	Duration (graphical representation)
1	War in Afghanistan	2001 – 2021^[1]	years (19 years, 10 months)
2	US intervention in Yemen	2002 – present ^[2]	years
3	Vietnam War	1955 – 1975^[3] ^[4]	years (19 years, 5 months)
4		1915 – 1934	years
5	Second US Intervention in the Somali Civil War	2007 – present^[5] ^[6] ^[7]	years
6		1899 – 1913	years
7		2004 – 2017	years
7		2013 – 2024 ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11] ^[12]	years
8	Operation Inherent Resolve	2014 – present	years
9		1785 – 1795	years
10		2003 – 2011^[13] ^[14] ^[15] ^[16] ^[17] ^[18]	years
11		1775 – 1783	years (8 years, 5 months)
12	Second Seminole War	1835 – 1842	years (6 years, 7 month)
13		1801 – 1805	years (4 years, 1 month)
14		1861 – 1865	years
15		1941 – 1945	years (3 years, 8 months)
16		1950 – 1953	years (3 years, 1 month)
17		1812 – 1814	years (2 years, 6 months)
18		1866 – 1868	years (1 year, 9 months)
19		1846 – 1848	years (1 year, 9 months)
20		1917 – 1918	years (1 year, 7 months)
21		1918 – 1920^[19]	years (1 year, 7 months)
22		1876 – 1877	years (1 year, 3 months)
23		1990 – 1991^[20]	years (7.2 months)
24		1794 – 1794	years (4.8 months)
25		1898 – 1898	days
26		1999 – 1999^[21]	days
27		1989 – 1990	days
28		1983-10-25 – 1983-10-29	(3.5) days
29		1961-04-19	1 day

Sources are found in the main articles of each war, as well as the Associated Press.^{[22] [23]}

See also

• United States military deployments
• Foreign policy of the United States
• United States Department of Defense
• Declaration of war by the United States
• Military history of the United States
• Foreign interventions by the United States
• United States Armed Forces
• United States military casualties of war
• List of wars involving the United States
• List of conflicts by duration

Bibliography

Web site: 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 . .

Book: Lawrence, A. T.. 2009. Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant. Jefferson, North Carolina. McFarland. 978-0-786-44517-2.

Notes and References

1. News: Last troops exit Afghanistan, ending America's longest war. Associated Press. August 30, 2021.
2. News: US special forces secretly deployed to assist Saudi Arabia in Yemen conflict. The Independent. May 9, 2023.
3. Web site: When was the end of the Vietnam War?. Rohn. Alan. March 26, 2013. The Vietnam War. en-US. January 28, 2019.
4. Web site: 1998-11-06. 2015-07-14. Defense.gov News Release: NAME OF TECHNICAL SERGEANT RICHARD B. FITZGIBBON TO BE ADDED TO THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714083231/http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=1902. 2021-04-19. U.S. Department of Defense. dead.
5. Web site: Biden approves deployment of hundreds of US troops to Somalia . aljazeera.com . June 4, 2022 .
6. Web site: New Somali President Welcomes Return of US Troops . voanews.com . June 4, 2022 .
7. News: US increases military support for Somalia against al-Shabab. Defense News . March 1, 2023 . Defense News . March 1, 2023.
8. Web site: America has lost the war against Islamist terror in Africa. May 3, 2024. The Spectator.
9. Web site: After Failure in Niger, U.S. Africa Policy Needs a Reset . July 3, 2024. Foreign Policy.
10. Web site: The US War on Terror in West Africa Is a Continuing Disaster . July 3, 2024. Jacobin.
11. Web site: America's $280 Million Military Mission in Niger Ends in Failure . July 3, 2024. Reason.
12. News: Niger ends military agreement with US, calls it ‘profoundly unfair’ . CNN . April 12, 2024 . CNN . 12 April 2024.
13. Web site: 2011-05-03. US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,452. 2021-04-19. San Diego Union-Tribune. en-US.
14. Web site: Why can't we stop our wars?. 2011-05-18. 2021-04-19. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
15. Web site: Robert Gates' Pentagon Legacy: Unfinished Wars, Unfinished Budget Reform. David. Wood. April 27, 2011. Huff Post.
16. Web site: Obama May Face Tough Decision as Iraqi Leader Signals U.S. Troops Could Stay.
17. Web site: Pentagon Rethinks Iraq pull-out Plans. Financial Times.
18. Web site: Iraq Withdrawal Date For U.S. Troops May Be Pushed Back Beyond 2011. Amanda. Terkel. May 11, 2011. Huff Post.
19. Robert L. Willett, "Russian Sideshow" (Washington, D.C., Brassey's Inc., 2003), page 267
20. Web site: Our Longest U.S. War: Medical Treatments for Gulf War Illness Remain Elusive Swords to Plowshares . July 12, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140226162418/http://www.swords-to-plowshares.org/2012/08/03/our-longest-u-s-war-medical-treatments-for-gulf-war-illness-remain-elusive/ . February 26, 2014 .
21. Web site: A Kosovo Chronology War In Europe FRONTLINE PBS. 2021-04-19. www.pbs.org.
22. News: U.S. Participation in Major Wars. November 25, 2006. Fox News. July 11, 2017. Associated Press.
23. Web site: 2006-11-25. 2012-10-20. U.S. involved in Iraq war longer than it was in World War II. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020093251/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/nation/20061125-0912-bushslongwar.html. 2021-04-19. UT San Diego. dead.