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Military

The Kuwaiti armed forces consist of the Land Forces, the Air Force (including the Air Defense Force), the Navy (including the Coast Guard), the National Guard, and the Emiri Guard, with a total of 17,500 active personnel and 23,700 reservists. The Emiri Guard is tasked with the protection of the Emir of Kuwait. The National Guard remains independent of the regular armed forces command structure, subordinated directly to the Emir and the prime minister, and is involved in both internal security and external defense. The Coast Guard is part of the Ministry of Interior while all of the other branches are part of the Ministry of Defense, and the National Guard provides assistance to both agencies. Since 1991 the United States has been the country's main security partner, carrying out training exercises with its military, and Kuwait is also a participant in the Gulf Cooperation Council's Peninsula Shield Force. The Kuwaiti military uses American, Russian, and western European equipment.

In 2017 Kuwait reintroduced mandatory military service for its male citizens, consisting of four months of training and eight months of service. Conscription was previously in effect from 1961 to 2001, though it was not fully enforced at that time. Kuwait was the only Gulf country to have had military conscription until 2014, when Qatar also implemented the policy.

When Saudi Arabia began its intervention in the Yemeni civil war in early 2015, Kuwait joined the Saudi-led coalition. Kuwaiti forces provided an artillery battalion and 15 fighter jets, though their contribution to the operations in Yemen was limited.