Military of Kuwait The military of Kuwait consists of several organizations . The National Guard has its own commander , who reports directly to the minister of defense . Public security forces report to the minister of interior . Since 1999 , women have served as part of the police forces . Organization . The Military of Kuwait consists of the following organizations : The Kuwaiti Army is the primary land force of the Military of Kuwait . Kuwait ' s postwar equipment orders include 200 M - 84 tanks ( from Yugoslavia to offset previous Yugoslav oil purchases ) and eighteen self - propelled 155mm guns from France . Kuwait also has received United States , Russia n , and Egypt ian armored vehicles . The Kuwaiti Navy is the Kuwait Naval Force , is the sea - based component of the Military of Kuwait . The headquarters and sole naval base is Ras al - Qulayah Naval Base , located in the south of Kuwait , approximately 35 miles ( 56 km ) south of Kuwait City . The Kuwait Naval Force numbers approximately 2 , 000 officers and enlisted personnel , including approximately 400 coast guard . The Kuwait Air Force ( al - Quwwat al - Jawwiya al - Kuwaitiya ) is the air arm of the State of Kuwait . The Air Force headquarters is located at Al Mubarak Air Base , with the remaining forces stationed at Air Defence Brigade , Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base . The Kuwait Air Force numbers approximately 2 , 500 officer and enlisted personnel . The Kuwaiti National Guard is an internal and border security force . The Kuwaiti Army has a military base on Bubiyan Island , which has been established in 1991 . History . Kuwait was a British protectorate from 1899 until 1961 and although a succession of Emirs of the Al Sabah ruled the country , foreign affairs and defence was a British prerogative . Kuwaiti forces consisted of the Emir ' s guard plus a small 600 - man police force or constabulary under British administration . By 1961 , a British military mission had converted the constabulary into a combined a brigade of 2 , 500 men which also established small air and naval forces in 1961 . With its small size and enormous oil wealth , Kuwait occupies a strategic position at the head of the Persian Gulf . Forty kilometers away is Iran , who had proclaimed its aim of exporting its Iranian Revolution ; while the other powerful neighbor , Iraq , had repeatedly challenged Kuwait ' s legitimacy and subsequently invaded Kuwait twice . Fearful of the radical leadership in Iran , Kuwait aided Iraq during the Iran - Iraq War by permitting the transshipment of goods across its territory and by loans of about six billion US dollars . Kuwait responded to terrorist bombings and other violence inspired by Iran by intensifying its military cooperation with the GCC and by building up its own military . Formally neutral and reluctant to become involved with the great powers except as a last resort , Kuwait turned to the United States , the Soviet Union and Britain for naval protection of its tanker fleet after twenty - one ships were attacked in the gulf since late 1986 . Before the Persian Gulf War , Kuwait maintained a small military force with equipment supplied by the United Kingdom and the United States . Aside from the few units that were able to escape to Saudi Arabia , including a majority of the air force , all of this equipment was either destroyed or taken by the Iraqis . Much of the property that was returned by Iraq after the Persian Gulf War was damaged beyond repair . Since the war , Kuwait , with the help of the United States and other allies , has made significant efforts to increase the size and modernity of their armed forces . These efforts are succeeding . The government also continues to improve defence arrangements with other Arab states , as well as UN Security Council members . Kuwait has entered into a ten - year defence cooperation agreement with the United States ( in September 1991 ) , the United Kingdom , and France . The agreement with the United States includes port access , military equipment storage , and joint training and exercises . The agreement did not officially provide for the stationing of United States service personnel in Kuwait as the 1 , 500 US personnel remaining after the Gulf War were scheduled to leave within a few months . Following Operation Desert Strike in 1996 , Kuwait agreed to a United States battalion task force to be permanently stationed in Kuwait . These US Army Intrinsic Action ( later called Operation Desert Spring on 1 October 1999 ) rotations and US Marine Corps EAGER MACE rotations conducted combined training with the Kuwaiti Land Forces and other coalition partners . In addition , US Special Operations Forces conducted Iris Gold rotations to train and assist other Kuwaiti military units US Forces . The United States stations at least 5000 troops in Kuwait as part of the Defence agreement . The largest part is the US Army Central Command ( ARCENT ) part of the United States Central Command or USCENTCOM . US Forces current active facilities are : US Forces current Inactive facilities are : The Kabal s are desert outposts ( tent cities ) with dining facilities , air - conditioned sleeping tents , recreation facilities and storage for weapons , tanks and their armoured vehicles . The kabals are named New York , New Jersey , Connecticut , Pennsylvania and Virginia . Equipment . The United States has provided military and defence technical assistance to Kuwait from both Foreign Military Sales ( FMS ) and commercial sources with all transactions made by direct cash sale . The US Office of Military Cooperation in Kuwait is attached to the American Embassy and manages the FMS program . US military sales to Kuwait total $ 5 . 5 billion over the last 10 years . Principal US military systems currently purchased by the Kuwait Defence Forces are Patriot missile system , F - 18 Hornet fighters , and the M1A2 Main Battle Tank .