The US Department of Defense had 59,696 personnel in Kentucky in 2002, including 34,081 active-duty military and 8,348 civilians. US Army installations in the state include Ft. Knox (site of the US gold depository) near Louisville, and Ft. Campbell (partly in Tennessee). Kentucky received $1.2 billion in prime federal defense contracts in 2001.
There were 380,618 veterans of US military service in Kentucky as of 2000, of whom 68,404 served in World War II; 47,069 in the Korean conflict; 114,213 during the Vietnam era; and 45,366 during 1990–2000 (including the Persian Gulf War). Kentucky veterans received more than $785 million in benefits during 2002.
In 2000, the Kentucky State Police employed 937 full-time sworn officers.