Florida

In 2002, there were 55,815 active-duty military personnel in Florida. Military and civilian personnel were stationed at facilities in Pensacola, Orlando, Jacksonville, and at Eglin AFB. In October 1979, the Key West Naval Air Station was made the headquarters of a new Caribbean Joint Task Force, established to coordinate US military activities in the Caribbean. The state had 25,147 active-duty Air Force personnel in 2002 the largest Air Force bases were Eglin, in Valparaiso; MacDill, near Tampa; and Tyndall, west of Tallahassee. The US Air Force Missile Test Center at Cape Canaveral (called Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973) has been the launching site for most US space flights, including all manned flights. US Department of Defense procurement contracts in Florida in 2001 totaled $6.7 billion.

There were 1,875,597 veterans of US military service in Florida as of 2000, of whom 461,291 served in World War II; 242,777 in the Korean conflict; 444,997 during the Vietnam era; and 201,065 during 1990–2000 (including the Persian Gulf War). US Veterans Administration spending in Florida in 2002 totaled $3.4 billion.

In 2000, the Florida Highway Patrol employed 1,658 full-time sworn officers.