1.
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
2.
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
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The Distinguished Service Cross is equivalent to the Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross. The Distinguished Service Cross was first awarded during World War I, in addition, a number of awards were made for actions before World War I. Others were belated recognition of actions in the Philippines, on the Mexican Border, the Distinguished Service Cross is only awarded for actions in combat, while the Distinguished Service Medal has no such restriction. A cross of bronze,2 inches in height and 1 13⁄16 inches in width with an eagle on the center, on the reverse side, the center of the cross is circled by a wreath with a space for engraving the name of the recipient. The act or acts of heroism must have been so notable and have involved risk of life so extraordinary as to set the individual apart from his or her comrades, the following are authorized components of the Distinguished Service Cross, Decoration, MIL-D-3943/4. NSN 8455-00-246-3827 for individual replacement medal, additional awards of the Armys Distinguished Service Cross are denoted with oak leaf clusters. The Distinguished Service Cross was established by President Woodrow Wilson on January 2,1918, the request for establishment of the medal was forwarded from the Secretary of War to the President in a letter dated December 28,1917. The Act of Congress establishing this award, dated July 9,1918, is contained in 10 U. S. C, the establishment of the Distinguished Service Cross was promulgated in War Department General Order No. The Distinguished Service Cross was originally designed by J. Andre Smith, the Distinguished Service Cross was first cast and manufactured by the United States Mint at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The die was cast from the design prepared by Captain Aymar E. Embury II. Upon examination of the first medals struck at the Mint, it was considered advisable to make minor changes to add to the beauty. Due to the importance of the element involved in furnishing the decorations to General Pershing. These medals were furnished with the provision that these crosses be replaced when the supply of the design was accomplished. 10 U. S. C. §3991 provides for a 10% increase in retired pay for enlisted personnel who have retired more than 20 years of service if they have been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Order of precedence and wear of decorations is contained in Army Regulation 670-1, Policy for awards, approving authority, supply, and issue of decorations is contained in AR 600-8-22. During World War I,6,309 awards of the Distinguished Service Cross were made to 6,185 recipients, several dozen Army soldiers, as well as eight Marines and two French Army officers, received two Distinguished Service Crosses. A handful, mostly aviators, were decorated three or more times, fellow aviators Douglas Campbell, also of the 94th, and Frank ODriscoll Monk Hunter of the 103rd Aero Squadron each received five. Another 94th aviator, Reed McKinley Chambers, was awarded four Distinguished Service Crosses, Edward Peck Curtis, also of the 95th Aero Squadron received the Distinguished Service Cross as a First Lieutenant
3.
9th Engineer Battalion (United States)
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The 9th Engineer Battalion is a unit of the United States Army that deploys to designated contingency areas and conducts combat and/or stability operations in support of a brigade combat team. It is a mechanized combat engineer unit, composed of three line companies and a headquarters company. Its mission is to provide assured mobility, counter-mobility, general engineering and it is most famous for the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine River. As of 18 May 2015, the battalion exists as the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion in Fort Stewart, GA under 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the crest was approved by the Department of the Army and the 9th Engineer Battalion on 27 July 1967. All the symbols reflect the initial service in the southwest United States. The wreath under the Gila monster is the Corps of Engineer wreath, the Gila monster represents service along the Gila River and the southwest desert from 1917-1920. The ship anchor and oars are the Coat of Arms from 9Es original parent unit, the horse head represents service as Mounted Engineers and Armored Engineers. The wavy chevron running across the shield represents service along the Rio Grande from 1917-1920, the lone star on the bottom represents service in Texas from 1917-1921. The motto Asistiremos was added in 1925, meaning We Will Assist in Spanish, the battalion was constituted 15 May 1917 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion Mounted Engineers. They were organized 21 May 1917 at Camp Newton D. Baker, El Paso, Texas, the 9th spent its first years in El Paso while serving at Camp Stewart, Texas. After World War I, the battalion was declared inactive except for A Company, from 1923 to 1936, A Company provided vital training and infrastructure support to the Cavalry School first as a unit of the 2nd Cavalry Division and later as Troop A, 9th Engineer Squadron. The performance of Troop A during this period established a tradition of excellence for the 9th Engineer Squadron as a cavalry unit. The platoon leader during a significant portion of that period was 1LT Samuel D. Sturgis, following the outbreak of World War II, the battalion was activated as the 9th Armored Engineer Battalion, part of the 9th Armored Division. The battalion fought in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, in the battle, B Company operated under Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division and figured prominently in the Battle of St. Vith. B Company prepared three bridges for demolitions, one in Steinbruck and two in and around Galhausen, of the 3, only one required demolition. The B Company Commander was captured on 22 December 1944 when the 27th AIB CP Aid Station was overrun, the Company suffered 10 casualties during the Battle of the Bulge, five men missing in action, and five men wounded in action. The Company lost one half track, seven 2 ½ ton trucks, one ¾ ton weapons carrier, C Company figuring prominently in the defense of Bastogne, for which the company was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. They are credited with blocking six roads from the south and east of Bastogne from 20–27 December, in the Battle of the Bulge, they suffered three KIA, three died of wounds,11 missing in action,12 wounded in action
4.
Ludendorff Bridge
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At the end of Operation Lumberjack, the troops of the American 1st Army approached Remagen and were surprised to find that the bridge was still standing. Its capture enabled the U. S. Army to establish a bridgehead on the side of the Rhine. After the U. S. forces captured the bridge, German forces tried to destroy it multiple times until it collapsed on March 17,1945, ten days after it was captured, killing 28 U. S. Army Engineers. While it stood, the bridge enabled the U. S. Army to deploy 25,000 troops, six Army divisions, with tanks, artillery pieces and trucks. The towers on the west bank were converted into a museum, Remagen is located close to and south of the city of Bonn. The town of Remagen had been founded by the Romans about 2,000 years earlier, the town had been destroyed multiple times and rebuilt each time. Under the Schlieffen Plan, a bridge was planned to be there in 1912, as well as bridges in Engers. German General Erich Ludendorff was a key advocate for building this bridge during World War I and it was designed to connect the Right Rhine Railway, the Left Rhine Railway and the Ahr Valley Railway and carry troops and supplies to the Western Front. It was designed by Karl Wiener and it was constructed between 1916 and 1919, using Russian prisoners of war as labor, and carried two railway lines and two pedestrian catwalks on either side. Work on the pillars and arches was done by leading construction companies Grün & Bilfinger with the steel bridge built by MAN-Werk Gustavsburg. The railway bridge had three spans, two on either side 85 metres long and an arch span of 156 metres. It had dual tracks that could be covered with planks to allow vehicular traffic, the steel section was 325 metres long, and it had an overall length of 398 metres. On the eastern bank the railway passed through Erpeler Ley, a rising hill over 500 feet high. The tunnel was 383 metres long, the arch at its highest measured 28.5 metres above the water. It was normally about 48 feet above the Rhine, the 4,640 tonnes structure cost about 2.1 million marks when it was built during World War I. The towers were designed with fighting loopholes for troops, from the flat roof of the towers troops had a good view of the valley. To protect the bridge, both a unit and a military police unit were assigned to the site. The designers had also built cavities into the piers where demolition charges could be placed
5.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
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The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department is the primary provider of law enforcement services for Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. The MNPD covers a area of 526.1 square miles that encompasses everything from high density urban locations to rural areas. The department personnel includes over 1450 full-time sworn members, the department responds to more than 950,000 police calls per year on average. The most recent census ranked Nashville as the 21st largest U. S. city, in 2000 the Department of Justice ranked the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as the 36th largest U. S. police department. The department is configured in a format, providing its precinct commanders with control of their own resources to address issues. The department is divided into eight precincts, North, South, East, West, Central, Hermitage, Madison, a precinct is designed similarly to a medium-sized police department, with uniform patrol, undercover officers, directed patrol officers, plainclothes detectives, and other specialties. The departments entire focus is on how to identify trends. This early concept became the foundation for the department’s Metro Unique Situation Team and this team was placed under the direct control of the Metro Police Department’s Training Academy Director and its members were appointed from the training academy’s roll. In 1979 the team was renamed the Special Weapons and Tactics Team and in 1983, SWAT members are specialists selected, trained, and equipped to resolve high-risk tactical problems. SWAT personnel assist in the response to unusual and high-risk tactical situations. The members have primary assignments from virtually all sections within the department and come together for training and their constant specialty training and flexibility are the key elements in keeping abreast of a rapidly changing society and the complex problems it generates. The team conducts over 125 SWAT-related missions per year and is equipped with a Lenco BearCat armored rescue vehicle, the unit is a plainclothes versatile SWAT unit with its primary focus as combating high-risk suspects who have outstanding warrants. The Special Response Tactical Unit is staffed by active SWAT Team members, since 2005, The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has been involved in Operation Safer Streets. The team had originally only 14 officers who worked Friday, Saturday and these 14 officers stepped up Patrol in areas that have had a high concentration of gang activity, which include Madison and Antioch areas. In March 2008, the Department added 23 more officers to the anti-gang team, then-Chief of Police Ronal W. Serpas stated that this step up in patrol was intended to send a message that he would not tolerate gang activity in Nashville. In August 2009 Nashville appeared on Season Four Episode 23 of the TV Show Gangland featuring the street gang and this show highlights several local gang members, both arrested and out on the street, who talk about their lives in the gangs. List of law enforcement agencies in Tennessee Metropolitan Nashville Police website Nashville, Tennessee, website Ashmore, TENNESSEE LAWMAN History of the Men and Women behind the Badge. Metropolitan Nashville Police Web site http, //www. police. nashville. org/ United States Census Bureau
6.
Marion Military Institute
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Marion Military Institute, often abbreviated with the initialism MMI, is the official state military college of Alabama. Founded in Marion in 1842, it continues at its original location, Marion Military Institute traces its origins back to 1842 with the creation of Howard College. In 1842, Howard English & Classical School, later known as Howard College, was established in Marion, Alabama, by the Alabama Baptist Convention, with Dr. S. S. Sherman as President. During the American Civil War South Barracks, built in 1854, & the Chapel, built in 1857, along with the Presidents House, these buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1887, the decision was made to move Howard College to Birmingham, the United States Army ROTC program was first offered at MMI in 1916, when the institute was designated as an Honor Military School with Distinction by the United States Department of Defense. The U. S. Army Early Commissioning Program was established at MMI in 1968, in March 2006, the Alabama state legislature passed a resolution placing MMI under the auspices of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education. MMI became The State Military College of Alabama, as part of the transition to a public institution, Marion phased out its high school program. In May 2009, the last high school graduated from Marion Military Institutes Preparatory School Program. MMI is one of only six Military junior colleges in the United States which offer unique military training programs, the Service Academy Preparation Program is a freshman year of solid academic and physical preparation for students who wish to attend one of the Service Academies. MMI also offers the first two years of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, MMI was home to one of the few Union and Confederate cemeteries in existence, which is now located behind St. Wilfrids Episcopal Church. Marion Military Institute is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Associate of Arts, MMI has association memberships in the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States and the Alabama College Conference. The society also disseminates knowledge of education to the students. In general, members acquaint the public with our national defense needs, originated at Marion Military Institute in 1963. Named for Francis Marion, who was called The Swamp Fox and he and his small and poorly equipped force harassed the British loyalists along the Peedee and Santee Rivers. The Swamp Foxes are to be the most physically fit, most disciplined, the Swamp Foxes of MMI are required to maintain a 2. The White Knights were established in 1950, founded by the Cadet Commander Gene Hyche to promote precision drill, discipline, and to establish a union of brotherhood and trust among its members. The team consists of cadets from across the nation, try-outs are held at the beginning of each semester and consist of twenty-one days of intense training in military drill techniques. Membership in the White Knights is based on military drill proficiency, each year the Knights receive invitations to perform throughout the United States
