1.
Joint Chiefs of Staff
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After the 1986 reorganization of the military undertaken by the Goldwater-Nichols Act, the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not have operational command of U. S. military forces. Today, their responsibility is to ensure the personnel readiness, policy. The Joint Chiefs of Staff also act in an advisory capacity for the President of the United States. However, the Coast Guard is always a service and may operate under the Department of the Navy during wartime. The commandant of the Coast Guard is however, occasionally invited by the chairman to attend meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As the military of the United States grew in size following the American Civil War, the Army and Navy were unsupportive of each other at either the planning or operational level and were constrained by disagreements during the Spanish–American War in the Caribbean campaigns. The Joint Board acting as a committee was created to plan joint operations. Yet, the Joint Board accomplished little as its charter gave it no authority to enforce its decisions, the Joint Board also lacked the ability to originate its own opinions and was thus limited to commenting only on the problems submitted to it by the Secretaries of War and Navy. As a result, the Joint Board had little to no impact on the manner the United States conducted World War I, after World War I, in 1919 the two Secretaries agreed to reestablish and revitalize the Joint Board. The mission of the General staff was to develop plans for mobilization for the next war, the US was always designated Blue and potential enemies were assigned various other colors. This time, the Joint Boards membership would include the Chiefs of Staff, their deputies, under the Joint Board would be a staff called the Joint Planning Committee to serve the Board. Along with new membership, the Joint Board could initiate recommendations on its own initiative, however, the Joint Board still did not possess the legal authority to enforce its decisions. President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill established the Combined Chiefs of Staff during the 1942 Arcadia Conference, the CCS would serve as the supreme military body for strategic direction of the combined US-British Empire war effort. The UK portion of the CCS would be composed of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Joint Board had little influence during the war and was ultimately disbanded in 1947. Modeled on the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, the JCS first formal meeting was held on 9 February 1942, to coordinate U. S. military operations between War and Navy Departments. On 20 July 1942, Admiral Leahy became the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, with the chiefs of staff of the services serving under his leadership. The first members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were, As the table indicates, by the end of the war, however, each had been promoted, Leahy and King to Fleet Admiral, Marshall and Arnold to General of the Army. Arnold was later appointed to the grade of General of the Air Force, one of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs committees was the Joint Strategic Survey Committee
2.
United States Secretary of Defense
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The Secretary of Defense is the leader and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense, an Executive Department of the Government of the United States of America. The Secretary of Defenses power over the United States military is only to that of the President. This position corresponds to what is known as a Defense Minister in many other countries. The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, Secretary of Defense is a statutory office, and the general provision in 10 U. S. C. This is also extended to the United States Coast Guard during any period of time in which its command, only the Secretary of Defense can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three Military Departments and the nine Combatant Commands. The current Secretary of Defense is retired United States Marine Corps general James Mattis, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established in 1775, in concurrence with the American Revolution. Based on the experiences of World War II, proposals were made on how to more effectively manage the large combined military establishment. The Army generally favored centralization while the Navy had institutional preferences for decentralization, the resulting National Security Act of 1947 was largely a compromise between these divergent viewpoints. The Act merged the Department of War with the Department of the Navy to form the National Military Establishment, the Act also separated the Army Air Forces from the Department of the Army to become its own branch of service, the Department of the Air Force. At first, each of the service secretaries maintained quasi-cabinet status, the position of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the number two position in the department, was also created at this time. The last major revision of the framework concerning the position was done in the Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. In particular, it elevated the status of joint service for commissioned officers, making it in practice a requirement before appointments to general officer and flag officer grades could be made. Because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, as the head of DoD, all officials, employees and service members are under the Secretary of Defense. All of these positions, civil and military, require Senate confirmation. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the relationships within the Department. The latest version, signed by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in December 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987, the name of the principally military staff organization, organized under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the Joint Staff. In addition, there is the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, which is the ribbon and unit award issued to joint DoD activities. While the approval authority for DSSM, DMSM, JSCM, JSAM and JMUA is delegated to inferior DoD officials, Permanent Representative to NATO in recognition of U. S
3.
United States Secretary of the Navy
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The Secretary of the Navy is a statutory office and the head of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Navy consists of two Uniformed Services, the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. In effect, all authority within the Navy and Marine Corps, specifically enumerated responsibilities of the SECNAV in beforementioned section are, recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, mobilizing, and demobilizing. The Secretary also oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of ships, equipment. The Secretary of the Navy is a member of the Defense Acquisition Board, chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, the CNO and the Commandant act as the principal executive agents of the SECNAV within their respective services to implement the orders of the Secretary. The United States Navy Regulations is the principal regulatory document of the Department of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps have their own separate staffs, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Headquarters Marine Corps
4.
The Pentagon
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The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D. C. As a symbol of the U. S. military, The Pentagon is often used metonymically to refer to the U. S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon was designed by American architect George Bergstrom, and built by general contractor John McShain of Philadelphia. Ground was broken for construction on September 11,1941, General Brehon Somervell provided the major motive power behind the project, Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U. S. Army. The Pentagon is one of the worlds largest office buildings, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi of corridors. It was the first significant foreign attack on Washingtons governmental facilities since the city was burned by the British, when World War II broke out in Europe, the War Department rapidly expanded in anticipation that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation unacceptable, with the Munitions Building overcrowded, Stimson told U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941 that the War Department needed additional space. On July 17,1941, a hearing took place, organized by Virginia congressman Clifton Woodrum. Reybold agreed to back to the congressman within five days. The War Department called upon its construction chief, General Brehon Somervell, Government officials agreed that the War Department building, officially designated Federal Office Building No 1, should be constructed across the Potomac River, in Arlington County, Virginia. Requirements for the new building were that it be no more than four stories tall, the requirements meant that, instead of rising vertically, the building would be sprawling over a large area. Possible sites for the building included the Department of Agricultures Arlington Experimental Farm, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, the site originally chosen was Arlington Farms which had a roughly pentagonal shape, so the building was planned accordingly as an irregular pentagon. Concerned that the new building could obstruct the view of Washington, D. C. from Arlington Cemetery, the building retained its pentagonal layout because a major redesign at that stage would have been costly, and Roosevelt liked the design. Freed of the constraints of the asymmetric Arlington Farms site, it was modified into a pentagon which resembled the star forts of the gunpowder age. While the project went through the process in late July 1941, Somervell selected the contractors, including John McShain, Inc. and Doyle and Russell. In addition to the Hoover Airport site and other government-owned land, construction of the Pentagon required an additional 287 acres, which were acquired at a cost of $2.2 million. The Hells Bottom neighborhood, a slum with numerous pawnshops, factories, approximately 150 homes, Later 300 acres of land were transferred to Arlington National Cemetery and to Fort Myer, leaving 280 acres for the Pentagon. Contracts totaling $31,100,000 were finalized with McShain and the contractors on September 11
5.
Arlington County, Virginia
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Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is coterminous with the U. S. Census Bureau-census-designated place of Arlington, as a result, the county is often referred to in the region simply as Arlington or Arlington, Virginia. In 2015, the population was estimated at 229,164. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal district of Columbia. In 1846, Congress returned the land southwest of the Potomac River donated by Virginia due to issues involving Congressional representation, the General Assembly of Virginia changed the countys name to Arlington in 1920 to avoid confusion with the adjacent City of Alexandria. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington. Arlington is also bordered by Fairfax County and City of Falls Church to the northwest, west and southwest, as of the 2010 census, the population was 207,627. Due to the proximity to downtown Washington, D. C. It is also home to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the many federal agencies, government contractors, and service industries contribute to Arlingtons stable economy. It is the county in the United States by median family income. According to a 2016 study by Bankrate. com, Arlington is the best place to retire, the area that now constitutes Arlington County was originally part of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia. Land grants from the British monarch were awarded to prominent Englishmen in exchange for political favors, one of the grantees was Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who lends his name to both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, the estate was eventually passed down to Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of General Robert E. Lee. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery during the American Civil War, the area that now contains Arlington County was ceded to the new United States federal government by the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the passage of the Residence Act in 1790, Congress approved a new permanent capital to be located on the Potomac River, the Residence Act originally only allowed the President to select a location within Maryland as far east as what is now the Anacostia River. However, President Washington shifted the federal territorys borders to the southeast in order to include the city of Alexandria at the Districts southern tip. In 1791, Congress amended the Residence Act to approve the new site, however, this amendment to the Residence Act specifically prohibited the erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the River Potomac. As permitted by the U. S. Constitution, the shape of the federal district was a square, measuring 10 miles on each side
6.
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
7.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
8.
United States Senate
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The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. S. From 1789 until 1913, Senators were appointed by the legislatures of the states represented, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The Senate chamber is located in the wing of the Capitol, in Washington. It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House, in the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers. This idea of having one chamber represent people equally, while the other gives equal representation to states regardless of population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise, there was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal check on each other. One was intended to be a Peoples House directly elected by the people, the other was intended to represent the states to such extent as they retained their sovereignty except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. The Senate was thus not designed to serve the people of the United States equally, the Constitution provides that the approval of both chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation. First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate, the name is derived from the senatus, Latin for council of elders. James Madison made the comment about the Senate, In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people. An agrarian law would take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation, landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority, the senate, therefore, ought to be this body, and to answer these purposes, the people ought to have permanency and stability. The Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that states consent, the District of Columbia and all other territories are not entitled to representation in either House of the Congress. The District of Columbia elects two senators, but they are officials of the D. C. city government. The United States has had 50 states since 1959, thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959. In 1787, Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming and this means some citizens are effectively two orders of magnitude better represented in the Senate than those in other states. Seats in the House of Representatives are approximately proportionate to the population of each state, before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, Senators were elected by the individual state legislatures
9.
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
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The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps is the second highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps, and serves as a deputy for the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Before 1946, the title was known as Assistant to the Commandant, the Assistant Commandant is nominated for appointment by the President and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. In the event that the Commandant is absent or is unable to perform his duties, additionally, he may perform other duties that the CMC assigns to him. Historically, the Assistant Comandant has served for two to three years, in recent decades, the Assistant Commandant has frequently been a Marine aviator. James F. Amos is the first aviator to serve as Assistant Commandant, the 34th and current Assistant Commandant is Glenn M. Walters, who took office on 4 August 2016, when John M. Paxton Jr. retired. The first Marine to hold the billet as Assistant to the Commandant was Eli K. Cole, while Lemuel C, shepherd Jr. was the first to hold it as the Assistant Commandant. On 7 June 2016 Lieutenant General Glenn M. Walters was nominated to succeed Paxton as Assistant Commandant, he is serving as Deputy Commandant for Programs. No records exist before the outbreak of World War I about this position, possibly because the Commandant likely had only administrative staff, the first Assistant to the Commandant was Lieutenant Colonel Eli K. Cole, who assumed the position on April 29,1911. From April 29,1911 to October 16,1946,19 men were assigned to assist the commandant, including five that went on to become Commandant themselves, John A. Lejeune, Wendell C. Neville, Ben H. Fuller, John H. Russell Jr. in 1946, Congress established the position of Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and since then,31 men have held the position. The duties of the Assistant Commandant include such authority and duties as the Commandant and, with the approval of the Secretary of the Navy, orders issued by the Assistant Commandant in performing such duties have the same effect as those issued by the Commandant. The Assistant Commandants of the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps Book of Lists. Allan Reed Millett and Jack Shulimson, eds, cS1 maint, Uses editors parameter Specific
10.
United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
11.
Colonel (United States)
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It is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. The pay grade for colonel is O-6, the insignia of the rank of colonel, as seen on the right, is worn on the officers left side. The insignia for a colonel is an eagle which is a stylized representation of the eagle dominating the Great Seal of the United States. As on the Great Seal, the eagle has a U. S. shield superimposed on its chest and is holding an olive branch, however, in simplification of the Great Seal image, the insignia lacks the scroll in the eagles mouth and the rosette above its head. On the Great Seal, the branch is always clutched in the eagles right-side talons. The head of the eagle faces towards the branch, rather than the arrows. As a result, the head of the eagle faces towards the viewers left. During World War II the military insignia for the rank of Colonel changed somewhat with the eagle facing the arrows and this was done only during war years. These special war eagles, although rare, can sometimes be found in surplus or memorabilia sales. In the United States Army and United States Air Force, the eagle is worn with the head of the eagle to the wearers right. In the United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and NOAA, the United States rank of colonel is a direct successor to the same rank in the British Army. The first colonels in America were appointed from Colonial militias maintained as reserves to the British Army in the American colonies, upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, colonial legislatures would grant commissions to men to raise a regiment and serve as its colonels. Thus, the first American colonels were usually respected men with ties in local communities, such was the origin of the phrase soldier and statesman. With the post-war reduction of the US Army, the rank of colonel disappeared, the first insignia for the rank of colonel consisted of gold epaulettes worn on the blue uniform of the Continental Army. The first recorded use of the insignia was in 1805 as this insignia was made official in uniform regulations by 1810. The rank of colonel was relatively rare in the early 19th century, partly because the U. S. Army was very small, and the rank was usually obtained only after long years of service. During the War of 1812 the Army grew rapidly and many colonels were appointed, a number of other colonels were appointed by brevet - an honorary promotion usually for distinguished service in combat. The American Civil War saw an influx of colonels as the rank was commonly held in both the Confederate army and Union Army by those who commanded a regiment
12.
United States Marine Band
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The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11,1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands, today, the Marine Band also includes the Marine Chamber Orchestra and Marine Chamber Ensembles. The Marine Band is entirely separate from its military band, the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. The Marine Band has been known as The Presidents Own since 1801 because of its historic connection to the President of the United States. The relationship between the Marine Band and the White House began on New Years Day 1801, when President John Adams invited the band to perform at the Executive Mansion. Later that year, Thomas Jefferson initiated the tradition of Marine Band performances by requesting that it perform at his inauguration, the Marine Band has played at every United States presidential inauguration since. President Thomas Jefferson gave the title The Presidents Own in 1801, today, the Marine Band performs in approximately 500 events every year including state funerals, state arrival ceremonies, state dinners, parades, concerts, and other social events. The Marine Band also travels across the country each October and November during its concert tour. The Marine Band recruits experienced musicians, members are selected through a rigorous procedure and must satisfy additional security. Selected band members serve under a contract as active duty enlisted Marines and are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They are the members of the United States Armed Forces not required to undergo recruit training. Also, they are not assigned to any other than the Marine Band. The band members start at the rank of Staff Sergeant, as of 2010, the USMC spends about $10 million annually to support the band. The full band has a complement of about 130 members, a 42-piece Marine Band is used for all Pentagon and formal military arrivals and patriotic openers for large events. Patriotic openers are 15 minutes of music, including the presentation and retirement of the colors, the The Star-Spangled Banner. Patriotic openers are performed throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area at a variety of events for organizations, federal agencies. Events that the Marine Band participates in include, United States presidential inaugurations, the Marine Band has participated in every presidential inauguration since Thomas Jeffersons in 1801. The Marine Band is positioned at the United States Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony, the band also performs for celebrations following the official ceremony and parade
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
This article incorporates 
