1.
Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana
Afghanistan
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History of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
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Flag
Afghanistan
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Bilingual (
Greek and
Aramaic)
edict by Emperor
Ashoka from the 3rd century BCE discovered in the southern city of
Kandahar
Afghanistan
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One of the
Buddhas of Bamiyan.
Buddhism was widespread in the region before the
Islamic conquest of Afghanistan.
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
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Flag
United States
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The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
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The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
3.
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
United States Navy
United States Navy
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United States Navy portal
United States Navy
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USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente during the
Quasi-War
United States Navy
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USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere during the
War of 1812
4.
Lieutenant commander (United States)
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Lieutenant commanders rank above lieutenants and below commanders, and rank is equivalent to a major in the other United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps. Promotion to lieutenant commander in the U. S. Navy is governed by United States Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980. While lieutenant commander is the U. S. Navys first commissioned officer to be selected by board, they are considered to be junior officers due to their origin as lieutenant. This can be seen by the fact that lieutenant commanders do not wear the oak-leaf gold embellishment on their combination covers and this is in contrast to other branches, where majors wear the appropriate covers of field-grade officers. The United States Coast Guard used their own system until World War I. In 1916, discontent grew among Coast Guard Captains By law, the Appropriations Act of 1918, the Coast Guard adopted the Navy rank structure to prevent against disagreements over seniority. There are two insignia used by lieutenant commanders, in all dress uniforms, they wear sleeve braid or shoulder boards bearing a single gold quarter-inch stripe between two gold half-inch strips. Above or inboard of the stripes, they wear their specialty insignia, military unit Comparative military ranks U. S. Navy officer rank insignia
Lieutenant commander (United States)
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Insignia of a lieutenant commander, United States Navy
5.
United States Navy SEALs
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The United States Navys Sea, Air, and Land Teams, commonly abbreviated as the Navy SEALs, are the U. S. Navys primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs main functions are conducting small-unit maritime military operations that originate from, and return to, the SEALs are trained to operate in all environments for which they are named. As of 2016, all active SEALs are currently male and members of the U. S. Navy, the CIAs highly secretive and elite Special Operations Group recruits operators from SEAL Teams, with joint operations going back to the MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. This cooperation still exists today, as evidenced by military operations in Iraq, the modern day U. S. Navy SEALs can trace their roots to World War II. The United States Navy recognized the need for the reconnaissance of landing beaches. As a result, the Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida. The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint U. S. Army-Marine-Navy unit. The Scouts and Raiders mission was to identify and reconnoiter the objective beach, maintain a position on the designated beach prior to a landing, and guide the assault waves to the landing beach. The first group included Phil H. Bucklew, the Father of Naval Special Warfare, commissioned in October 1942, this group saw combat in November 1942 during Operation Torch on the North African coast. Scouts and Raiders also supported landings in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Normandy, a second group of Scouts and Raiders, code-named Special Service Unit No. 1, was established on 7 July 1943, as a joint, the first mission, in September 1943, was at Finschhafen in Papua New Guinea. Later operations were at Gasmata, Arawe, Cape Gloucester, conflicts arose over operational matters, and all non-Navy personnel were reassigned. The 7th Amphibious Scouts conducted operations in the Pacific for the duration of the conflict, the third and final Scouts and Raiders organization operated in China. Scouts and Raiders were deployed to fight with the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, to help bolster the work of SACO, Admiral Ernest J. King ordered that 120 officers and 900 men be trained for Amphibious Raider at the Scout and Raider school at Fort Pierce, Florida. They formed the core of what was envisioned as a guerrilla organization of Americans and Chinese operating from coastal waters, lakes and rivers employing small steamboats. While most Amphibious Raider forces remained at Camp Knox in Calcutta, in September 1942,17 Navy salvage personnel arrived at ATB Little Creek, VA for a week long course in demolitions, explosive cable cutting and commando raiding techniques. On November 10,1942, the first combat demolition unit successfully cut cable and this enabled the USS Dallas to traverse the water and insert U. S. Rangers who captured the Port Lyautey airdrome, on 6 June 1943, LCDR Kauffman established Naval Combat Demolition Unit training at Fort Pierce
United States Navy SEALs
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UDT members using the casting technique from a speeding boat
United States Navy SEALs
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The U.S. Navy's
Special Warfare insignia, also known as a "SEAL Trident".
United States Navy SEALs
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Members of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two in a
Dry Deck Shelter of the submerged
USS Philadelphia
United States Navy SEALs
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SEALs on patrol in the
Mekong Delta
6.
Operation Enduring Freedom
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Operation Enduring Freedom comprises several subordinate operations, Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, lasted from October 2001 to 31 December 2014. Government used the term Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan to officially describe the War in Afghanistan, continued operations in Afghanistan by the United States military forces, both non-combat and combat, now occur under the name Operation Freedoms Sentinel. In September 2001, U. S. President George W, the term OEF-A typically refers to the phase of the War in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Other operations, such as the Georgia Train and Equip Program, are loosely or nominally connected. All the operations, however, have a focus on counterterrorism activities, Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, which was a joint U. S. U. K. and Afghan operation, was separate from the International Security Assistance Force, which was an operation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations including the U. S. and the U. K. The two operations ran in parallel, although it had suggested that they merge. S. and British ships. The initial military objectives of OEF-A, as articulated by President George W, of those groups included are Abu Sayyaf Group, al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah. The operation consisted of training the AFP in counter-terrorist operations as well as supporting the people with humanitarian aid in Operation Smiles. In October 2002, the Combined Task Force 150 and United States military Special Forces established themselves in Djibouti at Camp Lemonnier, the stated goals of the operation were to provide humanitarian aid and patrol the Horn of Africa to reduce the abilities of terrorist organizations in the region. The military aspect involves coalition forces searching and boarding ships entering the region for illegal cargo as well as providing training, the humanitarian aspect involves building schools, clinics and water wells to enforce the confidence of the local people. Since 2001, the expenditure by the U. S. government on Operation Enduring Freedom has exceeded $150 billion. The operation continues, with military direction mostly coming from United States Central Command, seizing upon a power vacuum after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan after their invasion, the Taliban assumed the role of government from 1996–2001. Their extreme interpretation of Islamic law prompted them to ban music, television, sports, and dancing, amputation was an accepted form of punishment for stealing, and public executions could often be seen at the Kabul football stadium. Womens rights groups around the world were frequently critical as the Taliban banned women from appearing in public or holding many jobs outside the home and they drew further criticism when they destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan, historical statues nearly 1500 years old, because the Buddhas were considered idols. In 1996, Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden moved to Afghanistan upon the invitation of the Northern Alliance leader Abdur Rabb ur Rasool Sayyaf, when the Taliban came to power, bin Laden was able to forge an alliance between the Taliban and his al-Qaeda organization. It is understood that al-Qaeda-trained fighters known as the 055 Brigade were integrated with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001 and it has been suggested that the Taliban and bin Laden had very close connections. On 20 September 2001, the U. S. stated that Osama bin Laden was behind the 11 September attacks in 2001, the US made a five-point ultimatum to the Taliban, Deliver to the U. S
Operation Enduring Freedom
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During Operation El Dorado in May 2004, U.S. Marines from Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team,
1st Battalion, 6th Marines, startle the owner of a compound who refused to open his door for a search.
Operation Enduring Freedom
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5-country multinational fleet, during "Operation Enduring Freedom" in the Oman Sea. In four descending columns, from left to right: Maestrale,
De Grasse;
USS John C. Stennis,
Charles de Gaulle,
Surcouf;
USS Port Royal,
HMS Ocean,
USS John F. Kennedy,
HNLMS Van Amstel; and Durand de la Penne.
7.
Operation Red Wings
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He and his small group were among the primary targets of the operation. Several weeks later, Shahs group in Kunar Province was stricken to a point of inoperability and Shah was seriously wounded, during Operation Whalers, 2/3 would continue the use of hockey team names for large operations. The name has been widely mis-stated as Operation Redwing and sometimes Operation Red Wing, 2/3 eventually abandoned this naming convention out of sensitivity to the local population, instead opting for using Dari names for animals, including Pil and Sorkh Khar. After the initial invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, U. S. military, a key milestone in this campaign would be the September 18,2005 Afghan National Parliamentary Elections. These barriers included non-sharing of intelligence with the battalion and non-disclosure of impending raids by special units in the area. Operations that 3/3 conducted based on this model proved successful in disrupting ACM activity, the first of these, Operation Spurs, conducted in February 2005, took place in the Korangal Valley, in the Kunar Provinces Pech District. Spurs utilized Navy SEALs for the two phases of this five phase operation. Similar operations that followed included Operation Mavericks, in April,2005 and these operations, all of which included Navy SEALs, were conceived and planned by the battalion, with the specifics of those phases involving Navy SEALs being planned by the SEALs. Each operation lasted three and four weeks. 3/3 planned and executed one of these operations per month. The culmination of 3/3s efforts was the April,2005 forced surrender of a high value target, an ACM commander known as Najmudeen. With the surrender of Najmudeen, ACM activity in the region dropped significantly, Najmudeens surrender, however, left a power vacuum in the region. 3/3 tracked a number of known ACM groups they determined to be seeking to fill the power void in the region. The battalion began planning a new operation, tentatively called Operation Stars, Stars, like the other operations before it, focused on disrupting ACM activity, although due to Najmudeens surrender, this activity had dropped and specific groups proved difficult to pinpoint. In May 2005, the Advanced Party of 3/3s sister battalion, Shah was from a remote region in Nangarhar Province, which borders the Kunar Province. 2/3s battalion staff immediately began planning Operation Red Wings as soon as arrived in Afghanistan. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew MacMannis, 2/3s battalion commander, and his staff, 2/3s Operations Officer, Major Thomas Wood, began planning Red Wings off the Stars base, which was a five phase operation. During this time, 2/3s Intelligence Officer, Captain Scott Westerfield, although Shah was a relatively unknown entity in the region, he apparently held regional aspirations and possibly had the assistance of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Operation Red Wings
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SEALs prior to Operation Red Wings (L to R):
Matthew Axelson, Daniel R. Healy, James Suh,
Marcus Luttrell, Eric S. Patton,
Michael P. Murphy
Operation Red Wings
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A map of the area and plan relating to Operation Red Wings
Operation Red Wings
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Michael Murphy (left) with Matthew Axelson, taken in Afghanistan
Operation Red Wings
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Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy of the U.S. Navy, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient.
8.
War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
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The war in Afghanistan followed the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan. Supported initially by the United Kingdom, the US was later joined by the rest of NATO and its public aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. Key allies, including the United Kingdom, supported the U. S. from the start to the end of the phase and this phase of the war is the longest war in United States history. In 2001, U. S. President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden and expel al-Qaeda, bin Laden had already been wanted by the United Nations since 1999. The Taliban declined to extradite him unless given evidence of his involvement in the September 11 attacks, the request for evidence was dismissed by the U. S. as a delaying tactic, and on 7 October 2001 it launched Operation Enduring Freedom with the United Kingdom. The two were joined by other forces, including the Northern Alliance which had been fighting the Taliban in the ongoing civil war since 1996. In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council established the International Security Assistance Force, at the Bonn Conference the same month, Hamid Karzai was selected to head the Afghan Interim Administration, which after a 2002 loya jirga in Kabul became the Afghan Transitional Administration. In the popular elections of 2004, Karzai was elected president of the country, NATO became involved in ISAF in August 2003, and later that year assumed leadership of it, with troops from 43 countries by this stage. NATO members provided the core of the force, one portion of U. S. forces in Afghanistan operated under NATO command, the rest remained under direct U. S. command. The Taliban was reorganised by its leader Mullah Omar, and in 2003, launched an insurgency against the government, the Taliban exploited weaknesses in the Afghan government, among the most corrupt in the world, to reassert influence across rural areas of southern and eastern Afghanistan. In the initial years there was fighting, but from 2006 the Taliban made significant gains. ISAF responded in 2006 by increasing troops for operations to clear and hold villages and nation building projects to win hearts. Violence sharply escalated from 2007 to 2009, while ISAF continued to battle the Taliban insurgency, fighting crossed into neighboring North-West Pakistan. On 2 May 2011, United States Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Abbotabad, in May 2012, NATO leaders endorsed an exit strategy for withdrawing their forces. UN-backed peace talks have taken place between the Afghan government and the Taliban. In May 2014, the United States announced that its combat operations would end in December 2014. In October 2014, British forces handed over the last bases in Helmand to the Afghan military, on 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended combat operations in Afghanistan and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the war, over 4,000 ISAF soldiers and civilian contractors as well as over 15,000 Afghan national security forces were killed, as well as nearly 20,000 civilians
War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
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Ground Zero in New York following the
attacks of 11 September 2001
War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
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U.S. Army Special Forces and
U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers with Northern Alliance troops on horseback
War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
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A U.S. Navy Corpsman searches for Taliban fighters in the spring of 2005.
9.
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
Bronze Star Medal
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The Bronze Star Medal without the "V" (Valor) device
Bronze Star Medal
10.
Valor 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
Valor device
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The "V" (Valor) device
11.
Purple Heart
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The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after April 5,1917, with the U. S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, the Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers by Gen. George Washington himself. General Washington authorized his subordinate officers to issue Badges of Merit as appropriate, from then on, as its legend grew, so did its appearance. Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially until after World War I, on October 10,1927, Army Chief of Staff General Charles Pelot Summerall directed that a draft bill be sent to Congress to revive the Badge of Military Merit. The bill was withdrawn and action on the case ceased January 3,1928, a number of private interests sought to have the medal re-instituted in the Army, this included the board of directors of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum in Ticonderoga, New York. On January 7,1931, Summerall’s successor, General Douglas MacArthur, confidentially reopened work on a new design, involving the Washington Commission of Fine Arts. Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General, was named to redesign the newly revived medal, using general specifications provided to her, Will created the design sketch for the present medal of the Purple Heart. The new design, which exhibits a bust and profile of George Washington, was issued on the bicentennial of Washingtons birth, wills obituary, in the edition of February 8,1975 of The Washington Post newspaper, reflects her many contributions to military heraldry. The Commission of Fine Arts solicited plaster models from three leading sculptors for the medal, selecting that of John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint in May 1931, the first Purple Heart was awarded to MacArthur. During the early period of American involvement in World War II, with the establishment of the Legion of Merit, by an Act of Congress, the practice of awarding the Purple Heart for meritorious service was discontinued. By Executive Order 9277, dated December 3,1942, the decoration was applied to all services and this executive order also authorized the award only for wounds received. Subject to approval of the Secretary of Defense, Executive Order 10409, dated February 12,1952, dated April 25,1962, Executive Order 11016, included provisions for posthumous award of the Purple Heart. Dated February 23,1984, Executive Order 12464, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist attacks, or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force, public Law 99-145 authorized the award for wounds received as a result of friendly fire. Public Law 104-106 expanded the eligibility date, authorizing award of the Purple Heart to a prisoner of war who was wounded after April 25,1962. This change was effective May 18,1998, during World War II, nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the estimated casualties resulting from the planned Allied invasion of Japan. To the present date, total combined American military casualties of the seventy years following the end of World War II—including the Korean, in 2003, there remained 120,000 Purple Heart medals in stock. The existing surplus allowed combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep Purple Hearts on-hand for immediate award to soldiers wounded in the field, the History section of the November 2009 edition of National Geographic estimated the number of Purple Hearts given. Above the estimates, the reads, Any tally of Purple Hearts is an estimate
Purple Heart
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Purple Heart
Purple Heart
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Reverse of Purple Heart Medal and Purple Heart Ribbon
Purple Heart
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Sign on
Interstate 35 designating the Purple Heart Trail.
Purple Heart
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Purple Heart Memorial,
Westland, Michigan
12.
Commendation Medal
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The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. The Commendation Medal was originally only a ribbon and was first awarded by the U. S. Navy. An Army Commendation Ribbon followed in 1945, and in 1949, the Navy, Coast Guard, by 1960, the Commendation Ribbons had been authorized as full medals and were subsequently referred to as Commendation Medals. Additional awards of the Army and Air Force Commendation Medals are denoted by bronze, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Coast Guard Commendation Medal are authorized gold and silver 5/16 inch stars to denote additional awards. The Operational Distinguishing Device is authorized for wear on the Coast Guard Commendation Medal upon approval of the awarding authority, order of Precedence is following the Bronze Star Medal but before the Prisoner of War Medal and all campaign medals. Each of the services also awards separate Achievement Medals which are below the Commendation Medals in precedence. This award is intended for service on a joint military staff and is senior in precedence to service-specific Commendation Medals. As such, it is worn above the service Commendation Medals on a military uniform. S, Army after December 6,1941, distinguished themselves by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service. Approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel or higher, the medallion of the Army Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagon, 1 3⁄8 inches wide. On the medallion is an American bald eagle with wings spread horizontally, on its breast is a shield paly of thirteen pieces and a chief. The reverse bears a panel for naming between the words FOR MILITARY above and MERIT below, all placed above a laurel sprig, the ribbon is 1 3⁄8 inches wide primarily of myrtle green. It is edged in white and in the center are five thin white stripes spaced equally apart, devices Oak leaf cluster and V Device The U. S. Air Force began issuing its own Air Force Commendation Medal in 1958 with additional awards denoted by oak leaf clusters. Prior to this time, USAF recipients received the Army Commendation Medal and it was not until 1996 that the V device was authorized on the Air Force Commendation Medal, prior to 1996, there was not a valor distinction in effect for the Air Force Commendation Medal. For USAF enlisted personnel, the Air Force Commendation Medal is worth three points under the Air Force enlisted promotion system, approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel or higher. The Air Force Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagonal medallion, on the medallion is a shield surmounted by an eagle superimposed over clouds. On the shield bears a pair of wings and a vertical baton with an eagles claw at either end, behind the shield are eight lightning bolts. The design on the shield is derived from the Seal of the Department of the Air Force, the ribbon of the Air Force Commendation Medal is golden yellow with blue edges. In the center are three bands of blue, the stripes are thin with the center stripe being wider
Commendation Medal
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Air Force Commendation Medal
Commendation Medal
–
Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Commendation Medal
–
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Commendation Medal
–
Coast Guard Commendation Medal
13.
Achievement Medal
–
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
Achievement Medal
–
Five different versions of the Achievement Medal are awarded: one for Joint Service, Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard
14.
Combat Action Ribbon
–
The Combat Action Ribbon, is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard military decoration. The Coast Guard CAR was authorized on 16 July 2008 and may be awarded to members of the Coast Guard in the grade of captain and below, who have actively participated in ground or maritime combat. The Navy Combat Action Ribbon is retroactive to 7 December 1941, the Combat Action Ribbon is awarded only to individual service members. The CAR is not awarded to a unit, station. To be considered for a Combat Action Ribbon, evidence must establish the military member engaged the enemy, was under hostile fire, a service members mere presence in an area where combat is occurring or in a designated combat zone does not qualify the member for the award. The Combat Action Ribbon is an award, unlike other services. Compare, The U. S. Army equivalent to the Combat Action Ribbon is the Combat Action Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, a U. S. Air Force combat participant is awarded the Air Force Combat Action Medal. The Combat Action Ribbon is worn in order of precedence on a members ribbon rack displayed on the side of a service members uniform. Only one Combat Action Ribbon is authorized, additional combat action awards are signified with an appropriate 5⁄16 inch gold star attached to the CAR. Some private companies selling replacement decorations or awards also advertise for sale, e. g. a commemorative combat action medal, combat tribute, some medallions are stylized from elements of various military combat action awards. Such medallions are considered decorative, have no military significance or recognition. The CAR is currently authorized with a U. S. Navy, the Navy version covers the Navy and Marine Corps service members from when the CAR was established in 1969, and made retroactive from December 7,1941 forward. Year 2009 forward, Coast Guard members who perform in combat are awarded the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon. The Navy Combat Action Ribbon was established during the Vietnam War by a Secretary of the Navy Notice, dated February 17,1969 with retroactive award to March 1,1961. The Navy CAR is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel with the grade of captain/colonel and below, sailors and Marines in clandestine or special operations where their ability to return fire is curtailed may be deemed eligible. Previously it applied only to exposure to IEDs detonated by the enemy, eligibility under this criterion is retroactive only to 7 October 2001. Additional awards of the Navy CAR are denoted by 5⁄16 inch gold stars on the ribbon, World War II and Korean War In October 1999, World War II and Korean War veterans became retroactively eligible for the Navy Combat Action Ribbon by Public Law 106-65 on Oct. Two specific blocks of time were designated by then SECNAV Danzig, Dec.7
Combat Action Ribbon
–
Top: U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Bottom: U.S. Coast Guard
15.
National Defense Service Medal
–
The National Defense Service Medal is a service medal of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It may also be issued to military members for any other period that the Secretary of Defense designates. Currently, the National Defense Service Medal is the oldest service medal in use by the United States Armed Forces, the oldest continuously issued combat medal is the Medal of Honor. For service in the Global War on Terrorism, Selected Reserve and National Guard members need only to have been in good standing to receive the NDSM, inactive Ready Reserve and Retired Reserve are not eligible to be awarded the NDSM unless called to active duty. S. The NDSM ranks eleventh out of twenty-nine in the order of precedence of service medals and this accounts for the medals omission from a large number of uncharacterized and entry level separation documents. Veterans who have this medal so omitted may apply to the service departments to have the NDSM added to records via a DD Form 215. A second award of the medal is not granted for reenlisting during the time period or transferring between branches of service. Korean Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal Southwest Asia Service Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Media related to National Defense Service Medal at Wikimedia Commons
National Defense Service Medal
–
National Defense Service Medal
16.
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
–
The medal was designed by the U. S. Army Institute of Heraldry. The medal is retroactive to October 24,2001, and is active until a date to be determined, the medal is also awarded posthumously to any service member who dies in the line of duty within Afghanistan, including from non-combat injuries such as accidents and mishaps. The medal is bronze in appearance,1 1⁄4 inches in diameter and it depicts above a range of mountains a map of Afghanistan. Around the top is the inscription AFGHANISTAN CAMPAIGN, on the reverse, a radiating demi-sun superimposed by an eagle’s head couped. Inscribed across the half of the reserve side are the three lines FOR SERVICE IN AFGHANISTAN, enclosed by a laurel wreath. Both medals may not be received for the period of service in Afghanistan. Arrowhead device Awards and decorations of the United States military United Kingdom Afghanistan medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
–
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
17.
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
–
The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal is a United States armed forces military award created by George W. Bush on March 12,2003 by Executive Order 13289. It recognizes those service members who have deployed overseas in direct service to the War on Terror from September 11,2001 to a date to be determined. In a similar fashion the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal is now issued instead for service in the fight against ISIS, the following are the established operations for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, The GWOT-E is a Defense Department campaign medal. Award of this medal does not prevent award of other types of recognition normally associated with deployment and this medal may be awarded posthumously. Effective February 9,2015, 3⁄16 inch service stars are authorized for wear to recognize participation in each of the authorized operations. For those who were engaged in combat, killed, or wounded in the line of duty, personnel who received the GWOTEM for previous service in these two regions may elect to exchange the GWOTEM or retain the original award. The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal may be awarded with the Arrowhead device and/or the combat operation insignia for qualified sailors assigned to Marine Corps units, the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal was designed by John Sproston of the Armys Institute of Heraldry. A similar medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, was created under the same Presidential Order that authorized the GWOT Expeditionary Medal, the only exception is for service personnel who served in Iraq or Afghanistan prior to April 30,2005. These personnel were awarded both the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Arrowhead device Awards and decorations of the United States military Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
–
The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
18.
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
–
The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13289 on March 12,2003 by President George W. Bush. The award recognizes military service members who have supported operations to counter terrorism in the War on Terror from September 11,2001. In September 2002, the U. S. Department of Defense sent a request to the U. S. Army Institute of Heraldry to provide a design for a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. In January 2003, a design was completed, which was then approved, the following are the seven established operations for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal recognized by the Department of Defense, The Coast Guard awards the medal for different operations. For those who were engaged in combat, killed, or wounded in the line of duty the time requirement is waived. The initial authorized operation for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal was the so-called Airport Security Operation which occurred between September 27,2001 and May 31,2002, future operations are at the discretion of United States component commanders upon approval from the United States Department of Defense. The primary difference between the NDSM and the GWOTSM is that the NDSM is automatic as soon as a person joins the military whereas the GWOTSM may only be presented after thirty days of active duty. The GWOTSM was awarded automatically to all members on Active Duty between September 11,2001 and March 31,2004. While the award is no longer automatic, the date to be determined has not been set. The Battalion Commander is the authority for the GWOTSM. Service members are eligible for the medal provided they meet the criteria in AR 600-8-22. U. S. Army soldiers serving on active duty primarily in a training status are not authorized award of the GWOTSM for the duty time they are in training. The criteria for the awards specifically states that a Soldier has to serve on duty in support of a designated GWOT operation for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days. Army soldiers in a training status are “not” supporting these designated operations, regulations for rating the GWOTSM are the same in both the Navy, the Marine Corps, and Military Sealift Command for those who serve on both active duty, reserve duty, and support. Essentially,30 days of duty or 60 days of non-consecutive duty in support of approved organizations. Personnel who are still in their initial training are not eligible. Eligibility begins when they reach their first permanent duty station, Civilian Mariners attached to Military Sealift Commands supply ships may be eligible for the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal. Air Force service members were first awarded the GWOTSM for conducting airport security operations in the fall and it was subsequently awarded for participation or support of Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
19.
Sea Service Ribbon
–
The Army Sea Duty Ribbon was established April 17,2006. It may be awarded to active duty soldiers who complete two years of sea duty on a Class A or B United States Army Vessel. Duty aboard U. S. Navy, U. S. Coast Guard, the Chief of the Marine Qualification Division is the approval authority for award of the ASDR to eligible service members. The ASDR may be awarded retroactively to those personnel who were credited with qualifying service, as defined in regulations, subsequent awards are authorized upon completion of an additional two years of cumulative sea duty under qualifying conditions. U. S. Army Reserve and U. S. Army National Guard soldiers must have two years in a U. S. Subsequent awards are authorized upon the completion of additional qualifying periods of sea duty, for mobilized soldiers, one year of sea duty as a mobilized soldier will be credited toward one creditable year as long as minimum underway requirements are met. The Army Sea Duty Ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide, composed of vertical stripes, subsequent awards are denoted by bronze and silver service stars. It was the first type of sea service ribbon established in the U. S, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is granted to any member of the U. S. Navy or U. S. A 3/16 inch bronze star is awarded for the second through the award of the ribbon. The Navy Reserve Sea Service Ribbon was created in May 1986 and is awarded to any member of the U. S. S, Navy Reserve Force surface ship or assigned to a deployable/regularly deploying U. S. Navy Reserve Force Aviation Squadron. The term “Navy Reserve Force Ship” refers to any U. S, the Navy Reserve Sea Service Ribbon is also granted to members of embarked Navy Reserve staffs, provided that at least half of the embarked reserve drills qualified as underway drills. The Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon is a United States Coast Guard decoration that was created in 1984, additional awards, displayed as service stars, may be awarded for a further three years of sea service. The NOAA Corps Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is a NOAA Commissioned Corps award established retroactive to 1 January 2002, subsequent awards may be earned for additional twelve-month accumulations of sea duty, so long as they also include an additional 90 consecutive-day deployment. Previously, the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon was awarded and those NOAA Corps members who previously earned the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with replace it with the NOAA version, unless they earned the Navy version while serving in the Navy. Awards and decorations of the United States military Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual
Sea Service Ribbon
20.
Navy Rifle Marksmanship Medal
–
The Marksmanship Medal is a United States Navy and the Coast Guard military award and is the highest award one may receive for weapons qualification. The Marksmanship Medal is the equivalent of the Expert Marksmanship Badge in the United States Army, additionally, select State National Guard organizations award marksmanship medals to guardsman who achieve some of the highest aggregate scores at state-level marksmanship competitions. The Marksmanship Medal is awarded for qualifying as a marksman on either the 9×19mm Beretta M9.40 S&W SIG P229 DAK. To qualify at the level, a superior score must be obtained on an approved weapons qualification course. The standard Navy weapons qualification course for pistol normally consists of courses of fire from strong-side supported, weak-side supported. For the rifle, the Navy qualification course consists of firing from a sitting and those qualifying as an expert marksman are authorized to wear the Marksmanship Medal, awarded as two separate decorations for rifle or pistol qualifications. Those having qualified on both pistol and rifle may receive both medals for simultaneous wear, the Marksmanship Medal is worn as a full-sized medal on dress uniforms. On a duty uniform all successful qualifiers may wear the award as the standard Marksmanship Ribbon and those qualifying as an expert are authorized to wear the Expert device on the ribbon and those qualifying as a sharpshooter are authorized a S device for that ribbon. The Navy Marksmanship Medals were first issued in 1969, a red, white, and blue ribbon is used to represent both medals, however the actual rifle and pistol medals suspended by this ribbon are distinct. Marksmanship Device Marksmanship Badge Awards and decorations of the United States military
Navy Rifle Marksmanship Medal
–
Navy and Coast Guard Marksmanship Medals
21.
Navy Pistol Marksmanship Medal
–
The Marksmanship Medal is a United States Navy and the Coast Guard military award and is the highest award one may receive for weapons qualification. The Marksmanship Medal is the equivalent of the Expert Marksmanship Badge in the United States Army, additionally, select State National Guard organizations award marksmanship medals to guardsman who achieve some of the highest aggregate scores at state-level marksmanship competitions. The Marksmanship Medal is awarded for qualifying as a marksman on either the 9×19mm Beretta M9.40 S&W SIG P229 DAK. To qualify at the level, a superior score must be obtained on an approved weapons qualification course. The standard Navy weapons qualification course for pistol normally consists of courses of fire from strong-side supported, weak-side supported. For the rifle, the Navy qualification course consists of firing from a sitting and those qualifying as an expert marksman are authorized to wear the Marksmanship Medal, awarded as two separate decorations for rifle or pistol qualifications. Those having qualified on both pistol and rifle may receive both medals for simultaneous wear, the Marksmanship Medal is worn as a full-sized medal on dress uniforms. On a duty uniform all successful qualifiers may wear the award as the standard Marksmanship Ribbon and those qualifying as an expert are authorized to wear the Expert device on the ribbon and those qualifying as a sharpshooter are authorized a S device for that ribbon. The Navy Marksmanship Medals were first issued in 1969, a red, white, and blue ribbon is used to represent both medals, however the actual rifle and pistol medals suspended by this ribbon are distinct. Marksmanship Device Marksmanship Badge Awards and decorations of the United States military
Navy Pistol Marksmanship Medal
–
Navy and Coast Guard Marksmanship Medals
22.
Lieutenant Commander
–
Lieutenant commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander, the corresponding rank in most armies and air forces is major, and in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces is squadron leader. The NATO rank code is mostly OF-3, a lieutenant commander is a senior department officer or the executive officer on many warships and smaller shore installation, or the commanding officer of a smaller ship/installation. They are also senior department officers in naval aviation squadrons, most Commonwealth and other navies address lieutenant commanders by their full rank or the positions they occupy. The United States Navy, however, addresses officers by their rank or the higher grade of the rank. For example, oral communications in formal and informal situations, a Lieutenant is abbreviated as Lieutenant, Lieutenants were commonly put in command of smaller vessels not warranting a commander or captain. Such a lieutenant was called a lieutenant commanding or lieutenant commandant in the United States Navy, the USN settled on lieutenant commander in 1862 and made it a distinct rank. The RN followed suit in March 1914, the insignia worn by a Royal Navy lieutenant commander is two medium gold braid stripes with one thin gold stripe running in between, placed upon a navy blue/black background. The top stripe has the ubiquitous loop used in all RN officer rank insignia, the RAF follows this pattern with its equivalent rank of squadron leader. This distinction was abolished when the rank of lieutenant commander was introduced, throughout much of its existence, the British Royal Observer Corps maintained a rank of observer lieutenant commander. The ROC wore a Royal Air Force uniform and their rank insignia appeared similar to that of an RAF squadron leader except that the stripes were shown entirely in black, prior to the renaming, the rank had been known as observer lieutenant. In the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank is the naval rank equal to Major in the army or air force and is the first senior officer rank, Lieutenant Commanders are senior to Lieutenants and to army and air force Captains, and are junior to Commanders and Lieutenant Colonels. There are two insignia used by USN and USCG Lieutenant Commanders, in all dress uniforms, they wear sleeve braid or shoulder boards bearing a single gold quarter-inch stripe between two gold half-inch strips. Above or inboard of the stripes, they wear their speciality insignia and this rank is also used on in Pakistan Navy. The rank of lieutenant commander is used in the Irish Naval Service. The majority of commanders in the Irish Naval Service hold the rank of lieutenant commander, with a commander being a senior. The corresponding rank in the German Navy, Italian Navy, Argentine Navy, Brazilian Navy, French Navy, Spanish Navy and most other French and Spanish-speaking countries is corvette captain. The insignia of kapteeniluutnantti, the rank immediately below the former, is one thin stripe between two wider ones, which could cause confusion among the naval personnel of other nations
Lieutenant Commander
–
Pakistani Lt. Commander's insignia.
Lieutenant Commander
–
A
US Navy lieutenant commander's sleeve/shoulder insignia
Lieutenant Commander
–
A French
capitaine de corvette maneuvering.
23.
Quick reaction force
–
Quick Reaction Force or is a military unit, generally platoon-sized in the United States military combat arms, capable of rapid response to developing situations. They are to have equipment ready to respond to any type of emergency, typically within ten minutes or less, cavalry Army units are frequently postured as quick reaction forces, with a main mission of security and reconnaissance. The QRF is a military reserve and belongs directly to the commander of the unit it is created from. Depending on the size and protocols, the commander may be the only person authorized to control the QRF. QRFs are commonly found in maneuver battalion-level task forces and above, the readiness level of the QRF is based on unit SOPs. Since maintaining a level of readiness is draining on equipment, fuel and personnel. During high-intensity conflict, the QRF may be forced to maintain that level of readiness. The speed at which a QRF is expected to react is defined by its readiness condition, or REDCON, the mission of a QRF can vary widely, as they are used to respond to any threat the commander chooses to employ them for. A US Army QRF consists of a number of trucks, generally a mix of M1151 Up-Armored HMMWVs and, since their introduction. Depending on the requirement, additional units can be attached to an organic platoon to expand their capabilities. Examples include attaching explosive ordnance disposal teams to a QRF responding to bombs or similar threats, base defense operations center Force protection Rapid reaction force Ready Reaction Force
Quick reaction force
–
A US Army Quick Reaction Force staging area at
Camp Buehring, Kuwait circa 2005
24.
Denmark
–
Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Scandinavian country in Europe and a sovereign state. The southernmost and smallest of the Nordic countries, it is south-west of Sweden and south of Norway, Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark has an area of 42,924 square kilometres. The country consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, the islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. The unified kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 10th century as a proficient seafaring nation in the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Sweden and Norway were ruled together under the Kalmar Union, established in 1397 and ending with Swedish secession in 1523. Denmark and Norway remained under the monarch until outside forces dissolved the union in 1814. The union with Norway made it possible for Denmark to inherit the Faroe Islands, Iceland, beginning in the 17th century, there were several cessions of territory to Sweden. In the 19th century there was a surge of nationalist movements, Denmark remained neutral during World War I. In April 1940, a German invasion saw brief military skirmishes while the Danish resistance movement was active from 1943 until the German surrender in May 1945, the Constitution of Denmark was signed on 5 June 1849, ending the absolute monarchy which had begun in 1660. It establishes a constitutional monarchy organised as a parliamentary democracy, the government and national parliament are seated in Copenhagen, the nations capital, largest city and main commercial centre. Denmark exercises hegemonic influence in the Danish Realm, devolving powers to handle internal affairs, Home rule was established in the Faroe Islands in 1948, in Greenland home rule was established in 1979 and further autonomy in 2009. Denmark became a member of the European Economic Community in 1973, maintaining certain opt-outs, it retains its own currency, the krone. It is among the members of NATO, the Nordic Council, the OECD, OSCE. The etymology of the word Denmark, and especially the relationship between Danes and Denmark and the unifying of Denmark as a kingdom, is a subject which attracts debate. This is centred primarily on the prefix Dan and whether it refers to the Dani or a historical person Dan and the exact meaning of the -mark ending. Most handbooks derive the first part of the word, and the name of the people, from a word meaning land, related to German Tenne threshing floor. The -mark is believed to mean woodland or borderland, with references to the border forests in south Schleswig. The first recorded use of the word Danmark within Denmark itself is found on the two Jelling stones, which are believed to have been erected by Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth
Denmark
–
The gilded side of the
Trundholm sun chariot dating from the Nordic Bronze Age.
Denmark
–
Flag
Denmark
–
The
Ladby ship, the largest ship burial found in Denmark.
Denmark
–
Larger of the two Jelling stones, raised by
Harald Bluetooth.
25.
Norway
–
The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
Norway
–
The
helmet found at Gjermundbu near
Haugsbygd,
Buskerud, is the only
Viking Age helmet that has been found.
Norway
–
Flag
Norway
–
The
Gokstad ship at the
Viking Ship Museum in
Oslo, Norway
Norway
–
The
Battle of the Sound between an allied Dano-Norwegian–
Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy, 8 November 1658 (29 October
O.S.)
26.
Rear admiral (United States)
–
Rear admiral in the United States refers to two different ranks of commissioned officers — one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most nations, the rear admiral refers to an officer of two-star rank. The abbreviation for personnel from the USN, USCG, and NOAA is RDML, whereas for the USPHS, Rear admiral ranks above captain and below rear admiral. Rear admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. In the United States uniformed services, rear admiral replaced the rank of commodore in 1985, Rear admiral ranks above rear admiral and below vice admiral. Rear admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. It is the highest permanent rank during peacetime in the uniformed services, all higher ranks are temporary ranks and linked to their specific commands or office and expire with the expiration of their term of command or office. Before the American Civil War, the American Navy had resisted creating the rank of admiral, instead, they preferred the term flag officer, in order to distinguish the rank from the traditions of the European navies. During the American Civil War, The US Congress honored David Glasgow Farraguts successful assault on the city of New Orleans by creating the rank of admiral on July 16,1862. During World War II, the U. S. Navy, by the end of the war, all incumbents had been advanced to the rank of two-star rear admiral and the commodore rank was eliminated in both services. Lower-half rear admirals were promoted to full rear admirals, or upper half status. However, both categories of rear admiral wore two-star insignia, an issue that was a source of consternation to the other services. Although not flag officers, these officers were entitled to a blue and white command pennant containing the initials. 97–86 expanded commodore from a title to a permanent grade by creating the one-star rank of commodore admiral. After only 11 months, the rank was reverted to just commodore, however, this caused issues with the Navy due to the difficulty in discriminating those commodores who were flag officers from commodores who were senior captains in certain command positions. 99–145 renamed commodore to the current grade of rear admiral effective on November 8,1985, up until 1981, all rear admirals wore two stars on their shoulder bars and rank insignia. Since then, rear admirals wear one star while rear admirals wear two, verbal address remains rear admiral for both ranks, on correspondence, where the rear admirals rank is spelled out, the acronym and follows the rear admirals rank title to distinguish between one and two stars. The flags of restricted line officers and staff officers have blue stars on a white field
Rear admiral (United States)
–
US Navy Rear Admiral
Michelle J. Howard uses the
public address system to address the crew of
USS Wasp (LHD 1) in 2009. Howard has since been promoted to
admiral.
27.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
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The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
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Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
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Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
28.
Guam
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Guam is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, Guam is one of five American territories with a civilian government. The capital city is Hagåtña and the most populous city is Dededo, in 2015,161,785 people resided on Guam. Guamanians are American citizens by birth, Guam has an area of 210 sq mi and a population density of 770/sq mi. It is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia, among its municipalities, Mongmong-Toto-Maite has the highest density at 3, 691/sq mi, whereas Inarajan and Umatac have the lowest density at 119/sq mi. The highest point is Mount Lamlam at 406 meters above sea level, the Chamorros, Guams indigenous people, settled the island approximately 4,000 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to visit the island on March 6,1521, Guam was colonized in 1668 with settlers, like Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Catholic missionary. Between the 16th century and the 18th century, Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons, during the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21,1898. Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States on December 10,1898, Guam is among the seventeen Non-Self-Governing Territories of the United Nations. Before World War II, Guam and three other territories – American Samoa, Hawaii, and the Philippines – were the only American jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean. On December 7,1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam was captured by the Japanese, during the occupation, Guamanians were subjected to beheadings, forced labor, rape, and torture. Guam endured hostilities when American forces recaptured the island on July 21,1944, since the 1960s, the economy has been supported by two industries, tourism and the United States Armed Forces. The original inhabitants of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are believed to be descendants of Austronesian people originating from Southeast Asia as early as 2000 BC and they evolved into the Chamorro people. The ancient-Chamorro society had four classes, chamorri, matua, achaot, the matua were located in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds, whereas the manachang were located in the interior of the island. Matua and manachang rarely communicated with other, and matua often used achaot as intermediaries. There were also makåhna, skilled in healing and medicine, belief in spirits of ancient Chamorros called Taotao mona still persists as a remnant of pre-European culture. Their society was organized along matrilineal clans, Latte stones are stone pillars that are found only in the Mariana Islands, they are a recent development in Pre-Contact Chamorro society. The latte-stone was used as a foundation on which thatched huts were built, Latte stones consist of a base shaped from limestone called the haligi and with a capstone, or tåsa, made either from a large brain coral or limestone, placed on top
Guam
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Marines laying fire on a
Japanese sniper nest (July 28, 1944).
Guam
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Flag
Guam
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Guam from satellite
Guam
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Aerial view of
Apra Harbor
29.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
California
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A forest of redwood trees in
Redwood National Park
California
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Flag
California
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Mount Shasta
California
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Aerial view of the
California Central Valley
30.
Maryland
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The states largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, the state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the colonial grant. Maryland was the state to ratify the United States Constitution. Maryland is one of the smallest U. S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles and is comparable in overall area with Belgium. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D. C. which sits on land that was part of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties and including the town of Georgetown. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. Close to the town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the states distance from seismic/earthquake zones. The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland, buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily. The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Marylands natural lakes, laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City and adjacent to Russett. Chews Lake is a natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro. There are numerous lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake. Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible, as is typical of states on the East Coast, Marylands plant life is abundant and healthy. Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay, moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state
Maryland
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Western Maryland: known for its heavily forested mountains. A panoramic view of
Deep Creek Lake and the surrounding
Appalachian Mountains in
Garrett County.
Maryland
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Flag
Maryland
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Dramatic example of Maryland's
fall line, a change in rock type and elevation that creates waterfalls in many areas along the Southwest to Northeast geological boundary that crosses the state.
Great Falls, cliffs and rapids.
Maryland
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Typical freshwater river above the tidal zone. The
Patapsco River includes the famous
Thomas Viaduct and is part of the
Patapsco Valley State Park. Later, the river forms the
Inner Harbor as it empties into the
Chesapeake Bay.
United States of America
United States Navy
Lieutenant Commander
U.S. Navy SEALs
Navy Pistol Marksmanship Medal
