Question

y engaging in proxy wars, were the United States and the Soviet Union able to avoid involving their own military forces? Why or why not?

No, both countries deployed large parts of their military forces to fight under the flag of another country.
Yes, the U.S. military never directly engaged in these proxy wars.
No, both countries still fought in proxy wars but not directly against each other.
Yes, by definition, a proxy war means that there was no direct involvement of either nation.

Answer 1

Best answer: No, both countries still fought in proxy wars but not directly against each other.

Explanation: To avoid a direct superpower war (and the risk of nuclear escalation) the U.S. and USSR usually backed opposing sides with money, weapons, training, advisers, intelligence and covert action rather than sending massive forces to fight one another directly. That said, each did sometimes commit its own troops in particular conflicts (U.S. forces in Korea and Vietnam; Soviet forces in Afghanistan), but those were not large-scale, declared wars directly fought between the two superpowers.