1.
United States Armed Forces
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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
2.
Air Medal
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The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States military. The medal was created in 1942 and is awarded for achievement while participating in aerial flight. The Air Medal was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Air Medal was awarded retroactive to 8 September 1939. The original award criteria set by an Army Policy Letter was for one award of the Air Medal. per each naval vessel or three aircraft in flight confirmed destroyed. Per twenty-five operational flights during which exposure to fire is probable. Per one-hundred operational flights during which exposure to fire is not expected. These criteria were altered by the commanding generals of each numbered Air Force to fit the conditions of their theater of operations. The Distinguished Flying Cross would usually be awarded for roughly twice to five times the requirements of the Air Medal, on 5 August 1943 score card awards for completing a set number of operational flights were officially abolished by a Headquarters Army Air Forces Awards Board memorandum. This was due to the embarrassment when airmen who had received the Air Medal for score carding five missions or more being later removed from flying duties for lack of moral fibre. Commanders could still issue the awards on those grounds, but the recipient must perform exceptional or meritorious service as well, during World War II the medals award criteria varied widely depending on the theater of operations, the aircraft flown, and the missions accomplished. In Europe the airspace was considered completely controlled by the enemy, elsewhere in the Pacific and CBI the pilots and crews flew mostly over uncontrolled or contested airspace for long hours and lighter air defenses were encountered, so much higher criteria were used. The Air Medal may be awarded to either single acts of merit or gallantry in combat or for meritorious service in a combat zone. These individuals must make a contribution to the operational land combat mission or to the mission of the aircraft in flight. Examples would be transport performing supporting Dustoff Medevac or resupply operations, Awards will not be made to individuals who use air transportation solely for the purpose of moving from point to point in a combat zone. The Army may award the Air Medal for peacetime service, the Air Force does not award the Air Medal for peace-time sustained operational activities and flights. Non-combat meritorious service is instead awarded the Aerial Achievement Medal, instituted in 1988, the Air Force uses the aircraft sortie designation as a tool, but uses Oak Leaf Clusters rather than Strike / Flight Numerals to indicate additional awards. A members individual flight management records will list the sorties that are eligible for the award and these sorties are designated Combat, Combat Support, or Operational. Only the first sortie of the day counts, armed aircraft crews require ten sorties for each award, while all others require twenty sorties
3.
Aerial Achievement Medal
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The Aerial Achievement Medal is a decoration of the United States Air Force which was established in 1988. The decoration is intended to recognize the contributions of members who would, otherwise. The achievements must be accomplished with distinction above and beyond that expected of professional airmen. Operators of Unmanned aerial vehicles may receive the award, one was given in 1997 for successfully flying a disabled UAV back to its base. According to a report based on Air Force statistics, from January 2009 to mid-20103497 medals were granted to operators, the Aerial Achievement Medal may be approved by local commanders, however the missions for which the decoration is authorized must be approved by a Major Air Force Command. Minimum requirements for an Aerial Achievement Medal are 20 flights of at least 2 hours with one flight per theater per day, for the basic Aerial Achievement medal,14 flights may be used. However, if this is the case then 26 flights must be used for the first Oak Leaf Cluster, enlisted personnel receive three promotion points per award
4.
Lifesaving Medal
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The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U. S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were first established by Act of Congress,20 June 1874 and these decorations are two of the oldest medals in the United States and were originally established at the Department of Treasury as Lifesaving Medals First and Second Class. The Department of the Treasury initially gave the award, but today the United States Coast Guard awards it through the Department of Homeland Security and they are not classified as military decorations, and may be awarded to any person. A British Sea Gallantry Medal for saving life was authorized in 1854, twenty years later in the United States the Gold and Silver Lifesaving Medals were first authorized in an Act that furthered the United States Life-Saving Service. The Lifesaving Medals have had three designs in their history, the original design in 1874 was non-portable and could not be worn by the recipient, but rather displayed much like a trophy. In 1882 the design was changed so that the medal was suspended from a two inch wide ribbon, the ribbon was red for the Gold Lifesaving Medal and light blue for the Silver Lifesaving medal. Finally on 4 August 1949 the medals and ribbons were reduced in size so that they were proportionate to medals awarded by the U. S. The ribbons were also redesigned to have multiple colors, the laws governing the awarding of medal were amended over the years, and is currently awarded by the Coast Guard. The Commandant of the Coast Guard makes the determination in authorizing the award. The Gold Lifesaving Medal or the Silver Lifesaving Medal may be awarded to any person who rescues or endeavors to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck, the Lifesaving Medal is issued in two grades, being silver and gold. The Gold Lifesaving Medal may be awarded to an individual who performed a rescue or attempted rescue at the risk of his or her own life, and demonstrates extreme and heroic daring. If neither the Gold nor Silver Lifesaving Medal is appropriate, then a Certificate of Valor or an appropriate Coast Guard Public Service Award may be considered. Until the mid-20th century, the Lifesaving Medal was often bestowed upon members of the military and this is due primarily to the creation of a variety of additional military decorations that are often considered more prestigious than the Lifesaving Medal. The United States Navy often issues the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, instead of the Lifesaving Medal, in all other circumstances, a military award should be considered. The Lifesaving Medal is authorized for wear on U. S. military uniforms, the Lifesaving Medal is unusual among U. S. medals because it is actually struck from precious metal, silver or gold. Multiple awards of the Lifesaving Medal are denoted by award stars on the decoration’s ribbon, since 1874, more than 600 Gold Lifesaving Medals and more than 1,900 Silver Lifesaving Medals have been awarded. Vice Admiral Harry G. Hamlet, U. S. Coast Guard – While in command of USS Marietta in the Bay of Biscay on 28 April 1919, USCG Rasmus Midgett Captain Henry C. Awarded gold medals posthumously on 5 March 1996, Benjamin Dailey, keeper of the Cape Hatteras Lifeboat Station, led the rescue of the crew of the Ephraim Williams
5.
Achievement Medal
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The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. Each military service issues its own version of the Achievement Medal, the Achievement Medal is awarded for outstanding achievement or meritorious service not of a nature that would otherwise warrant awarding the Commendation Medal. Award authority rests with local commanders, granting a broad discretion of when, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps version of the Achievement Medal. This title was shortened in 1967 to simply, the Navy Achievement Medal, the award is referred to in shorthand speech as a NAM. Awards for crewmembers had to be submitted to the Commodore or Air Wing Commander or the first appropriate O-6 in the chain of command for approval, since 2002 the commanding officers of aviation squadrons and ships have had the authority to award NAMs without submission to higher authority. For the Army, battalion commanders is the authority for the Army Achievement Medal. Effective 11 September 2001, the Army Achievement Medal may be awarded in a combat area, since this change over sixty thousand Army Achievement Medals have been awarded in theaters of operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The Joint Service Achievement Medal was created in 1983 and this award was considered a Department of Defense decoration senior to the service department Achievement Medals
6.
Bronze Star Medal
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Civilians serving with U. S. military forces in combat are also eligible for the award. For example, UPI reporter Joe Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star with V Device during the Vietnam War for rescuing a wounded soldier under fire in the Battle of la Drang. The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419,4 February 1944, the acts of heroism are of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star. The acts of merit or acts of valor must be less than required for the Legion of Merit but must nevertheless have been meritorious. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded only to members in combat zones who are receiving imminent danger pay. For this purpose, the US Armys Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge award is considered as a citation in orders, effective 11 September 2001, the Meritorious Service Medal may also be bestowed in lieu of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in a designated combat theater. The Bronze Star Medal was designed by Rudolf Freund of the jewelry firm Bailey, the medal is a bronze star 1 1⁄2 inches in circumscribing diameter. In the center is a 3⁄16 inch diameter superimposed bronze star, the reverse bears the inscription HEROIC OR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT with a space for the name of the recipient to be engraved. The star hangs from its ribbon by a metal loop with rounded corners. The Bronze Star Medal with the V device to denote heroism is the fourth highest military decoration for valor, 5/16 Inch Star – In the Navy and Marine Corps and Coast Guard, the 5/16 inch star is worn to denote additional awards. V Device – In the Army, the V is worn solely to denote participation in acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy, in the Air Force, the V is worn to denote heroism in combat. Red Reeder conceived the idea of the Bronze Star Medal in 1943, Reeder felt another medal was needed as a ground equivalent of the Air Medal, and suggested calling the proposed new award the Ground Medal. The idea eventually rose through the bureaucracy and gained supporters. Marshall, in a memorandum to President Franklin D, the Air Medal had been adopted two years earlier to raise airmens morale. President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal by Executive Order 9419 dated 4 February 1944 and this authorization was announced in War Department Bulletin No. President John F. Kennedy amended Executive Order 9419 per Executive Order 11046 dated 24 August 1962 to expand the authorization to include serving with friendly forces. This allowed for awards where US service members become involved in a conflict where the United States was not a belligerent. At the time of the Executive Order, for example, the US was not a belligerent in Vietnam, since the award criteria state that the Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to any person
7.
"V" device
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The decorations with which a V may be authorized differ between the military services, as well as the manner in which the V is worn and the name by which it is referred to. The Department of Defense, Army, and Air Force refer to the V as the V Device, the Coast Guard refers to it as the Valor Device, while the Navy and Marine Corps refer to it as the Combat Distinguishing Device or Combat V. Until 2 February 2017, the also used different criteria in determining whether a V could be authorized. Soldiers and airmen who were awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism in combat, were now authorized to wear a bronze V on the suspension, only one V was allowed to be worn on a ribbon. Most World War II veterans who were entitled to the V probably did not know about or apply for the device, since large scale separations from the services were taking place after the war ended. Stocks of the device also were not available for issue for at least a year since the Army circular, to be worn on a decoration, the V device must have been specifically authorized in the written award citation issued with the medal. In 1996, the V device garnered public attention after the suicide of Admiral Jeremy Boorda, there has not been a living repeat Medal of Honor recipient since the World War I era, so the V device was never actually worn in this fashion. Until 2017, the criteria and conditions under which the V device could be awarded differed between the services, for the Army, the V was worn solely to denote participation in acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy. Prior to 1 January 2014, the device was authorized on Outstanding Unit Awards. The V device is authorized for the Air Medal by all the services where heroism in aerial combat was involved on an individual mission. Two new C and R devices will also be used on relevant awards. On 2 February 2017, a new silver plated and gold plated V device was introduced, sometime after 2 February 2017, the individual services will change their regulations such that the silver and gold V device will be used to denote second and third awards with the V. A fourth, fifth, and sixth awarding with the V is to be issued with a bronze, silver, currently, the following decorations of the United States Armed Forces are eligible to be awarded with a V device. For the Army and the Air Force, the V is positioned to the right of any bronze or silver oak leaf clusters from the wearers perspective, the following examples depict decorations that were awarded with the V Device before 2 February 2017. After 2 February 2017, bronze, silver, and gold V devices will be used to indicate first, second, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard continue to award and issue the bronze version. The Marine Corps allows anodized medals and gold anodized Combat Vs to be worn on the blues uniform. Fourth, fifth, and sixth awards with the V would be denoted by a bronze V with wreath, silver V with wreath, the following examples depict decorations that were awarded with the device in at least one instance. After 2 February 2017, bronze, silver, and gold V devices will be used to indicate first, second, and third awards of the device
8.
United States Department of Defense
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The Department is the largest employer in the world, with nearly 1.3 million active duty servicemen and women as of 2016. Adding to its employees are over 801,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists from the four services and it is headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D. C. The Department of Defense is headed by the Secretary of Defense, Military operations are managed by nine regional or functional Unified Combatant Commands. The Department of Defense also operates several joint services schools, including the National Defense University, the history of the defense of the United States started with the Continental Congress in 1775. The creation of the United States Army was enacted on 14 June 1775 and this coincides with the American holiday Flag Day. The Second Continental Congress would charter the United States Navy, on 13 October 1775, today, both the Navy and the Marine Corps are separate military services subordinate to the Department of the Navy. The Preamble of the United States Constitution gave the authority to federal government, to defend its citizens and this first Congress had a huge agenda, that of creating legislation to build a government for the ages. Legislation to create a military defense force stagnated, two separate times, President George Washington went to Congress to remind them of their duty to establish a military. In a special message to Congress on 19 December 1945, the President cited both wasteful military spending and inter-departmental conflicts, deliberations in Congress went on for months focusing heavily on the role of the military in society and the threat of granting too much military power to the executive. The act placed the National Military Establishment under the control of a single Secretary of Defense, the National Military Establishment formally began operations on 18 September, the day after the Senate confirmed James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense on 10 August 1949, under the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958, channels of authority within the department were streamlined, while still maintaining the authority of the Military Departments. Also provided in this legislation was a centralized authority, the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Act moved decision-making authority from the Military Departments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and it also strengthened the command channel of the military over U. S. forces from the President to the Secretary of Defense. Written and promoted by the Eisenhower administration, it was signed into law 6 August 1958, because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, the statutory authority of the Secretary of Defense is derived from their constitutional authorities. 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 Office of the Secretary of Defense is the Secretary and Deputy Secretarys civilian staff. S. Government departments and agencies, foreign governments, and international organizations, OSD also performs oversight and management of the Defense Agencies and Department of Defense Field Activities. OSD also supervises the following Defense Agencies, Several defense agencies are members of the United States Intelligence Community and these are national-level intelligence services that operate under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense but simultaneously fall under the authorities of the Director of National Intelligence
9.
Service ribbon
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Service ribbons or ribbon bars are small ribbons mounted on small metal bars equipped with attaching devices, and are generally issued for wear in place of medals. Each countrys government has its own rules on what ribbons can be worn in what circumstances and this is usually defined in an official document and is called the order of precedence or the order of wearing. In some countries, some awards are only, having no associated medal. According to the Defense Logistics Agency, the U. S. militarys standard size for a bar is 35mm wide, 3/8 inches tall. The service ribbon for a medal is usually identical to the suspension ribbon on the medal. For example, the suspension and service ribbon for the U. S. governments Purple Heart medal is purple with a vertical stripe at each end. However, there are some military awards that do not have a suspension ribbon, the Soviet Order of Victory is a badge that was worn on the military parade uniform. However, a ribbon bar representing the Order of Victory was worn on a field uniform. There is a variety of constructions of service ribbons, in some countries, service ribbons are mounted on a pin backing, which can be pushed through the fabric of a uniform and secured, with fasteners, on the inside edge. These ribbons can be secured and then lined up, or they can be all mounted on to a single fastener. After the Second World War, it was common for all ribbons to be mounted on a metal bar. Other methods of wearing have included physically sewing each service ribbon onto the uniform garments, orders of wearing define which ribbons may be worn on which types of uniform in which positions under which circumstances. For example, miniature medals on dinner dress, full medals on parade dress, ribbons on dress shirts, some countries maintain a standard practice of wearing full service ribbons on combat utility clothing. These regulations are similar to the regulations regarding display of rank insignia. In times of war, it is not uncommon for commanders and other high value individuals to wear no markings on their uniforms, service medals and ribbons are generally worn in rows on the left side of the chest. In certain commemorative and/ or memorial circumstances, a relative may wear the medals or ribbons of a relative on the right side of the chest. Medals and ribbons not specifically mentioned in the Order of wear are also worn on the right side of the chest. Sequencing of the ribbons depends on each countrys regulations, the study, history and collection of ribbons, among other military decorations, is known as phaleristics
10.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
11.
United States Coast Guard
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The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the countrys seven uniformed services. This has happened twice, in 1917, during World War I, created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Marine, it is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, by the 1860s, the service was known as the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse, the modern Coast Guard was formed by a merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U. S. Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915, under the U. S. Department of the Treasury. As one of the five armed services, the Coast Guard has been involved in every U. S. war from 1790 to the Iraq War. As of 2014 the Coast Guard had over 36,000 men and women on duty,7,350 reservists,29,620 auxiliarists. In terms of size, the U. S. Coast Guard by itself is the worlds 12th largest naval force. Because of its authority, the Coast Guard can conduct military operations under the U. S. Department of Defense or directly for the President in accordance with Title 14 USC 1–3. The Coast Guards enduring roles are maritime safety, security, to carry out those roles, it has 11 statutory missions as defined in 6 U. S. C. §468, which include enforcing U. S. law in the worlds largest exclusive economic zone of 3.4 million square miles, the Coast Guards motto is the Latin phrase, Semper Paratus. In a 2005 article in Time magazine following Hurricane Katrina, the author wrote, the Coast Guards most valuable contribution to may be as a model of flexibility, and most of all, spirit. Wil Milam, a swimmer from Alaska told the magazine, In the Navy. Practicing for war, training for war, in the Coast Guard, it was, take care of our people and the mission will take care of itself. The Coast Guard carries out three basic roles, which are subdivided into eleven statutory missions. Both agencies maintain rescue coordination centers to coordinate this effort, and have responsibility for military and civilian search and rescue. The two services jointly provide instructor staff for the National Search and Rescue School that trains SAR mission planners and coordinators, previously located on Governors Island, New York, the school is now located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia. The NRC also takes Maritime Suspicious Activity and Security Breach Reports, details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. The Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement database system is managed and used by the Coast Guard for tracking pollution, the five uniformed services that make up the U. S
12.
Oak leaf cluster
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The bronze oak leaf cluster represents one additional award, while the silver oak leaf cluster is worn in lieu of five bronze oak leaf clusters. Oak leaf clusters are worn with the stems of the leaves pointing to the wearer’s right, for medals, 13⁄32 inch oak leaf clusters are worn on the medals suspension ribbon. If four oak leaf clusters are worn on the suspension ribbon, for service ribbons, 5⁄16 inch oak leaf clusters are worn, with no more than four oak leaf clusters being worn side by side. If the number of authorized oak leaf clusters exceeds four, a ribbon is authorized for wear and is worn after the first ribbon. The second ribbon counts as one additional award, after which more leaf clusters may be added to the second ribbon, a gold 5/16 inch star is equivalent to a bronze oak leaf cluster, while a silver 5/16 inch star is equivalent to a silver oak leaf cluster. In other nations, oak leaf clusters are used as symbols for various awards. In Germany, the German oak is the tree of Germany. During World War II, the Knights Cross of the German Iron Cross could be awarded with the distinction of oak leaves. Of the 7,313 awards of the Knights Cross, only 882 received oak leaves, after World War II, Iron Crosses awarded previously could be worn by the recipient provided the swastika was replaced by oak leaves. The Bundeswehr awards the Cross of Honour for Bravery for extraordinary bravery, the Cross of Honour for Bravery differs from the Badge of Honour by an adornment in the shape of stylized double oak leaves. Furthermore, it was featured on the Pfennig in Germany and since the introduction of the euro in 2001 it is used on the side of the German euro coinage. In earlier times, the Pour le Mérite, the highest military order in the Kingdom of Prussia, a civil version of the order, for accomplishments in the arts and sciences, still exists in the Federal Republic of Germany. In Commonwealth countries, an oak leaf signifies a Mention in Despatches. The Commonwealth equivalent of a United States oak leaf cluster is a bar worn with a campaign medal. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices 5/16 inch star Service star Campaign star Battle star
13.
5/16 inch star
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A gold star indicates one additional award, while a silver star is worn in lieu of five gold stars. A 5⁄16 inch silver star is not to be confused with representing a Silver Star medal, 5⁄16 inch stars are worn on a medal suspension and service ribbon with one point of the star pointing up. Up to five stars can be worn on a ribbon, there are no higher degrees of 5⁄16 inch stars authorized after five silver 5⁄16 inch stars. On miniature medals, a special 1⁄8 inch star is worn on the suspension ribbon in lieu of a 5⁄16 inch star. If the number of authorized 5⁄16 inch stars exceeds five, a service ribbon is worn after the first service ribbon. The second service ribbon counts as one additional award, after which more stars may be added to the second ribbon. The US Army and US Air Force uses an oak leaf cluster to indicate a subsequent decoration, a bronze oak leaf cluster is equivalent to a gold 5⁄16 inch star and a silver oak leaf cluster is equivalent to a silver 5⁄16 inch star. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices Oak leaf cluster Service star Campaign star Battle star Army Awards, archived from the original on June 4,2004
14.
Operational Distinguishing Device
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The O device is either centered on the suspension and service ribbon of the medal or unit award ribbon, or to the middle-right if there are an even number of letter devices on the ribbon. Any authorized gold 5⁄16 Inch Stars alternate around the O device, the first star is placed to the wearer’s right of the O device and the second star is placed to wearers left of the O device. Only one O device may be worn per ribbon, eligibility criteria are based on a members or units direct participation in missions of an operational hands on nature. To qualify for this device on a decoration, both the work and unit must be operational in nature. Such examples include search and rescue, fire fighting, maritime law enforcement, disaster relief, pollution response, the decision to authorize an Operational Distinguishing Device is made by the award approving authority, giving a wide discretion as to what actions may qualify
15.
Prisoner of War Medal
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The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is 10 U. S. C, the Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded to any person who was a prisoner of war after April 5,1917. The persons conduct, while in captivity, must have been honorable and this medal may be awarded posthumously to the surviving next of kin of the recipient. No more than one Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded, for any subsequent award of the medal, service stars will be awarded and worn on the suspension and service ribbon of the medal. The medal was designed by Jay C. Morris of the United States Army Institute of Heraldry, the idea of creating a military award to recognize prisoners of war was first put forth in 1944. However, the military services opposed the idea, claiming that other medals could be awarded in such cases, Congressman F. Edward Herbert submitted a bill to create a POW lapel button in 1971, but the bill was defeated. The first Senate bill to create a POW Medal was submitted by Senator John G. Tower in the same year, the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 changed the attitudes of many Americans toward POWs, and helped convince Congress to authorize a POW Medal. In April 1981, only months after the Iran hostages were released, only in 1985 did Congress pass legislation creating the POW Medal, notably over the Pentagons objections. The statute that established the POW Medal was Public Law 99-145, Title V, Sec.532, the public law in question, which began as S.1160, was the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1986, sponsored by Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. It was first amended on May 21,1985 by Senator William V. Roth, Jr. to include the language that first established eligibility criteria for the POW Medal in Title 10, §1128. The House version of amendment was submitted on June 21. According to Lagomarsino, Official recognition of American prisoners of war is long overdue, Mr. Chairman. ”Accordingly, DoD policy articulated in 1988 concluded that only military captives taken prisoner by enemy or opposing states during active armed conflict were eligible for the award. Specifically, DoD policy stated that hostages of terrorists and persons detained by governments with which the US is not actively engaged in armed conflict are not eligible for the medal. In 1963 Congress drew these three permutations of combat from President Kennedys executive order of April 25,1962, which added the same criteria to the Purple Heart, kennedy had also added similar criteria for the Bronze Star prior to the 1963 act. Requiring conflict with an enemy was problematic since the United States had not formally declared war since World War II as a result of the provisions of the United Nations Charter and these were all areas where the DoD authorized the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. A congressional inquiry on behalf of the crew of USS Pueblo. The general counsel argued that the Pueblos passive type of activity hardly qualifies, as an action, a term that denotes violence in the employment of weapons. Commander Lloyd Bucher, the commanding officer of the Pueblo, responded to the review and petitioned directly to the Chief of Naval Operations
16.
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
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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
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Pale (heraldry)
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A pale is a term used in heraldic blazon and vexillology to describe a charge on a coat of arms, that takes the form of a band running vertically down the center of the shield. Writers broadly agree that the width of the ranges from about one-fifth to about one-third of the width of the shield. A narrow pale is more likely if it is uncharged, that is, if charged, the pale is typically wider to allow room for the objects drawn there. The pale is one of the ordinaries in heraldry, along with the bend, chevron, fess, there are several other ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. The word pale originally referred to a picket and it is from the resemblance to this that the heraldic pale derives its name, pallet In British heraldry when two or more pales appear on a field, they are conventionally termed pallets. Paly A shield with numerous pales may be termed paly, especially in early heraldry, in pale In pale refers to the appearance of several items on the shield being lined up in the direction of a pale. Palewise A charge palewise is vertical like a pale, party per pale A shield party per pale is divided into two parts by a single line which runs in the direction of a pale. A pale may be couped, however, while other charges if couped at the top would just be blazoned as couped in chief, if couped at the bottom it is blazoned as a pale retrait in base. The Canadian pale, invented by Dr. George Stanley for the flag of Canada, on a 1,2 flag such as Canadas, it is square. The name was suggested by Sir Conrad Swan, and used when Elizabeth II of Canada proclaimed the new flag on 28 January 1965
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Chief (heraldry)
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In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the surface is to be covered by the chief. The former is likely if the chief is uncharged, that is. If charged, the chief is typically wider to allow room for the objects drawn there, the chief is one of the ordinaries in heraldry, along with the bend, chevron, fess, and pale. There are several other ordinaries and sub-ordinaries, the chief may bear charges and may also be subject to variations of the partition lines. The chief may be combined with ordinary, such as a pale or a saltire. The chief will normally be superimposed over a bordure, orle and tressure, in some medieval and Renaissance drawings of coats of arms, the chief is drawn even deeper, so that it fills almost all the top half of the shield. In some cases, it is drawn so wide that it look as though the shield is divided party per fess. There is a version of the chief, called a comble. A chief triangular can be found in French and English armory and this ordinary begins in the corners and extends to a point that is one quarter to one third the way down the shield. It is a line division variant of a chief. A chief enarched is drawn with a concave arch, there is also a double-arched version of a chief. In civic heraldry, a chief of allegiance may be added to the top of the shield and this is a form of the ruling states armory compressed into the space of a chief. Many Italian coats of arms have a chief containing a version of the arms of the Kingdom of Naples or of the Holy Roman Empire, a C Fox-Davies A Complete Guide to Heraldry, Thomas Nelson and Sons, London 1969
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Obverse and reverse
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In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it depicts the head of a prominent person. In fields of scholarship outside numismatics, the front is more commonly used than obverse. For prints and drawings with material on both sides the one judged as more significant will be the recto, a convention now exists typically to display the obverse to the left and the reverse to the right in photographs and museum displays, but this is not invariably observed. Following this principle, in the most famous of ancient Greek coins, the tetradrachm of Athens, the obverse is the head of Athena, similar versions of these two images, both symbols of the state, were used on the Athenian coins for more than two centuries. The opposite side may have varied from time to time and this change happened in the coinage of Alexander the Great, which continued to be minted long after his death. The various Hellenistic rulers who were his successors followed his tradition and this script alone style then was used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period. The type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm, without images, therefore, it is not always easy to tell which side will be regarded as the obverse without some knowledge. After 695, Islamic coins avoided all images of persons and usually, the side expressing the Six Kalimas is usually defined as the obverse. The form of currency follows its function, which is to serve as an accepted medium of exchange of value. Traditionally, most states have been monarchies where the person of the monarch, if not provided for on the obverse, the reverse side usually contains information relating to a coins role as medium of exchange. Additional space typically reflects the countrys culture or government, or evokes some aspect of the states territory. Regarding the euro, some regarding the obverse and reverse of the euro coins exists. This rule does not apply to the coins as they dont have a common side. A number of the used for obverse national sides of euro coins were taken from the reverse of the old pre-euro coins of some individual countries. Several countries continue to use portraits of the monarch and the Republic of Ireland continues to use the State Arms. The Chrysanthemum Crest was no longer used after the war, and so, the side on which the date continues to be regarded as the reverse. Following ancient tradition, the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom almost always feature the head of the monarch
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Shades of green
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Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma or lightness, or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint being a green or other hue mixed with white, a large selection of these various colors is shown below. Green is common in nature, especially in plants, many plants are green mainly because of a complex chemical known as chlorophyll which is involved in photosynthesis. Many shades of green have been named after plants or are related to plants, due to varying ratios of chlorophylls, the plant kingdom exhibits many shades of green in both hue and value. Artichoke is a color that is a representation of the color of a raw fresh uncooked artichoke, another name for this color is artichoke green. The first recorded use of green as a color name in English was in 1905. This is the color called green in Pantone. The source is Pantone 18-0125 TPX Asparagus is a tone of green that is named after the vegetable, Crayola created this color in 1993 as one of the 16 to be named in the Name the Color Contest. It is also the color of a wild asparagus plant blowing in the wind of the 1949 classic film Sands of Iwo Jima, another name for this color is asparagus green. The first recorded use of green as a color name in English was in 1805. Avocado is a color that is a representation of the color of the surface of an avocado. The color avocado is a dark yellow-green color, avocado was a common color for metal surfaces, as well as the color harvest gold, during the whole decade of the 1970s. They were both also popular colors for shag carpets, both colors went out of style by the early 1980s. Dark green is a shade of green. A different shade of green has been designated as green for certain computer uses. Fern green is a color that resembles ferns, a Crayola crayon named fern was created in 1998, which is a lighter shade of the top color shown on the right. The first recorded use of green as a color name in English was in 1902. Forest green refers to a green color said to resemble the color of the trees, the first recorded use of forest green as the name of a color in the English language was in 1810
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United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
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World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
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United States Department of the Navy
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The Secretary of the Navy is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. They supervise their military services of the Department of the Navy. They are assisted by a Vice Chief of Naval Operations and an Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. Unlike its U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force counterparts, the Department of the Navy consists of all elements of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. According to Navy Regulations Section 0204-2, the term Navy Department refers only to the offices at the seat of government. The bill passed in the House on 17 May 2007, but encountered opposition among members of the DoD civilian leadership and among senior Navy admirals, in the Senate, the provision was replaced in S. Amdt. 2011, an amendment in the nature of a substitute proposed by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan on 9 July 2007, the amendment removed the renaming provision and also made other changes. The House version including the provision was withdrawn in conference committee, Naval Vessel Register Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations United States Navy Regulations, Accessed on 2011-03-23. Department of the Navy website US Marine Corps official website US Navy official website Department of Defense website Department of the Navy in the Federal Register
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World War I Victory Medal (United States)
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The World War I Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was first created in 1919, designed by James Earle Fraser. The United States Army published orders authorizing the World War I Victory Medal in April 1919, the back of the bronze medal features The Great War For Civilization in all capital letters curved along the top of the medal. Curved along the bottom of the back of the medal are six stars, the top of the staff has a round ball on top and is winged on the side. The staff is on top of a shield that says U on the side of the staff. On left side of the staff it lists one World War I Allied country per line, France, Italy, Serbia, Japan, Montenegro, Russia, and Greece. On the right side of the staff the Allied country names read, Great Britain, Belgium, Brazil, Portugal, Rumania, to denote battle participation and campaign credit, the World War I Victory Medal was authorized with a large variety of devices to denote specific accomplishments. A silver star was authorized to be worn on the ribbon of the Victory Medal for any member of the U. S. Army who had been cited for gallantry in action between 1917 and 1920. The 3/16 inch Navy Commendation Star was authorized to any person who had been commended by the Secretary of the Navy for performance of duty during the First World War. The Navy Commendation Star was worn as a star on the World War I Victory Medal, identical in appearance to the Army’s Silver Citation Star. Unlike the Army’s version, however, the Navy Commendation Star could not be upgraded to the Silver Star medal, the following battle clasps, inscribed with a battles name, were worn on the medal to denote participation in major ground conflicts. For general defense service, not involving a battle, the Defensive Sector Battle Clasp was authorized. The clasp was awarded for any battle which was not already recognized by its own battle clasp. The World War I Victory Medal bears the clasps of the battles the U. S. Army participated in across the ribbon, not all battles are shown on the bar clasps. Only the battles designated as battles that would have bars issued were shown on the medal. The famous Battle of Chateau Thierry to hold the Chateau and the bridge as a joint effort between the US Army and the US Marines against the German machine gunners did not get awarded clasps. Navy battle clasps were issued for service in support of Army operations and had identical names to the Army battle clasps. There was a variation of the criteria dates for the Navy battle clasps. The Defensive Sector Clasp was also authorized for Navy personnel who had participated in combat but were not authorized a particular battle clasp
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Citation Star
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The Silver Citation Star is a Department of the Army device which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9,1918. The Citation Star is authorized retroactively to denote being cited for gallantry in action back to the American Civil War, Second and subsequent Citation Stars were replaced by oak leaf cluster devices for the Silver Star medal. During World War II, the meaning of the appurtenance changed, the two silver star devices were not considered equivalent, however, and the Navy Commendation Star could not be converted to the Silver Star Medal. At the start of the Second World War, the Navy Commendation Star was declared obsolete, United States military award devices MilitaryTimes Hall of Valor, Valor awards
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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
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Commodore (United States)
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Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy. For over two centuries, the designation has been varying levels of authority and formality. Because the U. S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four officer ranks in the navy until 1862, considerable importance was attached to the title of commodore. Like its Royal Navy counterpart at the time, the U. S. Navy commodore was not a higher rank, an American commodore in the early period, like an English commodore or a French chef descadre, was an officer assigned temporary command of more than one ship. He continued his permanent or regular rank during the assignment, once employed as a commodore, however, many jealously held onto the impressive title after their qualifying assignment ended. The Navy Department tried to discourage such continuing usage because it led to confusion, in 1857, Congress established the grade of flag officer. This generic title was intended to promote the efficiency of the Navy, like the courtesy-title commodores, flag officers reverted to captain once their squadron command assignment was completed. Because of the acute need for officers at the beginning of the American Civil War, naval tradition was ignored, eighteen commodores were authorized on July 16,1862. The rank of commodore continued in the Navy until March 3,1899, in short, U. S. Navy commodores were not being treated as flag officers by other navies, or given the respect that the Navy Department thought was their due. If there were an odd number of admirals, the lower half of the list was to be the larger. The U. S. Supreme Court later held that the rank of commodore had been removed from the U. S. Navy and this act disgruntled all the brigadier generals, who could now be outranked by officers who were their juniors in terms of service. This was a point of controversy for many years, especially after 1916. Thus the two-star rank of admiral was now equal to that of major general. The COMINCH of the U. S. Navy and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest J. King, president Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed, making the suggestion that the title be revived. As a result, the officer rank for the U. S. Navy. In actual practice, some officers on admirals staffs were also promoted to the rank of commodore, by the end of the War in the Pacific in August 1945, there were over 100 commodores in the U. S. Navy and U. S. Coast Guard. After World War II, and with the drawdown in size of both the Navy and the Coast Guard, very few of the wartime commodores were ever promoted to rear admiral. All promotions to commodore ceased in 1947, and nearly all of the commodores who had held the rank had either been promoted to rear admiral or had retired from the Navy by 1950
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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
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John Howard Dalton
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John Howard Dalton is a U. S. administrator and banker. Dalton was Secretary of the Navy from July 22,1993 to November 16,1998, Dalton attended Louisiana State University for a year before transferring to the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He graduated with distinction from Annapolis in 1964 and was a finalist in the Rhodes Scholarship competition, after graduating from Annapolis, Dalton served in the Navy from 1964 to 1969. He attained the rank of lieutenant while on duty and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander while in the U. S. Naval Reserve. After leaving the Navy, Dalton ran the San Antonio, Texas office of the Little Rock, prior to his employment at Stephens Inc. he was Managing Director of Best Associates and Mason Best Company, merchant banking firms headquartered in Houston and Dallas respectively. In 1971, Dalton received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, from 1984 to 1988, Dalton served as chairman and chief executive officer of Freedom Capital Corporation in San Antonio, and President of the Sequin Savings Association. Prior to this position, he was President of the Real Estate Division of the Gill Companies of San Antonio, President Carter nominated Dalton to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in December 1979, where he served as a member and chairman until July 1981. Dalton was President of the Government National Mortgage Association of the U. S. Department of Housing and he began his public service career after serving with the investment banking firm of Goldman, Sachs & Company in Dallas, Texas. Since January 2005, Dalton has been President of the Housing Policy Council at The Financial Services Roundtable, the Banking, Navy service and Education portions of this article are based on public domain text from the US Navy
31.
United States military award devices
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The United States Armed Forces authorizes certain medal and ribbon devices that may be worn if authorized on a defined set of United States military decorations and awards. The devices vary between 3⁄16 inch to 11⁄32 inch in size and are attached to suspension and service ribbons of medals. The devices are made of brass or metal alloys that appear gold, silver. These are sometimes referred to as award devices, but are most commonly referred to in service regulations and Department of Defense instructions simply as devices for awards, the R device is to be a bronze letter R, 1⁄4 inch in size. Both of the devices will be worn if authorized for wear, the services have a year to implement these changes. The following is a list of U. S. military service devices for medals and ribbons, The following are examples of various devices affixed to different service ribbons
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United States Army Institute of Heraldry
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The United States Army Institute of Heraldry, also known as The Institute of Heraldry, furnishes heraldic services to the U. S. Armed Forces and other U. S. government organizations, including the Executive Office of the President, limited research and information services concerning official symbolic items are also provided to the general public. The Institute of Heraldry is located at Fort Belvoir, an installation within the metropolitan area of Washington. The staff consists of thirty-two civilians, Heraldic and other military symbols have been used by the U. S. Armed Forces and government agencies since the beginning of the American Revolution. S, in 1924, formal staff responsibility for specific military designs was delegated to the Quartermaster General. As the needs for symbolism by the services and the national government expanded. The expansion of the Army during World War II, and the subsequent increased interest in symbolism and it was further expanded by Pub. L. 85–263, approved September 1957,71 Stat,89, which delineated the authority of the Secretary of the Army to furnish heraldic services to the military departments and other branches of the federal government. On 1960-08-10, Army General Order Number 29 placed the U. S. Army Institute of Heraldry under the control of the Quartermaster General. The Army Adjutant General’s office assumed responsibility of the institute in 1962, in 1987, another realignment subordinated the Institute to the U. S. In April 1994, the Institute of Heraldry moved from Cameron Station to Fort Belvoir, in October 2004, another realignment assigned responsibility for the Heraldic Program to Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, part of the United States Army. Approve designs for distinctive unit insignia, Regimental Distinctive Insignia, and shoulder sleeve insignia, authorize heraldic items for U. S. Army Organizations. Authorize the use of Army insignia when incorporated into items for commercial sale, design and develop insignia seals, medals, badges, band regalia and flags. Establish Army policy for flag design and display, monitor the Heraldic Quality Control System in accordance with Army Regulation 672-8, to ensure heraldic items are manufactured according to government specifications or purchase descriptions. Prepare heraldic item specifications and provide engineering support to manufacturers, provide manufacturers with government-loaned tools and specifications for heraldic items. Blazon, Or a chevron Gules, on a chief Sable a label of the first, blazon, On a wreath Or and Gules, a griffin salient of the first. The griffin, a fabulous animal half eagle and half lion, is symbolic of wisdom, the role of the griffin as guardian of treasure is symbolic of the institutes singular responsibility to safeguard the heraldic art of the federal government. The eagle also alludes to the United States and the lion to Great Britain, dexter, The large white star edged with blue symbolizes all the States, which comprise the United States, and was suggested by the union of the United States Flag
33.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
34.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
35.
OCLC
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The Online Computer Library Center is a US-based nonprofit cooperative organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries have to pay for its services, the group first met on July 5,1967 on the campus of the Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization. The group hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, Kilgour wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. The goal of network and database was to bring libraries together to cooperatively keep track of the worlds information in order to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26,1971 and this was the first occurrence of online cataloging by any library worldwide. Membership in OCLC is based on use of services and contribution of data, between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. In 2002, the structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States. As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside of Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with networks, organizations that provided training, support, by 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on OCLC Members Council, in early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center. OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. org, in October 2005, the OCLC technical staff began a wiki project, WikiD, allowing readers to add commentary and structured-field information associated with any WorldCat record. The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988, a browser for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013, it was replaced by the Classify Service. S. The reference management service QuestionPoint provides libraries with tools to communicate with users and this around-the-clock reference service is provided by a cooperative of participating global libraries. OCLC has produced cards for members since 1971 with its shared online catalog. OCLC commercially sells software, e. g. CONTENTdm for managing digital collections, OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications and these publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organizations website. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding
36.
Medal of Honor
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The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U. S. Congress. There are three versions of the medal, one for the Army, one for the Navy, personnel of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard receive the Navy version. U. S. awards including the Medal of Honor do not have titles and while there is no official abbreviation. The Medal of Honor is the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the United States armed forces, because the medal is presented in the name of Congress, it is often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. However, the name is Medal of Honor, which began with the U. S. Armys version. Within United States Code the medal is referred to as the Medal of Honor, in 1990, Congress designated March 25 annually as National Medal of Honor Day. The capture saved the fort of West Point from the British Army, although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the American Revolutionary War, the concept of a military award for individual gallantry by members of the U. S. 539 Certificates were approved for this period and this medal was later replaced by the Army Distinguished Service Medal which was established on January 2,1918. Those Army members who held the Distinguished Service Medal in place of the Certificate of Merit could apply for the Army Distinguished Service Cross effective March 5,1934. There were no awards or medals at the beginning of the Civil War except for the Certificate of Merit which was awarded for the Mexican-American War. Scott however, was strictly against medals being awarded which was the European tradition, after Scott retired in October 1861, the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished naval service. Senator James W. Secretary Wells directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new military decoration, on May 15,1862, the United States Navy Department ordered 175 medals with the words Personal Valor on the back from the U. S. Mint in Philadelphia. Senator Henry Wilson, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, the resolution was approved by Congress and signed into law on July 12,1862. During the war, Townsend would have some medals delivered to recipients with a letter requesting acknowledgement of the Medal of Honor. By mid-November the War Department contracted with Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson and Son, the Army version had The Congress to written on the back of the medal. Both versions were made of copper and coated with bronze, which gave them a reddish tint,1863, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration. On March 3, Medals of Honor were authorized for officers of the Army, the Secretary of War first presented the Medal of Honor to six Union Army volunteers on March 25,1863 in his office. 1890, On April 23, the Medal of Honor Legion is established in Washington,1896, The ribbon of the Army version Medal of Honor was redesigned with all stripes being vertical
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