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
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Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
3.
Air National Guard
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When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the state governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States and they are jointly administered by the states and the National Guard Bureau, a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force that oversees the National Guard of the United States. The ANG of the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands have no aircraft assigned, ANG units typically operate under Title 32 USC. However, when operating under Title 10 USC all ANG units are operationally-gained by an active duty USAF major command. ANG units of the Combat Air Forces based in the Continental United States, conversely, CONUS-based ANG units in the Mobility Air Forces, plus the Puerto Rico ANGs airlift wing and the Virgin Islands ANGs civil engineering squadron are gained by the Air Mobility Command. The vast majority of ANG units fall under either ACC or AMC, established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U. S. S. When not in a status, the Air National Guard operates under their respective state. The exception to rule is the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Because both state Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States relatively go hand-in-hand, Air National Guard of the United States units or members may be called up for federal active duty in times of Congressionally sanctioned war or national emergency. The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service, even traditional part-time air guardsmen, especially pilots, navigators/combat systems officers, air battle managers and enlisted aircrew, often serve 100 or more man-days annually. As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only one weekend a month, the Georgia Air National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard previously flew the B-1B Lancer prior to converting to the E-8 Joint STARS and KC-135R Stratotanker, respectively. In addition, the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard transitioned from flying the F-15C/D Eagle at St and these proposals were eventually overruled and cancelled by the U. S. Congress. As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command and they are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force, the state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a major command of the USAF if federalized. Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the moral and physical standards as their full-time active duty Air Force. The same ranks and insignia of the U. S. Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, the Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service members home state or equivalent. The creation of the regiments was caused by the perceived need to defend the Bay Colony against American Indians. This organization formed the basis of subsequent colonial and, post-independence, state and this distinction accounts for why there are no National Guard components in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps or U. S. Coast Guard
4.
Virginia Air National Guard
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The Virginia Air National Guard is the air force militia of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America. It is, along with the Virginia Army National Guard, an element of the Virginia National Guard, as commonwealth militia units, the units in the Virginia Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Virginia though the office of the Virginia Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Virginia Air National Guard is headquartered in Richmond, and its commander is Brigadier General Zane R. Johnson, under the Total Force concept, Virginia Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Virginia ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. Commonwealth missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The 149th Fighter Squadron is the first Air National Guard squadron to fly the F-22 Raptor, in May 1946, the United States Department of Defense reactivated the 328th Fighter Squadron and redesignated it the 149th Fighter Squadron. The 328th had been organized at Mitchell Field, New York, on 10 October 1942, the newly designated 149th FS was assigned to the Virginia Air National Guard, which earned official recognition from the National Guard Bureau in June 1947. The unit was called to federal service on 1 March 1951. This activation temporarily resulted in the dissolution of the Virginia Air National Guard, as members were sent to places, including for many. The Virginia ANG was reorganized in November 1953 as a B-26 bomber outfit, in 1957, the unit was redesignated the 149th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and was scheduled to get F-86E Saber jets. However, later that year, the became the 149th Tactical Fighter Squadron. At the height of the Cold War in 1961, the squadron was federalized as a result of tensions concerning the Berlin Wall, the squadron remained at Richmond in an active-duty status for about a year before being released. Twenty-two Virginia ANG members were sent to Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France, in December 1961 to support the 7180th Tactical Fighter Wing and they spent eight months in Europe. In October 1962, the Virginia ANG unit was redesignated as the 192nd Tactical Fighter Group, other squadrons assigned into the group were the 192nd Headquarters, 192nd Material Squadron, 192nd Combat Support Squadron, and the 192nd USAF Dispensary. During 1971, the Virginia ANG was assigned the F-105D Thunderchief, the groups special tasking during the next 10 years included several deployments to Red Flag live-fire exercises in Nevada and a deployment to RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, in 1976. In 1981, the unit transitioned to the A-7D Corsair II, the 10-year A-7 era included several deployments, to Ecuador, Norway, and to Panama, in support of the defense of the Panama Canal. A Virginia contingent competed in Gunsmoke 85, the USAFs tactical fighter competition, the 192nd also earned the General Spruance Safety Award and was recognized as having had the best Operational Readiness Inspection in the Ninth Air Force during 1985
5.
192nd Fighter Wing
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The 192nd Fighter Wing, also referred to as the 192D Fighter Wing, is a unit of the Virginia Air National Guard and the United States Air Force, stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. If activated to service the 192 FW is gained by Air Combat Command. 192D Fighter Wing is the military nomenclature of the unit and it is commonly referred to as the 192nd Fighter Wing. It is often interchanged within military writing and speech, either way, - Reserves numbers 101 through 299 for Air National Guard units giving position for the unit numbering. The 192 FW is an Air National Guard unit co-located with the active duty 1st Fighter Wing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, the 149th TFS becoming the groups flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 192nd Headquarters, 192nd Material Squadron, 192nd Combat Support Squadron, during 1971, the 192nd was assigned the F-105D Thunderchief, a battle-hardened supersonic fighter-bomber that was the backbone of America’s fighter element during the Vietnam War. The group’s special tasks during the decade included several deployments to Red Flag live-fire exercises at Nellis AFB, Nevada. In 1981, the converted to the A-7D Corsair II. The decade long A-7 era included several deployments to Howard AFB, Panama to aid the defense of the Panama Canal, shortly after a deployment to Ecuador, the 192nd deployed in September 1985 to Evenes Air Station, Norway,150 miles above the Arctic Circle. A few weeks later, a Virginia ANG contingent competed in Gunsmoke 85, the Air Forces tactical fighter competition, the 192nd also earned the General Spruance Safety Award and was recognized as having the best operational readiness inspection in the Ninth Air Force during 1985. In 1987, the 192nd earned its first USAF Outstanding Unit Award, in 1991, the 192nd became the first Air National Guard unit to receive the Air Forces upgraded Fighting Falcon—the F-16C/D. The unit was initially assigned 24 single-seat F-16C models and two F-16D models, by early 1994, defense cutbacks reduced the units assigned inventory to 18 F-16s, and eventually to 15. Conversion to the F-16 airframe required the 192nd to build a $2 million hush house, between 1 December 1993, and 15 January 1994, ANG pilots patrolled the no-fly zone over northern Iraq to prevent Iraqi forces from inflicting damage on the villages of Kurdish minorities. This marked the first time Air National Guard units were called to duty in the Middle East. The unit returned to Incirlik in February 1996 for another round of patrols over Iraq, during October 1995, the wing designation was changed to 192nd Fighter Wing. At the direction of the commander of Air Combat Command, in January, the Air Force aimed to reduce the number of F-16 maintenance workers, consolidate their training, reduce duplication of resources, and lower maintenance costs per flying hour. The 192 FW was also selected to test the capability of electro-optical recce pods, for 45 days, the 192 FW flew recce missions over Bosnia to support international peacekeeping efforts. In December 1996, the wing was awarded its second Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, in December 2000,29 members of the 192nd deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Southern Watch
6.
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
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The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force. The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. The Raptors combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and situational awareness gives the aircraft unprecedented air combat capabilities, a final procurement tally of 187 operational production aircraft was established in 2009, and the last F-22 was delivered to the USAF in 2012. In 1981 the U. S. Air Force developed a requirement for an Advanced Tactical Fighter as a new air superiority fighter to replace the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Code named Senior Sky, this program was influenced by the emerging threats, including development and proliferation of Soviet Su-27 Flanker-. Each design team produced two prototype air vehicles, one for each of the two engine options, the Lockheed-led team employed thrust vectoring nozzles on YF-22 for enhanced maneuverability in dogfights. The ATFs increasing weight and cost drove out certain requirements during development, side-looking radars were deleted, and the dedicated infra-red search and track system was downgraded from multi-color to single color and then deleted as well. However, space and cooling provisions were retained to allow for future addition of these components, the ejection seat requirement was downgraded from a fresh design to the existing McDonnell Douglas ACES II. After the flight test demonstration and validation of the prototypes, on 23 April 1991, the YF-23 design was considered stealthier and faster, while the YF-22 was more maneuverable. The aviation press speculated that the YF-22 was also adaptable to the U. S. Navys Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter, but by 1992. F-22 production was split up over many subcontractors across 46 states to increase Congressional support, though this production split may have contributed to increased costs, many capabilities were deferred to post-service upgrades, reducing the initial cost but increasing total program cost. Production supported over 1,000 subcontractors and suppliers and up to 95,000 jobs, the F-22 had several design changes from the YF-22. The swept-back angle of the edge was decreased from 48° to 42°, while the vertical stabilizers were shifted rearward. To improve pilot visibility, the canopy was moved forward 7 inches, the shapes of the wing and stabilator trailing edges were refined to improve aerodynamics, strength, and stealth characteristics. Increasing weight during development caused slight reductions in range and aerodynamic performance, the first F-22, an engineering and manufacturing development aircraft named Raptor 4001, was unveiled at Marietta, Georgia, on 9 April 1997, and first flew on 7 September 1997. In 2006, the Raptors development team, composed of over 1,000 contractors, the F-22 was in production for 15 years, at a rate of roughly two per month during peak production. The USAF originally envisioned ordering 750 ATFs at a cost of $26.2 billion, the 1990 Major Aircraft Review led by Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney reduced this to 648 aircraft beginning in 1996. By 1997, funding instability had further cut the total to 339, in 2004, the Department of Defense further reduced this to 183 operational aircraft, despite the USAFs preference for 381
7.
113th Operations Group
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The 113th Operations Group is a flying group of the United States Air Force. Its predecessor, the 352d Fighter Group, was one of the most highly decorated United States Army Air Forces Fighter Groups in World War II, the 352d was composed of three squadrons. Once deployed to the European Theater of Operations, the group was headquartered in RAF Bodney. It performed a variety of missions for the Eighth Air Force, the 121st Fighter Squadron of the 113th Operations Group, is a descendant organization of the 121st Observation Squadron, established on 10 July 1940. The 113ths primary mission is training of air combat and operational airlift crews for national defense, the 113th also provides a ready response force of fighters for the defense of the District of Columbia area. Members of the 113th also assist local and federal law enforcement agencies in combating trafficking in the District of Columbia on a case by case basis. The groups 121st Fighter Squadron is a descendant organization of the 121st Observation Squadron, the group was equipped with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. The initial squadrons to be assigned were the 21st and 34th Fighter Squadrons, on 18 May 1943 the assignment of the 21st and 34th Squadrons was retroactively revoked and they were replaced by the 486th and 487th Fighter Squadrons effective 1 October 1942. Shortly thereafter, the 328th was moved back to Mitchel Field in and was joined by the 487th in March, the 486th moved to Republic Field on 8 March. Training was in its advanced phase when the group was reassembled at Westover in late May in anticipation of deployment orders. Skirmishes with the Luftwaffe were frequent, but it wasnt until 26 November when Major John C. Meyer of the 487th Squadron scored the groups first victory over Europe, Meyer later became deputy commander of the 352d during its most successful period of operations. On 8 April 1944, the 352d exchanged its radial-engined P-47s for sleek North American P-51 Mustang fighter planes and it was then that the Group adopted their unique blue nose marking and the nickname the Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney. In the end, the Group flew nearly 60,000 combat hours in 19 months, claimed 519 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air,287 on the ground, notable pilots of the 352d include top scoring P-51 aces Major George Preddy and Col. John C. John Thornell, Capt. William T. Whisner, Captain Donald S. Bryan, Capt. Raymond Littge Lt. Robert Punchy Powell, John Smokey Stover and Capt. William C. Miller. One of the 352ds greatest accomplishments was its victory over the Luftwaffe on 1 January 1945. In December 1944, the 352d received orders to deploy to Asch Airfield, after arriving on 22 December, it began operating on the 24th. Poor weather hampered operations and the Battle of Bulge was raging nearby. Unknown to the Allies, the Luftwaffe was preparing a New Years Day attack, however, many of the Luftwaffe pilots were poorly trained and did not have the experience necessary to battle seasoned Allied pilots
8.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
9.
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
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The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States between 1941–1945. Its primary armament was eight. 50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a load of 2,500 pounds. When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was used by two U. S. Navy fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat, the P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces fighters of World War II, and served with Allied air forces including France, Britain, and Russia. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U. S. were equipped with the P-47, the armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable, offering good visibility. A modern-day U. S. ground-attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, both had fled from their homeland to escape the Bolsheviks. In 1939, Republic Aviation designed the AP-4 demonstrator powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine with a belly-mounted turbocharger. While the resulting Republic P-43 Lancer was in limited production, Republic had been working on an improved P-44 Rocket with a powerful engine. The latter was an aircraft powered by the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V-12 engine. The United States Army Air Corps backed the project and gave it the designation XP-47, as the war in Europe escalated in spring 1940, Republic and the USAAC concluded that the XP-44 and the XP-47 were inferior to the Luftwaffe fighters. Republic unsuccessfully attempted to improve the design, proposing the XP-47A, kartveli then designed a much larger fighter, which was offered to the USAAC in June 1940. The Air Corps ordered a prototype in September, to be designated the XP-47B, the XP-47A, which had little in common with the new design, was abandoned. The XP-47B was of construction with elliptical wings, with a straight leading edge that was slightly swept back. The air-conditioned cockpit was roomy and the seat was comfortable—like a lounge chair. Main and auxiliary self-sealing fuel tanks were placed under the cockpit, the cowling admitted cooling air for the engine, left and right oil coolers, and the turbosupercharger intercooler system. At full power, the pipes glowed red at their forward ends, the complicated turbosupercharger system with its ductwork gave the XP-47B a deep fuselage, and the wings had to be mounted in a relatively high position. This was problematic since long-legged main landing gear struts were needed to provide clearance for the enormous propeller
United States
Virginia
Air National Guard
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
