1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
3.
Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
4.
Boise, Idaho
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Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U. S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, the population of Boise at the 2010 Census was 205,671 and its estimated population in 2013 was 214,237. The Boise-Nampa metropolitan area, also known as the Treasure Valley, includes five counties with a population of 664,422. It contains the three largest cities, Boise, Nampa, and Meridian. Boise is the third most populous area in the United States Pacific Northwest region, behind Seattle. Accounts differ about the origin of the name, Bonneville of the U. S. Army as its source. After trekking for weeks through dry and rough terrain, his party reached an overlook with a view of the Boise River Valley. The place where they stood is called Bonneville Point, located on the Oregon Trail east of the city, according to the story, a French-speaking guide, overwhelmed by the sight of the verdant river, yelled Les bois. Les bois. —and the name stuck, the name may instead derive from earlier mountain men, who named the river that flows through it. In the 1820s, French Canadian fur trappers set trap lines in the vicinity, set in a high-desert area, the tree-lined valley of the Boise River became a distinct landmark, an oasis dominated by cottonwood trees. They called this La rivière boisée, which means the wooded river, the area was called Boise long before the establishment of Fort Boise by the federal government. The original Fort Boise was 40 miles west, near Parma and this private sector defense was erected by the Hudsons Bay Company in the 1830s. It was abandoned in the 1850s, but massacres along the Oregon Trail prompted the U. S. Army to re-establish a fort in the area in 1863 during the U. S. Civil War. The new location was selected because it was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail with a road connecting the Boise Basin. During the mid-1860s, Idaho City was the largest city in the Northwest, the original territory was larger than Texas. Mullett, the U. S. Assay Office at 210 Main Street was built in 1871, natives and longtime residents use the pronunciation /ˈbɔɪsiː/, as given on the citys website. The pronunciation is used as a shibboleth, as outsiders tend to pronounce the citys name as /ˈbɔɪziː/. Boise is located in southwestern Idaho, about 41 miles east of the Oregon border, the downtown areas elevation is 2,704 feet above sea level
5.
Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops and it was replaced by EUFOR Althea in December 2004. SFOR was established in Security Council Resolution 1088 on December 12,1996 and it succeeded the much larger Implementation Force IFOR which was deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 20 December 1995 with a one-year mandate. During NATOs 2004 Istanbul Summit the end of the SFOR mission was announced and it was replaced by the European Unions EUFOR Althea, on 2 December 2004 at NATO HQ, Camp Butmir, Sarajevo, B-H. SFOR was divided into three zones of operation, Mostar MNB - Italian, Franco-German, Spanish Banja Luka MND - British, Canadian, the British code name for their activities in IFOR was Operation Resolute and SFOR was Operation Lodestar. Tuzla MND - American, Turkish, Polish, Russian, Norwegian, the three AOs were known collectively as Multi-National Divisions until the end of 2002 where they were reduced in scope to Multi-National Brigades. SFOR operated under peace enforcement, not peacekeeping, rules of engagement, for example, it was cleared, in 1997, to neutralize Serb radio-television facilities. During its mandate, SFOR arrested 29 individuals who were charged with war crimes and those arrested were transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Netherlands. US service members serving in SFOR were awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, SFOR operated as part of Operation Joint Guard and Operation Joint Forge. As time progressed, the numbers of troops allotted to SFOR declined, on December 2,2004, SFOR disbanded and its functions were assumed by military units from the European Union. SFOR operated under the code names Operation Joint Guard and Operation Joint Forge, NATO nations providing troops included, Non-NATO nations providing troops included, Phillips, R. Cody. Bosnia-Herzegovina, The U. S. Armys Role in Peace Enforcement Operations 1995-2004, united States Army Center of Military History. Measuring the success of the NATO operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995–2000, official website US Air Force News article on Operation Joint Forge
6.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
7.
William H. Abendroth
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William H. Abendroth was a United States Army Major General who served as Director of the Army National Guard and Commander of the District of Columbia National Guard. The younger Abendroth was born in Fort Meade, South Dakota and he enlisted in the Idaho National Guard in 1913, and served as a member of Company H, 2nd Idaho Infantry Regiment on the Mexican border during the Pancho Villa Expedition. Abendroth served with the Army in France during World War I, first in an Infantry company and he achieved the rank of First Sergeant by the end of the war, and was discharged in 1919. In 1927, Abendroth rejoined the Idaho National Guard and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry and he quickly advanced through command and staff positions of increasing rank and responsibility, including serving as military aide to the Governor of Idaho with the rank of Captain. He commanded the 116th Cavalry Regiment as a Colonel in the immediately preceding the Second World War. In 1938, Abendroth was tried on embezzlement charges, accused of taking money while working as a Purchasing Agent for the state and he was charged with three counts, one each for $50, $250 and $50. He received a verdict of acquittal from the judge after the primary witness against Abendroth impeached himself under direct examination by the prosecutor. Abendroth was called to duty for World War II. Upon returning to the United States Abendroth became a student at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, in April,1946 he was appointed Adjutant General of the Idaho Military Department and federal Director of Selective Service for Idaho, receiving promotion to Brigadier General. He served until December, when a change in the led to his resignation. As a Colonel, Abendroth was then called to duty, serving in the National Guard. In 1949, Abendroth was appointed Commander of the District of Columbia National Guard and he received promotion to Major General and served until retiring in 1967, when he was succeeded by Charles L. Southward. From 1951 to 1955, Abendroth also served as Chief of the Army Division at the National Guard Bureau, in retirement, Abendroth resided in Falls Church, Virginia. He died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D. C. on September 3,1970, Abendroth is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 5, Lot 21. Abendroth received the Army Distinguished Service Medal at his retirement and he was also a recipient of the Legion of Merit for his service in World War II. The Abendroth Trophy is awarded each year to the best Army or Air Force unit of the District of Columbia National Guard during Annual Training, William Henry Abendroth at Arlington Cemetery. net William H. Abendroth at Find A Grave
8.
Raymond F. Rees
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Major General Raymond F. Rees is Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Training, Readiness and Mobilization. He was appointed to position as a career member of the Senior Executive Service on February 10,2014. He is a retired United States Army Major General who served as the Adjutant General of Oregon and was Director of the Army National Guard and he was also assigned as the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor. In these roles he developed and coordinated all policies, plans and programs of the Oregon National Guard in concert with the Governor, Raymond Frederick Fred Rees was born on September 29,1944 in Helix, Oregon. He graduated from Helixs Griswold High School in 1962 and the United States Military Academy in 1966, Rees completed Airborne and Ranger training, and was assigned as a platoon leader with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in West Germany. After completing several assignments, including two as commander of troops in the 2nd ACR, Rees went to Panama for Jungle warfare training, after returning to the United States, Rees completed training as an Army Aviator. From March,1972 to August,1973 he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Cavalry Regiment, from August to November,1973 he was assigned to the United States Army Reserve Control Group. Upon leaving the active Army, Rees joined the Oregon Army National Guard and he also completed law school, practiced as an attorney for 18 months, and managed his familys farm. From November,1986 to May,1987 he was commander of the 116th Armored Cavalry Regiment and was promoted to colonel. In May,1987 Rees was appointed Adjutant General of Oregon, by then Governor Neil Goldschmidt and he served until June 1991 and was promoted to brigadier general in 1988 and major general in 1990. From July,1991 to August,1992 Rees served as Director of the Army National Guard, in September,1992 he was appointed vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, where he served until January,1994. From January to July,1994 Rees served as acting chief of the National Guard Bureau, in August,1994 Rees was again named Adjutant General of Oregon, by then Governor Barbara Roberts. During this appointment, his second, he served a five-year term, in March,1999 Rees was appointed as vice chief of the National Guard Bureau for the second time, and he served until August,2002. From August,2002 to April,2003 he was acting chief of the National Guard Bureau. From April to May 2003 he completed his assignment as the NGB vice chief, Rees served as chief of staff for the United States Northern Command from May 2003 to June,2005. In July,2005 Rees was appointed Adjutant General of Oregon for the third time, beginning in 2009, Rees commenced another four-year term as Adjutant General, serving under both Governors Ted Kulongoski and John Kitzhaber. Rees final tenure as Adjutant General was noteworthy for Oregons increased participation in the State Partnership Program, in 2008 Oregon established a partnership with Bangladesh. Oregon also established a partnership with Vietnam, during workshops and coordination meetings, Rees compared Vietnam War experiences with his counterparts in the Vietnam Peoples Army
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Military organization
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Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer military capability required by the national defense policy. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in an armed forces. Armed forces that are not a part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often mimic military organizations, the use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army. These in turn manage Armed Services that themselves command combat, combat support and combat support formations. Within each departmental agency will be found administrative branches responsible for further agency business specialization work, in most countries the armed forces are divided into three or four Armed services, army, navy, and air force. Many countries have a variation on the model of three or four basic Armed Services. Some nations also organize their marines, special forces or strategic missile forces as independent armed services, a nations coast guard may also be an independent military branch of its military, although in many nations the coast guard is a law enforcement or civil agency. A number of countries have no navy, for geographical reasons, most smaller countries have a single organization that encompasses all armed forces employed by the country in question. Third-world armies tend to consist primarily of infantry, while first-world armies tend to have larger units manning expensive equipment and it is worthwhile to make mention of the term joint. In western militaries, a joint force is defined as a unit or formation comprising representation of power from two or more branches of the military. It is common, at least in the European and North American militaries, to refer to the blocks of a military as commands, formations. In a military context, a command is a collection of units and it is not uncommon for a nations services to each consist of their own command, but this does not preclude the existence of commands which are not service-based. A formation is defined by the US Department of Defense as two or more aircraft, ships, or units proceeding together under a commander. The formations only differ in their ability to achieve different scales of application of force to achieve different strategic, operational and tactical goals and it is a composite military organization that includes a mixture of integrated and operationally attached sub-units, and is usually combat-capable. Example of formations include, divisions, brigades, battalions, wings, formation may also refer to tactical formation, the physical arrangement or disposition of troops and weapons. Examples of formation in such usage include, pakfront, panzerkeil, testudo formation, any unit subordinate to another unit is considered its sub-unit or minor unit. It is not uncommon for unit and formation to be used synonymously in the United States, in Commonwealth practice, formation is not used for smaller organizations like battalions which are instead called units, and their constituent platoons or companies are referred to as sub-units. In the Commonwealth, formations are divisions, brigades, etc, different armed forces, and even different branches of service of the armed forces, may use the same name to denote different types of organizations
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Idaho Army National Guard
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The Idaho Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Armys available combat forces, National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau. Idaho Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army, the same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Idaho Guard also bestows a number of awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Idaho. The Militia Act of 1903 organized the state militias into the present National Guard system. The book Against All Enemies by Harold Coyle centers around the Idaho National Guard, Idaho State Guard Idaho Army National Guard, accessed 16 June 2007 GlobalSecurity. org Idaho Army National Guard, accessed 20 Nov 2006
United States