I'm looking for an estimate as to how many living American's there are
that
are former members of the armed forces.  They do not need
to be veterns of a war.  

I'd like this number isolated from the number of current members (but,
if you happen to find that number too, I'd love it as well -- but it
is secondary.)

An estimate is great.  I do not need exact numbers.

Thanks!

Hello again, justwondering...

Thanks for another great question.  As a veteran myself, I was curious
as to the number of fellow veterans that were out there.

According to the US Census Bureau, in 2000, there are approximately
26.4 million veterans in the United States.  This works out to 1 out
of every 8 citizens over the age of 18.

Of that 26 million, about 8 million served in World War II, 4 million
served in Korea, 8 million served in Viet Nam, and about 3 million
served during the Gulf War. As an aside, the Department of Defense
said that in 1999, 2.2 million Gulf War vets were in the US.

There are approximately 1.5 million people, about 530,500 in the Army,
400,000 in the Navy, 385,000 in the Air Force, 174,000 in the Marine
Corps, and 37,000 in the Coast Guard, currently in the US armed
forces.

Thanks again for your question.  If you need any additional
clarification, please let me know prior to rating my answer.

Regards,

-THV

Search Strategy:
number of living military veterans in the United States

References:
American Veterans By the
Numbershttp://www.infoplease.com/spot/veteranscensus1.html

Job Opportunities in the Armed Forces
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos249.htm

Great!  Thank you!