Purpose: Military burns occur due to combat and non-combat causes representing a burden of injuries in combat, humanitarian aid and disaster relief deployments. The proportion and pattern of burn injuries relate to the nature of the conflict or mission. This study explores the burden of burn injuries in hostile and non-hostile military deployments from the Vietnam War until current deployments, through a literature review, to better inform future deployments. Methodology: A literature review was conducted from 1955 to 2023 (current), using MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar searches of the following terms: burn, injury, military, deployment. Discussion: Burns are responsible for up to 20% of deployment injuries despite reductions in large-scale international conflict. Burn injury incidence varied between warfare type: 5% in light infantry conflicts, 11% in armoured manoeuvre warfare and 21% in maritime operations. Overall, the miliary burn mortality is 3-8% yet 28% of combat deaths have burn injuries. Burn injuries present a medical and logistics burden with a TBSA >50% burns mortality rate of ~94% due to a lack of military ICU resources and dermal substitutes. Non-hostile burn injuries accounted for 30–50% of burn injuries in the Vietnam war and Global War on Terrorism (Iraq and Afghanistan). Non-hostile burns were primarily accidental relating to routine deployment activities such as waste burning, presenting opportunity for risk reduction. Conclusion: Healthcare teams deploying to combat and humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations should be cognisant of the significant burden of burn injuries. Medical training, logistical considerations and opportunities for burn risk reduction should be considered accordingly.