WEBVTT

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“We have the greatest military in the world!”
is a refrain heard throughout many countries

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all over the world, from China to North Korea,
Israel to Japan.

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Some of these countries even organize parades
to showcase their military might in an attempt

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to convince themselves and others of their
great power.

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But who are really the top 10 most powerful
militaries and what makes them as strong as

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they are?

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We thought it would be fun to do a research-based
comparison of the strongest militaries in

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the world and to present you with just the
facts in this episode of The Infographics

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Show, Top 10 most powerful militaries in 2017.

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Number 10: Italy
Italy is a boot shaped country in Europe,

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located in the heart of the Mediterranean
Sea, with a population of 60 million people.

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Its annual defense budget is $34 billion,
which 1.8% of its GDP.

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They have a total of 320,000 active frontline
personnel and 42,000 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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The country’s Land Systems contain 586 tanks,
6,972 AFVs, 164 SPGs, 92 Towed-Artillery,

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and 21 MLRSs.

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Italy’s Air Force consists of 785 total
aircrafts, the most popular being the Eurofighter

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Typhoon.

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Its Navy has 2 Aircraft Carriers, 13 Frigates,
4 Destroyers, 5 Corvettes, 6 Submarines, and

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10 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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Despite its impressive naval capabilities,
Italy’s land-based military is somewhat

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lacking, which is a big part of why they fall
at the bottom of this list.

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Number 9: Germany
Germany is a country located in Central Western

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Europe, with a population of 81 million people.

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Its annual defense budget is $36 billion,
which is $2 billion more than Italy, but only

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1% of its GDP, one of the lowest on this list.

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They have a total of 180,000 active frontline
personnel and 145,000 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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Germany has 408 Tanks, 5,869 AFVs, 154 SPGs,
and 50 MLRSs in its military, along with 676

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aircrafts, the most popular also being the
Eurofighter Typhoon.

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Its Navy is quite small by comparison, with
no aircraft carriers and only 5 submarines.

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It does, however, have 10 Frigates, 5 Corvettes,
and 4 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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Unlike Italy, Germany seems to have focused
more on its land based military, but the imbalance

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of army and navy is what puts it close to
the bottom of this list.

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Number 8: Turkey
Turkey is a transcontinental country that

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falls between Anatolia in Western Asia and
the Balkan Peninsula in Southern Europe, with

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a population of 75 million people.

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Its annual defense budget is just over $18
billion, which is 2.4% of its GDP.

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They have a total of 410,500 active frontline
personnel and 185,630 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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The country lays claim to an impressively
large fleet of 3,778 tanks, as well as 1,007

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aircraft and attack helicopters, the most
popular being the U.S. made Lockheed Martin

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F-16 Fighting Falcon.

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They also have access to 7,550 AFVs, 1,013
Self-Propelled Guns, 697 Towed-Artillery,

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and 811 MLRSs.

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Their Navy consists of 16 Frigates, 8 Corvettes,
and 29 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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Although they lack an aircraft carrier, they
do boast a total of 13 submarines; only five

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other countries in the world beat them in
that department.

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Number 7: Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia, located

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in the Pacific Ocean, with a population of
126 million people.

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Its annual defense budget is $40.3 billion,
which is 0.9% of its GDP.

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In absolute terms, the Japanese military is
relatively small, with a total of 250,000

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active frontline personnel and 57,900 active
reserve personnel.

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Nonetheless, the country is extremely well
equipped.

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Its land based systems consist of 678 Tanks,
2,850 AFVs, 202 SPGs, 500 Towed-Artillery,

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and 99 MLRSs, as well as a whopping 1,590
aircrafts, the most popular of which is the

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Japanese made Mitsubishi F-15J.

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Their Naval forces are light in some areas,
which is odd considering they are a group

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of islands.

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They have 3 Aircraft Carriers, 43 Destroyers,
and 6 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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Although they have no Frigates or Corvettes,
they do have the fourth largest submarine

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fleet in this list, with a total of 17 submarines.

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Number 6: The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is an island nation in

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Northwestern Europe with a population of 65
million people (243,610 square km).

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It has an annual defense budget of $55 billion,
which is 2% of its GDP and the third highest

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defense budget on this list.

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They have a total of 150,000 active frontline
personnel and 182,000 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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The UK has 407 Tanks, 5,948 AFVs, 89 SPGs,
138 Towed-Artillery, and 42 MLRSs.

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It’s air force has a combined total of 879
aircrafts, with the Eurofighter Typhoon being

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their most popular.

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Their Navy consists of 1 Aircraft Carrier,
13 Frigates, 6 Destroyers, 10 Submarines,

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and 18 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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.They are also the first on this list to have
nuclear weapons, with a total of 215 warheads.

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For some time now, the UK’s armed forces
has relied on its connection to the EU.

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It remains to be seen whether its recent Brexit
from Europe will grow or weaken its military.

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Number 5: France
France is a Western European country located

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betwixt the English Channel and the Mediterranean
Sea, with a population of 65 million people.

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Its annual defense budget is $35 billion,
which is 1.4% of its GDP.

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They have a total of 205,000 active frontline
personnel and 195,770 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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France’s military has a total of 423 Tanks,
6,863 AFVs, 325 SPGs, 233 Towed-Artillery,

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and 44 MLRSs.

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Their Air force contains 1,282 total aircrafts,
with the French-made Dassault Rafale B/C being

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their most popular.

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Their Navy has 11 Frigates, 11 Destroyers,
10 Submarines, and 20 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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They also have 4 aircraft carriers, which
is the second largest number of aircraft carriers

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in the world.

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France beats the UK in total number of nuclear
warheads, with 300 Nuclear weapons to their

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name.

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Number 4: India
Located in South Asia, India is the 2nd most

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populated country in the world with a population
of 1.34 billion people.

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It has a defense budget of $40 billion, which
is 1.8% of its GDP.

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They have a total of 1,325,000 active frontline
personnel and 2,143,000 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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Their military is comprised of 6,464 tanks,
6,704 AFVs, 290 SPGs, 7,414 Towed-Artillery,

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and 292 MLRSs.

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Their air force contains 2,086 aircrafts with
the Russian made Sukhoi Su-30MKI being their

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most popular.

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Their navy is also quite large, with 2 aircraft
carriers, 14 Frigates, 10 Destroyers, 26 Corvettes,

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14 Submarines, and 135 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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On top of all this, India has a nuclear stockpile
of between 90 and 110 warheads.

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Although this number is smaller than all
the other nuclear countries on this list,

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it’s still nothing to sneeze at.

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Number 3: China
Located in East Asia, China is the most populated

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country in the world with a population of
1.38 billion people.

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It has a defense budget of $147 billion, which
is 2.1% of its GDP.

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They have a total of 2,335,000 active frontline
personnel and 2,300,000 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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They have the world's second largest tank
fleet with 9,150 tanks, as well as 4,788 AFVs,

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1,710 SPGs, 6,246 Towed-Artillery, and 177
MLRSs.

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Their air force contains 2,942 aircrafts with
the Chinese made Chengdu J-7 being their most

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popular.

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They also have the second largest submarine
fleet with 68 submarines, as well as 1 aircraft

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carrier, 48 Frigates, 32 Destroyers, 26 Corvettes,
and 138 Coastal Defense Crafts.

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They have a sizable nuclear arsenal with a
total of 260 nuclear warheads, rivaling the

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UK’s stockpile.

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Number 2: Russia
A huge country in Eurasia, Russia has a total

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population of 143 million people.

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It has a defense budget of $47 billion, which
is 3.9% of its GDP.

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They have a total of 766,000 active frontline
personnel and 2.5 million active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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Their land base forces consist of 31,300 AFVs,
5,972 SPGs, 4,625 Towed-Artillery, and 3,793

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MLRSs.

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Russia is known for having the world's largest
tank fleet with a staggering 15,400 tanks,

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as well as the second largest aircraft fleet
with 3,547 aircrafts, the most popular being

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the USSR made Sukhoi Su-27.

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They have the third biggest submarine fleet
with 60 subs, along with 1 aircraft carrier,

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4 frigates, 15 destroyers, 81 corvettes, and
14 coastal defense craft.

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Finally, Russia’s Nuclear program is phenomenally
large with 7,000 warheads, the most of any

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country.

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Number 1: The United States of America
The U.S.A, located in North America between

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Canada and Mexico, has a total population
of 321 million people.

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It is often referred to as the most powerful
country in the world, and its military certainly

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reflects that.

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America has a monumental $664 billion defense
budget, which is 2.4% of its GDP, and about

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14 times what Russia spends.

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They have a total of 1,400,000 active frontline
personnel and 1,100,000 active reserve personnel

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in their armed forces.

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The US has a massive fleet of 8,848 tanks,
41,000 AFVs, 1,934 SPGs, 1,300 Towed-Artillery,

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and 1,331 MLRSs.

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In terms of its air force, the U.S. has a
total of 13,444 aircrafts, with its most popular

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being the American made F-16 Fighting Falcon.

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But it is their naval force which is by far
the most impressive of any country on this

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list: It consists of 19 aircraft carriers,
which is 18 more than Russia, the 2nd most

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powerful military on Earth.

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It also has 6 Frigates, 62 Destroyers, 13
Coastal Defense Craft, and 75 Submarines,

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making their submarine fleet the largest in
the world.

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As for Nuclear weapons, they are miles ahead
of most (though not too far behind Russia)

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with 6,800 nuclear warheads.

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Though it seems obvious that the US has the
strongest military in the world, many would

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argue that there are other things to consider
other than the raw numbers.

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Who do you think has the strongest military
on Earth?

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Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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If you want a more detailed comparison of
the Russian and US armies, or the Chinese

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and US armies, please check out our other
military comparison videos.

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Also, if you like our videos and want to help
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