1.
Mogadishu
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Mogadishu, known locally as Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. Located in the coastal Banaadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for millennia, tradition and old records assert that southern Somalia, including the Mogadishu area, was historically inhabited by hunter-gatherers. These were later joined by Cushitic-speaking agro-pastoralists, who would go on to establish local aristocracies, during its medieval Golden Age, Mogadishu was ruled by the Muzaffar dynasty, a vassal of the Ajuran Sultanate. It subsequently fell under the control of an assortment of local Sultanates and polities, the city later became the capital of Italian Somaliland in the colonial period. After the Somali Republic became independent in 1960, Mogadishu became known, the ICU thereafter splintered into more radical groups, notably al-Shabaab, which fought the Transitional Federal Government and its African Union Mission to Somalia allies. With a change in administration in late 2010, government troops, Mogadishu has subsequently experienced a period of intense reconstruction. As Somalias capital city, many important national institutions are based in Mogadishu and it is the seat of the Federal Government of Somalia established in August 2012, with the Somalia Federal Parliament serving as the governments legislative branch. Yusuf Hussein Jimaale has been the Mayor of Mogadishu since October 2015, villa Somalia is the official residential palace and principal workplace of the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In May 2012, the First Somali Bank was established in the capital, the establishment of a local construction yard has also galvanized the citys real-estate sector. Arbaa Rukun Mosque is one of the oldest Islamic places of worship in the capital, the Mosque of Islamic Solidarity in Mogadishu is the largest masjid in the Horn region. Mogadishu Cathedral was built in 1928 by the authorities in Italian Somaliland in a Norman Gothic style. The National Museum of Somalia is based in Mogadishu and holds many important artefacts. The National Library of Somalia is undergoing a $1 million Somali federal government funded renovation, Mogadishu is home to a number of scholastic and media institutions. As part of the urban renewal program,100 schools across the capital are scheduled to be refurbished and reopened. The Somali National University was established in the 1950s, and professors from the university founded the non-governmental Mogadishu University. Benadir University was established in 2002 with the intention of training doctors, various national sporting bodies have their headquarters in Mogadishu, including the Somali Football Federation and the Somali Olympic Committee. Mogadishu Stadium was constructed in 1978 during the Siad Barre administration and it hosts football matches with teams from the Somali First Division and the Somalia Cup. Additionally, the Port of Mogadishu serves as a national seaport and is the largest harbour in Somalia
2.
Maine
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Maine is the northernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 39th most extensive and the 41st most populous of the U. S. states and territories and it is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the north. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and it is known for its jagged, rocky coastline, low, rolling mountains, heavily forested interior, and picturesque waterways, and also its seafood cuisine, especially clams and lobster. There is a continental climate throughout the state, even in areas such as its most populous city of Portland. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples were the inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine. At the time of European arrival in what is now Maine, the first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607, as Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements had survived. Loyalist and Patriot forces contended for Maines territory during the American Revolution, Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become an independent state. On March 15,1820, it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state under the Missouri Compromise, there is no definitive explanation for the origin of the name Maine, but the most likely origin is the name given by early explorers after a province in France. Whatever the origin, the name was fixed for English settlers in 1665 when the English Kings Commissioners ordered that the Province of Maine be entered from then on in official records. The state legislature in 2001 adopted a resolution establishing Franco-American Day, other theories mention earlier places with similar names, or claim it is a nautical reference to the mainland. Attempts to uncover the history of the name of Maine began with James Sullivans 1795 History of the District of Maine. He made the allegation that the Province of Maine was a compliment to the queen of Charles I, Henrietta Maria. MAINE appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in reference to the county of Dorset, the view generally held among British place name scholars is that Mayne in Dorset is Brythonic, corresponding to modern Welsh maen, plural main or meini. Some early spellings are, MAINE1086, MEINE1200, MEINES1204, mason had served with the Royal Navy in the Orkney Islands where the chief island is called Mainland, a possible name derivation for these English sailors. Initially, several tracts along the coast of New England were referred to as Main or Maine, Maine is the only state whose name has exactly one syllable. The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, including the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Penobscot, who had a loose confederacy. European contact with what is now called Maine started around 1200 CE when Norwegians interacted with the native Penobscot in present-day Hancock County, most likely through trade
3.
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
4.
United States invasion of Panama
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The United States Invasion of Panama, code named Operation Just Cause, was an invasion of Panama by the United States between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. During the invasion, de facto Panamanian leader, general, and dictator Manuel Noriega was deposed, president-elect Guillermo Endara sworn into office, and the Panamanian Defense Force dissolved. Although the canal was destined for Panamanian administration, the bases remained. Noriega received upwards of $100,000 per year from the 1960s until the 1980s, in the mid-1980s, relations between Noriega and the United States began to deteriorate. Later negotiations involved dropping the drug-trafficking indictments, in March 1988, Noriegas forces resisted an attempted coup against the government of Panama. As relations continued to deteriorate, Noriega appeared to shift his Cold War allegiance towards the Soviet bloc, soliciting and receiving aid from Cuba, Nicaragua. American military planners began preparing plans to invade Panama. Their tally showed their candidate, Guillermo Endara, defeating Carlos Duque, candidate of a pro-Noriega coalition, Endara was beaten up by Noriega supporters the next day in his motorcade. Noriega declared the election null and maintained power by force, making him unpopular among Panamanians, Noriegas government insisted that it had won the presidential election and that irregularities had been on the part of U. S. -backed candidates from opposition parties. Bush called on Noriega to honor the will of the Panamanian people, the United States reinforced its Canal Zone garrison, and increased the tempo of training and other activities intended to put pressure on Noriega. In October 1989, Noriega foiled a coup attempt by members of the Panamanian Defense Forces. Pressure mounted on Bush as the media labeled him a wimp for failing to aid Panama, on 15 December, the Panamanian general assembly passed a resolution declaring that the actions of the United States had caused a state of war to exist between Panama and the United States. The next day, four U. S. military personnel were stopped at a roadblock around 9,00 PM outside PDF headquarters in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City, the PDF asserted later that the Americans were armed and on a reconnaissance mission. The PDF opened fire and Lieutenant Paz was fatally wounded by a round that entered the rear of the vehicle, captain Hadded, the driver of the vehicle, was also wounded in the foot. Paz was rushed to Gorgas Army Hospital but died of his wounds and he received the Purple Heart posthumously. According to U. S. military sources, a U. S. Naval officer, while in police custody, they were assaulted by the PDF. The U. S. Naval officer spent two weeks in hospital recovering from the beating, PDF soldiers sexually threatened his wife. The next day, President Bush ordered the execution of the Panama invasion plan, the military set H-Hour as 0100 on 20 December
5.
Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
6.
Battle of Mogadishu (1993)
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The Battle of Mogadishu or Day of the Rangers, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. The battle is referred to as the First Battle of Mogadishu. Task Force Ranger was dispatched to seize two of Aidids high-echelon lieutenants during a meeting in the city, the goal of the operation was achieved, though conditions spiraled into the deadly Battle of Mogadishu. The initial operation of 3 October 1993, intended to last an hour, became an overnight standoff, Task Force Ranger was created in August 1993, and deployed to Somalia in September. It consisted of elite special operations units from Army, Air Force and Navy special services. As a multi-disciplinary joint special forces operation, Task Force Ranger reported to Joint Special Operations Command, the assault force consisted of nineteen aircraft, twelve vehicles, and 160 men. The operation was intended to last no longer than one hour, shortly after the assault began, Somali militia and armed civilian fighters shot down two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The subsequent operation to secure and recover the crews of both helicopters extended the operation into an overnight standoff and daylight rescue operation on 4 October. The battle resulted in 18 deaths,73 wounded, and one pilot captured among the U. S. raid party. At least one Pakistani soldier and one Malaysian soldier were killed as part of the forces on day two of the battle. American sources estimate between 1,500 and 3,000 Somali casualties, including civilians, the Somali National Alliance claims 315 dead, during the operation, two U. S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by RPGs and three others were damaged. Some of the survivors were able to evacuate to the compound. An urban battle ensued and continued throughout the night, early the next morning, a combined task force was sent to rescue the trapped soldiers. It contained soldiers from the Pakistan Army, the Malaysian Army and they assembled over one hundred vehicles, including Pakistani tanks and Malaysian Condor armoured personnel carriers and were supported by U. S. MH-6 Little Bird and MH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. This task force reached the first crash site and rescued the survivors, the second crash site had been overrun by hostile Somalis during the night. Delta snipers Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart volunteered to hold them off until ground forces arrived, a Somali mob with thousands of combatants eventually overran the two men. That sites lone surviving American, pilot Michael Durant, had taken prisoner but was later released. The exact number of Somali casualties is unknown, but estimates range from several hundred to over a thousand militiamen and others killed, with injuries to another 3, 000–4,000
7.
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
8.
Randy Shughart
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Randall David Randy Shughart was a United States Army soldier of the elite special operations unit, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, also known as Delta Force. Shughart was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Battle of Mogadishu on October 1993, Shughart was born on August 13,1958, in Lincoln, Nebraska, into a U. S. Air Force family. After his father, Herbert Shughart, left the Air Force, Shughart joined the Army while attending Big Spring High School in Newville, entering upon graduation in 1976. After completing basic training, he successfully completed AIT, Airborne School, several months later he completed a pre-ranger course, was granted a slot to attend Ranger School, graduated, and earned the Ranger Tab. Shughart left active duty and went into the Army Reserve in June 1980, in December 1983, Shughart returned to active duty and the following year attended Special Forces training. Shughart was assigned to Delta Force and was transferred to Fort Bragg, as a Delta Force operator, he advanced to Assistant Team Sergeant. Shughart was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger, a Combat Search and Rescue team came to secure it. Then, a second Black Hawk helicopter, call sign Super Six-Four, was shot down, Shughart, Gary Gordon, and Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings had been providing sniper cover from the air from Black Hawk Super Six-Two. Gordon wanted to be inserted to secure the site as hostile Somalis were converging on the area. Mission commanders denied Gordons request twice, saying that the situation was too dangerous for the Delta snipers to protect the crew from the ground, commands position was that the snipers could be of more assistance by providing air cover. Gordon, however, repeated his request until he got permission, Hallings stayed behind to man a machine gun as one of the helicopters gunners had been wounded. Shughart and Gordon were inserted approximately 100m from the site, armed with their sniper rifles and sidearms. Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant was already defending the aircraft with an MP5 but was unable to move from his chair due to a vertebra in his back. When they reached Super Six-Four, they extracted Durant and the members from the crash. It is believed that Gordon was first to be shot by the mob, Shughart retrieved Gordons CAR-15 rifle and gave it to Durant to use. Shortly after, Shughart was killed, the site was overrun, according to Michael Durants book In the Company of Heroes, the Somalis counted 25 of their militia dead after the firefight. There was some confusion in the aftermath of the action as to who had been killed first, furthermore, Howe said that Gordon would not have given his weapon to someone while he could still fight. Durant later admitted that he initially misidentified which man was killed first, Shugharts body was eventually recovered and is buried in Westminster Cemetery, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
9.
Combat engineer
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A combat engineer is a soldier who performs a variety of construction and demolition tasks under combat conditions. The combat engineers goals involve facilitating movement and support of forces while impeding those of the enemy. Combat engineers build, repair and maintain buildings, roads and power supplies and they employ explosives for construction and demolition projects, and clear minefields using specialized vehicles. Typically, an engineer is also trained as an infantryman. A general combat engineer is often called a pioneer or sapper, terms derived respectively from the French, while the officers of a combat engineering unit may be professionally certified civil or mechanical engineers, the non-commissioned members are generally not. Sapper, In the U. S. British, Indian, Canadian, Australian, in the Israeli Defence Forces, Sapper 06 is a military profession code denoting a combat engineer who has graduated from basic general engineering training. In the Canadian Army, is a term for soldiers that have completed the basic Combat Engineer training, in the Portuguese Army, a sapador de engenharia is a soldier of the engineering branch that has specialized combat engineer training. A sapador de infantaria is a soldier of the branch that has a similar training. The Italian Army uses the term Guastatori for their engineers and other specialized units. Pioneer, In the Finnish army, pioneeri is the equivalent rank in the army for a soldier who has completed the basic combat engineering training. Naval engineers retain the rank matruusi but bear the insignia on their sleeves. The German Bundeswehr uses the term Pionier for their engineers and other specialized units. Also the combat engineers in the Austro-Hungarien k. u. k, until recently, assault pioneers were responsible for the operation of flamethrowers. Field engineer, is a used in many Commonwealth armies. In modern usage, it is synonymous with combat engineer. However, the originally identified those military engineers who supported an army operating in the field as opposed to garrison engineers who built. In its original usage, field engineering would have been inclusive of, miner Pontonier Combat engineers are force multipliers and enhance the survival of other troops through the use and practice of camouflage, reconnaissance, communications and other services. These include the construction of roads, bridges, field fortifications, obstacles, in these roles, combat engineers use a wide variety of hand and power tools
10.
Special forces
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Special forces and special operations forces are military or police units trained to conduct special operations. The term special forces in the United States refers to the U. S. Armys forces, in Russian-speaking countries special forces are typically called spetsnaz, an acronym for special purpose. Likewise, Russian speakers refer to special forces of nations as spetsnaz, for example. Special Forces would be referred to as amerikanski spetsnaz in Russian, other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from near or among the enemy and increasingly in combating irregular forces, their infrastructure and activities. Hamilcar Barca in Sicily had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day, in the late Roman or early Byzantine period, Roman fleets used small, fast, camouflaged ships crewed by selected men for scouting and commando missions. In Japan, ninjas were used for reconnaissance, espionage and as assassins, bodyguards or fortress guards, during the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units were formed that held specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing and were not committed to the formal battle lines. The British Indian Army deployed two special forces during their wars, the Corps of Guides formed in 1846 and the Gurkha Scouts. During the Second Boer War the British Army felt the need for specialised units became most apparent. This unit was formed in 1900 by Lord Lovat and early on reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, after the war, Lovats Scouts went on to formally become the British Armys first sniper unit. Additionally, the Bushveldt Carbineers, formed in 1901, can be seen as an unconventional warfare unit. Modern special forces emerged during the Second World War, in 1940, the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchills call for specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast. A staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke, had already submitted such a proposal to General Sir John Dill, Dill, aware of Churchills intentions, approved Clarkes proposal and on 23 June 1940, the first Commando raid took place. The Special Service Brigade was quickly expanded to 12 units which became known as Commandos, each Commando had a lieutenant colonel as the commanding officer and numbered around 450 men. In December 1940 a Middle East Commando depot was formed with the responsibility of training and supplying reinforcements for the Commando units in that theatre, in February 1942 the Commando training depot at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands was established by Brigadier Charles Haydon. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vaughan, the Commando depot was responsible for training complete units, the training regime was for the time innovative and physically demanding, and far in advance of normal British Army training. The depot staff were all hand picked, with the ability to any of the volunteers. Training and assessment started immediately on arrival, with the volunteers having to complete an 8-mile march with all their equipment from the Spean Bridge railway station to the commando depot, exercises were conducted using live ammunition and explosives to make training as realistic as possible. Physical fitness was a prerequisite, with cross country runs and boxing matches to improve fitness, speed and endurance marches were conducted up and down the nearby mountain ranges and over assault courses that included a zip-line over Loch Arkaig, all while carrying arms and full equipment
11.
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
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The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Armys Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System competition in 1972, the Army designated the prototype as the YUH-60A and selected the Black Hawk as the winner of the program in 1976, after a fly-off competition with the Boeing Vertol YUH-61. Named after the Native American war leader Black Hawk, the UH-60A entered service with the U. S. Army in 1979 and this was followed by the fielding of electronic warfare and special operations variants of the Black Hawk. Improved UH-60L and UH-60M utility variants have also been developed, Modified versions have also been developed for the U. S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. In addition to U. S. Army use, the UH-60 family has been exported to several nations, Black Hawks have served in combat during conflicts in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and other areas in the Middle East. In the late 1960s, the United States Army began forming requirements for a helicopter to replace the UH-1 Iroquois, the Army also initiated the development of a new, common turbine engine for its helicopters that would become the General Electric T700. Based on experience in Vietnam, the Army required significant performance, the Army released its UTTAS request for proposals in January 1972. The RFP also included air transport requirements, Transport aboard the C-130 limited the UTTAS cabin height and length. Four prototypes were constructed, with the first YUH-60A flying on 17 October 1974, prior to delivery of the prototypes to the US Army, a preliminary evaluation was conducted in November 1975 to ensure the aircraft could be operated safely during all testing. Three of the prototypes were delivered to the Army in March 1976, for evaluation against the rival Boeing-Vertol design, the YUH-61A, the Army selected the UH-60 for production in December 1976. Deliveries of the UH-60A to the Army began in October 1978, after entering service, the helicopter was modified for new missions and roles, including mine laying and medical evacuation. An EH-60 variant was developed to conduct electronic warfare and special operations aviation developed the MH-60 variant to support its missions, due to weight increases from the addition of mission equipment and other changes, the Army ordered the improved UH-60L in 1987. The new model incorporated all of the made to the UH-60A fleet as standard design features. The UH-60L also featured more power and lifting capability with upgraded T700-GE-701C engines and its external lift capacity increased by 1,000 lb up to 9,000 lb. The UH-60L also incorporated the automatic control system from the SH-60 for better flight control due to handling issues with the more powerful engines. Production of the L-model began in 1989, Development of the next improved variant, the UH-60M, was approved in 2001, to extend the service life of the UH-60 design into the 2020s. The UH-60M incorporates upgraded T700-GE-701D engines, improved rotor blades, and state of the art electronic instrumentation, flight controls and aircraft navigation control. After the U. S. DoD approved low-rate initial production of the new variant, manufacturing began in 2006, after an initial operational evaluation, the Army approved full-rate production and a five-year contract for 1,227 helicopters in December 2007
12.
Combat search and rescue
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Combat search and rescue are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling tankers. The USAF HC-130, which was introduced in 1965, has served in the two roles. The First World War was the background for the development of combat search and rescue doctrine, especially in the more fluid theaters of war in the Balkans. When trench warfare made this impossible the cars were transferred to other theatres, in 1915, during the First World War, Squadron Commander Richard Bell-Davies of the British Royal Naval Air Service performed the first combat search and rescue by aircraft in history. He used his single-seat aeroplane to rescue his wingman who had shot down in Bulgaria. Like the search and rescue efforts of the future, Davies action sprang from the fervent desire to keep a compatriot from capture or death at the hands of the enemy. It was during the Mesopotamian campaign that British and Commonwealth forces began to use similar tactics on a larger scale, shot down aviators in hostile Bedouin territory were often located by search parties in the air and rescued. During World War II, the Luftwaffe operated armed camouflaged air-sea rescue aircraft, during the Vietnam War the costly rescue of Bat 21 led the US military to find a new approach to high-threat search and rescue. As a result of the Vietnam CSAR experience, the US military also improved the capability of helicopters. During the Vietnam War, U. S. SAR forces saved 3,883 lives at the cost of 71 rescuers and 45 aircraft, on 21 April 1917, Captain Richard Williams of the Australian Flying Corps landed behind enemy lines to rescue a downed comrade. He eluded capture by North Vietnamese forces until his rescue 11½ days later, during the rescue operation, five US military aircraft supporting the CSAR effort were shot down, eleven US servicemen were killed and two men were captured. The rescue operation was the largest, longest, and most complex search-and-rescue operation during the entire Vietnam War and it has been the subject of two books and the largely fictionalized film Bat*21. The United States Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron was involved in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, timothy Wilkinson, a Pararescueman, was awarded the Air Force Cross for his heroic actions during the battle. During the opening moments of Operation Desert Storm, an MH-53 Pave Low crew from the 20th Special Operations Squadron recovered an F-14 Tomcat pilot who was shot down over Iraq. On June 2,1995, a USAF F-16C was shot down by a Bosnian Serb Army SA-6 surface-to-air missile near Mrkonjić Grad, Bosnia, the American pilot, Scott OGrady, ejected safely and was rescued six days later. The operation became known as the Mrkonjić Grad incident, in 1999, members of the United States Air Force Pararescue unit successfully rescued the pilot of an F-117 stealth attack aircraft who was shot down over Yugoslavia while on a NATO-led mission. The pilot was retrieved 6 hours after the incident, joint Personnel Recovery Agency Non-combatant evacuation operation United States Air Force Pararescue Leave No Man Behind, The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue
United States of America
United States Army
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
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