1.
Lancaster House
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Lancaster House is a mansion in the St Jamess district in the West End of London. It is close to St. Jamess Palace and much of the site was part of the palace complex. This Grade I listed building is now managed by the Foreign, construction of the house commenced in 1825 for the Duke of York and Albany, the second son of King George III, and it was initially known as York House. The house was only a shell by the time of the death of the Duke in 1827 and it is constructed from Bath stone, in a neo-classical style, being the last great London mansion to use this essentially Georgian style. The house was purchased by and completed for the 2nd Marquess of Stafford and was known as Stafford House for almost a century and it was assessed for rating purposes as the most valuable private house in London. The completed building was three floors in height, the State rooms being on the first floor or piano nobile, family living rooms on the ground floor, there is also a basement containing service rooms, including the government wine cellar. The interior was designed by Benjamin Dean Wyatt, Sir Charles Barry, chopin gave a recital there in 1848 in the presence of Queen Victoria. Almost as influential as the visitors was the décor, which was to set the fashion for London reception rooms for nearly a century. The mainly Louis XIV Style interiors created a backdrop for the Sutherlands’ impressive collection of paintings and objets d’art. Queen Victoria is said to have remarked to the Duchess of Sutherland on arriving at Stafford House, with its ornate decoration and the dramatic sweep of the great staircase, the Grand Hall is a magnificent introduction to one of the finest town houses in London. More than a later, its grandeur remains and the house is as popular as ever with those who visit it. In 1912 it was purchased by the Lancastrian soap-maker Sir William Lever, 1st Baronet who renamed it in honour of his county of Lancashire. Since 1922 the building has housed the Government Wine Cellar, from 1924 until shortly after World War II, the house was the home of the London Museum, but it is now used for government receptions and is closed to the public except on rare open days. The European Advisory Commission met at the house in 1944, in January 1947 a special envoy meeting on affairs concerning occupied Austria was hosted here. The year 1956 saw the signing of the agreement of independence for Malaya, in 1961, South Africa affirmed its intention to become a republic, inside the Commonwealth. In 1979 it was the scene of the Lancaster House Agreement, the house was the venue for the 10th G7 summit in 1984 and the 17th G7 summit in 1991. A new 35-foot-long table was built for the Long Gallery, where the main negotiating sessions were planned in 1991, the house was used for location shooting in the mystery adventure film National Treasure, Book of Secrets. Sequences supposedly occurring in Buckingham Palace were filmed in the house, in the historical drama film The Young Victoria, the house was used for filming of scenes that purportedly took place within the ballroom, a passage and the reception room of Buckingham Palace
2.
Michael Mullen
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Michael Glenn Mike Mullen, AO, MSC is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1,2007, to September 30,2011. Mullen previously served as the Navys 28th Chief of Naval Operations from July 22,2005, as Chairman, Mullen was the highest-ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces. He retired from the Navy after over 43 years of service, Mullen is now a Professor at Princeton University. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Church Elementary School in North Hollywood, johnson, former Secretary of the Navy and Senator from Virginia Jim Webb, former NSC staff member, political commentator, and author Oliver North, former Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, and NASA administrator Charles Bolden, as a junior officer, he served in various leadership positions aboard USS Collett, USS Blandy, USS Fox and USS Sterett. Mullen’s last command at sea was as Commander, U. S. Second Fleet/Commander, Mullen served as Company Officer and Executive Assistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen at the U. S. Naval Academy. On the Chief of Naval Operations staff, Mullen served as Deputy Director and Director of Surface Warfare and as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements and he was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to October 2004. He was recognized by his peers in 1987 with the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership skill and he is one of 53 naval officers to be recognized by this award since its inception in 1980. As Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Mullen had operational responsibility for NATO missions in the Balkans, Iraq, and the Mediterranean. As Commander, U. S. Naval Forces Europe, he was responsible for providing command, operational control. He assumed these duties on October 8,2004, and was relieved of them upon his becoming Chief of Naval Operations, on October 29,2006, the Honolulu Advertiser published an op-ed by Mullen that defined the concept of the 1, 000-ship navy. On August 3,2007, the U. S. Senate confirmed Mullen as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mullen was sworn in on October 1,2007. On March 18,2009, Gates recommended to President Barack Obama that Mullen be re-nominated for a term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on September 25,2009, on February 2,2010, Mullen and Gates said that they fully supported President Obama’s decision to end the Dont ask, dont tell law, which prevented openly gay people from serving in the military. “It is my belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. He noted that, there does not appear to be much political progress in Iraq and he also said, If arent making progress in realm, the prospects for movement in a positive direction are not very good. Failure to achieve progress toward reconciliation requires a strategic reassessment. Mullen further told the Senate that the United States needs to bring as much pressure on as possibly can, President Obama, Secretary of Defense Panetta and Admiral Mullen provided the certification required by the Act to Congress on July 22,2011
3.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
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The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is, by U. S. The post of a statutory and permanent Joint Chiefs of Staff chair was created by the 1949 amendments to the National Security Act of 1947, the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act elevated the Chairman from the first among equals to becoming the principal military advisor to the President and Secretary of Defense. The National Military Command Center is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate, the Goldwater-Nichols Act places the chain of command from the President to the Secretary of Defense directly to the commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands. However the services chiefs do have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources, the Chairman may also transmit communications to the combatant commanders from the President and Secretary of Defense as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary. He also performs all other functions prescribed under 10 U. S. C. §153 or allocates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in the joint staff under his name. The principal deputy to the Chairman is the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, another 4-star general or admiral, who among many duties chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is assisted by the Joint Staff, led by the Director of the Joint Staff, the National Military Command Center is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, served as the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief from July 20,1942 to March 21,1949. He presided over meetings of what was called the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chairman is nominated by the President for appointment and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. The Chairman and Vice Chairman may not be members of the armed force service branch. However, the President may waive that restriction for a period of time in order to provide for the orderly transition of officers appointed to serve in those positions. However, in a time of war or national emergency, there is no limit to how many times an officer can be reappointed to serve as Chairman, historically, the Chairman has served two terms. By statute, the Chairman is appointed as a general or admiral while holding office. All pay for officers, however, is limited by Level II of the Executive Schedule which is $15,125.10.1, Functions of the Department of Defense. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 Functions of the Department of Defense, office of the Secretary Defense, Director of Administration and Management, Directorate for Organizational & Management Planning. Official Joint Chiefs of Staff site
4.
Chief of the Defence Staff (France)
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C. E. M. A is currently held by Général Chef dÉtat-Major des Armées. The Chef dÉtat-Major des Armées assists the Ministre de la Défense in his capacity attributions to make use of the required forces. CEMA is the military counselar of the government, C. E. M. A has authority over the, Chief of Staff of the French Army Chief of Staff of the French Air Force Chief of Staff of the French Navy C. E. M. The preparation and condition assignments of recruiting in the armed forces Support of the armed forces The renseignement of military interest, CEMA ensures the general research direction and exploitation of the renseignement militaire and has authority on the direction du renseignement militaire International military relations C. E. M. Oversees in effect of coherence in means of the forces and participates to the preparation and various executions of associated military. The Chef dÉtat-Major des Armées is assisted by a Major General of the Armed Forces, the term would be made official in 1915 when Joffre was also given command over the Salonika front. Subsequently, Foch became Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front with the title Généralissime in 1918 then was designated as « Commandant en Chef des Armées Alliées » starting May 14,1918. Foch was promoted to Marshal of France prior the planning of the offensive led to the Armistice of 11 November 1918. Following the armistice, Marshal Ferdinand Foch was elevated to the diginity of the Marshal of Great Britain, jean de Lattre de Tassigny Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U. S. Décret N° 2009-869
5.
David Richards, Baron Richards of Herstmonceux
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He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup in this role on 29 October 2010. Richards has also served with NATO as a general. Richards became Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces of the British Army in 2008 and held this role until 2009 when he was appointed Chief of the General Staff and he was appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff the following year. He was succeeded by General Sir Nicholas Houghton on 18 July 2013, in 2014, Richards was created a Life Peer taking the title Baron Richards of Herstmonceux. He sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher, in December 2015, it was announced that he joined the global advisory board of asset management firm CQS. He has also worked as an advisor to the government of the United Arab Emirates, born the son of John Downie Richards and Pamela Mary Richards, Richards attended Eastbourne College and was commissioned into the Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant in 1971. He then attended University College, Cardiff, graduating in 1974 with a degree in international relations. He served with the Royal Artillery in the Far East, Germany and he was promoted lieutenant in 1974, and captain in 1977. He attended the Staff College, Camberley in 1984, promoted to major that year, he returned to 11th Armoured Brigade to command a field battery in 47th Field Regiment. He then served as the Chief of Staff of the Berlin Brigade for two years, before being promoted lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1989 and he served as an instructor at the Staff College for three years, and was then given command of the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. In 1994 he joined the Ministry of Defence as Colonel Army Plans, in December 1995, after completing the Higher Command and Staff course, he was promoted brigadier and then became Commander of the 4th Armoured Brigade in Germany. He became Chief of Joint Force Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in 1998, in April 2001 he became Chief of Staff of NATOs Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, with the rank of major general. He became the British Assistant Chief of the General Staff in 2002, and on 19 January 2005 became the Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, which carried promotion to lieutenant general. In July 2006, command of the forces in southern Afghanistan was passed to NATO forces under his command. On returning from Afghanistan, he reverted to his previous rank of lieutenant general, on 17 October 2008, The Independent revealed his appointment as the next Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the Army. The Ministry of Defence later confirmed that he would take up the post in August 2009, in early August 2009, just before taking up his post, Richards was widely criticised when he claimed that British troops may have a role in Afghanistan for up to 40 years. General Sir Richard Dannatt handed over his appointment as Chief of the General Staff at midday on 28 August 2009 to Richards, allegations surfaced in September 2009 of a Labour Party plot to smear the general because his daughter worked for the Conservative Party. In February 2010, Richards said that a turning point had reached in the battle against the Taliban
6.
Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
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The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister. The Chief of the Defence Staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Under Secretary, the Chief of the Defence Staff is the British equivalent position of what in NATO and the European Union is known as the Chief of Defence. Constitutionally, the Sovereign is the de jure Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the current Chief of the Defence Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, who succeeded General Sir Nicholas Houghton on 14 July 2016. Chiefs of the Defence Staff are appointed on the recommendation of the Secretary of State for Defence to the Prime Minister before being approved by HM The Queen. The CDS is supported by a deputy, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, there are also several Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff posts who support the VCDS. The CDS focusses on military operations and strategy while the Permanent Under Secretarys remit concerns administrative, the post was created in 1959 to reflect the new concept of joint operations that had come to the fore in the Second World War. The first incumbent was Marshal of the RAF Sir William Dickson, prior to the creation of the post, he had served as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, from 1956 onwards. Before 1956, although no permanent post of chairman existed, the three service chiefs took it in turn to act as chairman at meetings, from the posts inception until the mid-to-late 1970s, CDS appointments were granted on a strict rotational basis between the three services. The first break in order was precipitated by the unexpected death of Marshal of the RAF Sir Andrew Humphrey. During the 1980s, two Royal Navy officers held the post covering a period of six years. However, during the 2010s Guthrie, Boyce, Walker and Stirrup were honorarily promoted to their respective services senior ranks, although there is no policy against a Royal Marines officer being appointed, few officers in the Corps attain a high enough rank to be considered for the post. However, in 2016, Gordon Messenger was promoted to the four star rank of general, customarily, former Chiefs of Defence Staff receive a life peerage on retirement, sitting in the House of Lords as non-political crossbench peers. Sir Jock Stirrup was introduced to the House of Lords on 1 February 2010 as Baron Stirrup of Marylebone in the City of Westminster
7.
Officer (armed forces)
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An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In this sense, officers are not enlisted, but hold appointments from their government that typically remain in force indefinitely unless resigned, the proportion of officers varies greatly. Officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel, in 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13. 7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, historically, however, armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers, in the early twentieth century, the Spanish army had the highest proportion of officers of any European army, at 12. 5%. Within a nations armed forces, armies tend to have a proportion of officers. For example,13. 9% of British army personnel and 22. 2% of the RAF personnel were officers in 2013, having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not have obtained an official commission or warrant. Commissioned officers are typically the only persons, in an armed forces environment, a superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior. Non-commissioned officers in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se, many advanced militaries require university degrees as a prerequisite for commissioning, even from the enlisted ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, a university degree is a requirement for an officer to advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the IDF often sponsors the studies for its majors, while aircrew and naval officers obtain academic degrees as a part of their training programmes. In the United Kingdom, there are three routes of entry for British Armed Forces officers, the first, and primary route are those who receive their commission directly into the officer grades following completion at their relevant military academy. The third route is similar to the second, in that they convert from an enlisted to a commission, but these are taken from the highest ranks of SNCOs. LE officers, whilst holding the same Queens Commission, generally work in different roles from the DE officers, in the infantry, a number of Warrant Officer Class 1s are commissioned as LE officers. For Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officer candidates, a 30-week period at Britannia Royal Naval College or a 30-week period at RAF College Cranwell, Royal Marines officers receive their training in the Command Wing of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines during a grueling 15-month course. The courses consist of not only tactical and combat training, but also leadership, management, etiquette, until the Cardwell Reforms of 1871, commissions in the British Army were purchased by officers. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, AOCS also also included the embedded Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate and Naval Aviation Cadet programs. NAVCADs were personnel who held associates degrees, but lacked bachelors degrees, nAVCADs would complete the entire AOCS program, but would not be commissioned until completion of flight training and receiving their wings. After their initial tour, they would be assigned to a college or university full-time for no more than two years in order to complete their bachelors degree
8.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
9.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
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