Cleverly, Mr Schama seems to pair each of these active forces with its equal and opposite reaction.
The figure of 2.3 million which puts it at second place in our list includes active forces only - not civilian staff, like the US figure.
If you were to count only active forces within the US Department of Defense, it would number 1.6 million people and slip to seventh place in our list.
"There are a number of organisations within militaries - you have active forces, reserve forces, civilians, and also those that might be working as contractors - so it depends really what you're trying to count when you look at headline numbers, " says James Hackett, the editor of Military Balance.
Some 51, 000 troops -- 38, 000 National Guard forces and 13, 000 active duty forces -- have been deployed in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
By mid-May, Bush said, if funding is not law, problems would grow "more acute, " and would include the curtailing of training for active duty forces.
We took months to adjust the organization, training, and support structures of our active combat forces, we experienced major problems with some aspects of the call up and training of our reserves, and we literally had to make thousands of modifications to our combat equipment, munitions, support equipment, and battle management and communications systems.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Section IV: Building a Two-MRC Force for the 21st Century
In a country of nearly three hundred million people, only two and a half million serve in the active-duty armed forces, the Reserves, and the National Guard.
More than 100, 000 Iraqis are already active in the five security forces - the Police, Border Police, Site Protection Service, Civil Defense Corps of the new Iraqi Army.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations
Afghan forces are increasingly active in Wardak.
ECONOMIST: The battle for hearts and minds in eastern Afghanistan
If just the lesser number left the military, our active-duty, reserve and National Guard forces would lose 228, 600 people -- more than the total of today's active-duty Marine Corps.
Under Mr Blair, however, the armed forces are far more active than they planned to be.
Torque vectoring is permanently active and allows for selective distribution of forces for each individual wheel.
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Poland has 7.9 million males of military age but only 127, 266 active-duty personnel in its armed forces.
It was not clear whether that activity represented "mopping up and checking" or "something more active" being carried out by Algerian forces against the abductors, the official told CNN.
While some of the security cooperation efforts undertaken with allies and potential partners are carried out directly by active duty U.S. armed forces personnel, reserve and National Guard components also play an important role.
When it came to balancing this priority against the interests of active participants in conflict, especially irregular forces who for tactical reasons choose to go "underground" and not distinguish themselves from civilians, the Geneva Conventions clearly favored the non-combatant.
For forces deployed defensively, using limited active-duty units and relying on rapid mobilization in the event of warforces such as those in NATO (especially during the Cold War) and in South Korea and Israel-time is of the essence, and mobilization delays can have strategic consequences.
The FDD also says it wants to tackle poverty and bring security to the whole country, which means negotiating with the National Liberation Forces (FNL) - the last active Hutu rebel group - and up to now a bitter rival of the FDD.
About 70, 000 foreign-born men and women serve in the U.S. armed forces, or about 5 percent of the total active-duty force, according to the Pentagon.
CNN: Commentary: Risk, rewards in military duty for illegal aliens
Estimates suggest that as many as 300, 000 child soldiers are active in conflicts around the world. 40% of armed forces (including national armies, militias, gangs, terrorist organizations and resistance forces) in the world use children.
India's army and paramilitary forces insist that a few hundred armed militants are still active.
The total size of the armed forces would shrink from 2.1 million to 1.6 million active-duty end strength and from 1.6 million to around 900, 000 reserves.
We noted the 12% rise in active management fees over the past ten years and speculated this rise might be attributed to the combined forces of consultant conflicts of interest and lack of adequate disclosure to clients of information regarding fees.
FORBES: Why Pension Investment Advisory Fees Are So High (January 1, 2003 )
Across Syria a picture is emerging of government forces holding the centre of big towns and the main roads, and the Free Syrian Army becoming increasingly active and almost controlling parts of cities like Homs and areas of the countryside.
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