MISSOURI -- Missourians have a lot of respect for the United States military, but which military branch do Missourians enlist in the most?

Governing.com collected data on active-duty, reserve forces and civilian military personnel in each state as of 2021. They found that Missouri had a total of 15,778 active military-duty members in 2021.

In Missouri, the Army leads all branches with 9,658 active members in Missouri, but the Show Me State is also highly represented in the Air Force with 4,226 members. Those high numbers in the Army and Air Force are likely due to the presence of the Fort Leonard Wood Army Base and the Whiteman Air Force Base in the state.

Total active members per branch:

• Army - 9,658
• Air Force - 4,226
• Marine Corps - 1,440
• Navy - 233
• Coast Guard - 221

The number of reserve forces in Missouri totals 19,126. The Army National Guard has by far the most Missourians of this group, but the Army Reserves and the Air National Guard have a sizable number of members from Missouri as well.

Total reserve members per branch:

• Army National Guard - 9,379
• Army Reserves - 4,704
• Air National Guard - 2,228
• Navy Reserve - 1,087
• Air Reserves - 1,035
• Marine Corps Reserves - 653
• Coast Guard Reserves - 76

The Army and the Air Force also have a high number of military civilians in Missouri, although the data reveals that a sizable number of Missouri military civilians are part of the Fourth Estate (DoD). Missouri has 7,681 military civilians in total.

Total military civilians per branch:

• Army - 5,630
• Air Force - 1,173
• 4th Estate (DoD) - 691
• Marine Corps - 127
• Navy - 60

Across the country in 2021, the Army had the most active-duty members with 426,624, followed by the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force/Space Force and the Coast Guard.

A full breakdown of all active-duty members in each U.S. state can be found at Governing.com.

News Source : https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/what-military-branches-do-missourians-enlist-in-the-most/