North Carolina holds the headquarters of the 3rd Army at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville and a major training facility for the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville. The Marine Corps air stations at Cherry Point and New River and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro are the state's other important military installations. North Carolina firms received nearly $1.48 billion in defense contract awards in 2002. In 2002, there were 94,296 active duty military personnel and 16,444 civilian personnel stationed in North Carolina, most of whom were at Ft. Bragg.
There were 792,646 veterans living in North Carolina according to the 2000 Census. Of these, 129,478 saw service in World War II; 89,290 in the Korean conflict; 226,806 during the Vietnam era; and 118,357 during 1990–2000 (including the Persian Gulf War). Veterans' benefits totaled more than $1.6 billion in 2002.
In 2000, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol employed 1,416 full-time sworn officers.