1.
Peoria, Illinois
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Peoria is a city in and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, as of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 373,590 in 2011, Peoria had a population of 118,943 in 2010, when far northern Peoria was also included. Around 12,000 jobs will still remain in the Peoria area, Peoria is one of the oldest settlements in Illinois, as explorers first ventured up the Illinois River from the Mississippi. The lands that eventually would become Peoria were first settled in 1680 and this fort would later burn to the ground, and in 1813 Fort Clark, Illinois was built. When the County of Peoria was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named Peoria, Peoria was named after the Peoria tribe, a member of the Illinois Confederation. The original meaning of the word is uncertain, a 21st-century proposal suggests a derivation from a Proto-Algonquian word meaning to dream with the help of a manitou. Peoria was incorporated as a village on March 11,1835, the city did not have a mayor, though they had a village president, Rudolphus Rouse, who served from 1835 to 1836. The first Chief of Police, John B Lishk, was appointed in 1837, the city was incorporated on April 21,1845. This was the end of a president and the start of the mayoral system. Peoria, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, was named after Peoria, greenhut and Deloss S. Brown − wished to name it after their hometown. Peoria is located at 40°43′15″N 89°36′34″W, according to the 2010 census, Peoria has a total area of 50.23 square miles, of which 48.01 square miles is land and 2.22 square miles is water. Peoria is bounded on the east by the Illinois River except for the enclave of Peoria Heights, four bridges run directly between the city and neighboring East Peoria. On the south end of Peorias western border are Bartonville and the established city of West Peoria. Local municipal plans indicate that the city intends to continue its expansion northwest, into an area considered part of Dunlap. Peoria has a continental climate, with cold, snowy winters. Monthly daily mean temperatures range from 22.5 °F to 75.2 °F, snowfall is common in the winter, averaging 26.3 inches, but this figure varies considerably from year to year. Precipitation, averaging 36 inches, peaks in the spring and summer, extremes have ranged from −27 °F in January 1884 to 113 °F in July 1936
2.
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
3.
Admiral (United States)
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Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below fleet admiral in the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service do not have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the uniformed services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps has never had a hold the grade of admiral. However,37 U. S. C. §201 of the U. S. Code established the grade for the NOAA Corps in the case a position is created that merits the four-star grade. The United States Navy did not have any admirals until 1862 because many felt the title too reminiscent of royalty, such as the British Royal Navy. Others saw the need for ranks above captain, among them John Paul Jones and he also felt there must be ranks above captain to avoid disputes among senior captains. Two years later Congress authorized the appointment of an admiral from among the nine rear admirals. Another bill allowed the President of the United States to appoint Farragut to admiral on July 25,1866, when Farragut died in 1870, Porter became admiral and Stephen C. Rowan was promoted to vice admiral, there was one admiral in the interim, however. In 1899, Congress recognized George Deweys accomplishments during the Spanish–American War by authorizing the President to appoint him Admiral of the Navy and he held that rank until he died in 1917. Nobody has since held that title, in 1944, Congress approved the five-star grade of fleet admiral. The first to hold it were William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King, the Senate confirmed their appointments December 15,1944. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey got his star in December 1945. The rear admiral got his two-inch stripe and one half-inch stripe in 1866, the sleeve stripes had been more elaborate. When the rear admiral rank started in 1862 the sleeve arrangement was three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace alternating with three stripes of quarter-inch lace and it was some ten inches from top to bottom. The vice admiral, of course, had even more stripes, on their dress uniforms the admirals wore bands of gold embroidery of live oak leaves and acorns. The admirals of the 1860s wore the number of stars on their shoulders as admirals of corresponding grades do today. During the 20th century, the ranks of the modern U. S. admiralty were firmly established, an oddity that did exist was that the navy did not have a one-star rank except briefly during World War II when Congress established a temporary war rank of commodore
4.
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
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The current VCNO is Admiral William F. Moran. The senior leadership of the U. S, the Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the principal deputy of the Chief of Naval Operations. The VCNO may also perform other delegated duties that either the Secretary of the Navy or the CNO assigns to him or her, in the event that the CNO is absent or is unable to perform their duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. Within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, while there are several Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations of either three and two star rank, there is only one VCNO. The VCNO is appointed by the President of the United States, while there is not a fixed term nor a term limit in the statute, the historical precedent is that a Vice Chief of Naval Operations serves for a tenure of two to three years. The equivalent of the current VCNO position was called Assistant for Operations in 1915, in 1942 the title became Vice Chief of Naval Operations
5.
VA-216
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State Route 216 is a primary state highway in the U. S. state of Virginia. Known as Guinea Road, the highway runs 3.61 miles from U. S. Route 17 at Hayes east to SR649. SR216 begins at an intersection with US17 in the hamlet of Hayes just north of Gloucester Point, the state highway heads east as a two-lane road along the height of land between the mouth of the York River to the south and the Severn River to the north. After passing through Bena, SR216 reaches its terminus at its junction with SR649. SR649 and SR653 head toward Maryus and Severn, respectively, the entire route is in Gloucester County
6.
VFA-125
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Strike Fighter Squadron 125, also known as the Rough Raiders, is a United States Navy strike fighter squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The Rough Raiders are a Fleet Replacement Squadron flying the F-35C Lightning II, there have been three distinct squadrons known as the Rough Raiders. The first VA-125 was most likely established in 1946 as Naval Reserve Squadron VA-923 and it was activated for service in the Korean War on 20 July 1959, redesignated VA-125 in February 1953 and was disestablished on 10 April 1958. The second VA-125 was established on 30 June 1956 as VA-26 and redesignated VA-125 Rough Raiders on 11 April 1958 and that second VA-125 was disestablished on 1 October 1977. The VFA-125 Rough Raiders were established on 13 November 1980 at NAS Lemoore, California, VFA-125 received its first aircraft in April 1981, and by March 1985, had amassed over 30,000 mishap-free flight hours in the Hornet. On 1 October 2010, VFA-125 was deactivated as an F/A-18 Fleet Replacement Squadron, and its aircraft and personnel were incorporated into VFA-122. The Rough Raiders trained F/A-18 pilots for the U. S. Navy, pilots and Naval Flight Officers for the U. S Marine Corps, Flight training was supplemented by the latest state-of-the-art computer flight simulators and computer based academic instruction to enhance understanding and performance in the Hornet. VFA-125 averaged 1,500 flight hours monthly and trained approximately 120 pilots each year, pilots from the U. S. Navy, the U. S. By May 1996, VFA-125 had amassed over 70,000 mishap-free flight hours in the Hornet, by January 1998 they were the first Fleet Readiness Squadron to surpass 100,000 mishap free flight hours. Aircrew returning from non-flying assignments also underwent refresher training at VFA-125 prior to returning to the Fleet, additionally, VFA-125 trained maintenance personnel and provided replacement aircraft to Fleet units. VFA-125s East Coast counterpart was VFA-106, initially at NAS Cecil Field until late 1999, additionally, VMFAT-101 at MCAS El Toro and later at MCAS Miramar also trained Navy and Marine Corps Hornet operators. On 1 October 2010, VFA-125 was deactivated and its aircraft, the squadron was re-activated at NAS Lemoore on 12 January 2017 as the west coast F-35C Lightning II FRS. It received its first aircraft on 25 January 2017, the aircraft were transferred from VFA-101 which became the first F-35C FRS in May 2012
7.
Naval Air Station Lemoore
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Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County and Fresno County, California. Lemoore Station, California, a place, is located inside the bases borders. NAS Lemoore is the Navys newest and largest Master Jet Base, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific, along with its associated squadrons, is home ported there. NAS Lemoore also hosts four Carrier Air Wings, Carrier Air Wing Two, Carrier Air Wing Nine, Carrier Air Wing Eleven, and Carrier Air Wing Seventeen. Commissioned in 1961, NAS Lemoore, as seen from an aircraft flying above, looks significant and stands out from the farmlands of Central California, NAS Lemoore is the newest and largest Master Jet Base in the U. S. Navy. It has two parallel runways 4,600 feet apart. Aircraft parking and maintenance hangars are aligned between the 13, 500-foot runways, separated from the hangars by underpasses beneath taxiways A & C, the remainder of the air operations area is located directly southeast. In July 1998, NAS Lemoore was selected as the West Coast site for the Navy’s newest strike-fighter aircraft and this action brought approximately 92 additional aircraft,1,850 additional active duty personnel and 3,000 family members to NAS Lemoore and several associated facility additions or improvements. The Navy also brought four new fleet squadrons to Naval Air Station Lemoore over the period 2001-2004, originally, the Officer In Charge of Construction for building the base was Commander Dennis K. Culp CEC/USN, who was the first Naval officer in Lemoore. With the transfer of NAS Miramar to the United States Marine Corps, NAS Lemoore was built from the ground up as a Master Jet Base, and has several operational advantages, and relatively few constraints, as a result. Strike Fighter Wing Pacific with its facilities is home ported here. The primary aircraft based at NAS Lemoore is the F/A-18 Hornet Strike Fighter, currently, there are a total of 175 Hornets and Super Hornets home-based at NAS Lemoore operating from one Fleet Replacement Squadron and fifteen Fleet Squadrons. FAA Airport Master Record for NLC DoD Lodging Worldwide http, //www. cnic. navy. mil/Lemoore/index. htm Resources for this U. S
8.
Cold War
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The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine was announced, and 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. The term cold is used there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold War split the temporary alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, the Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and all organizations. In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press, a small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement, it sought good relations with both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war. The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Berlin Blockade was the first major crisis of the Cold War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean War, the USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets, the expansion and escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization program in Czechoslovakia, détente collapsed at the end of the decade with the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979. The early 1980s were another period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union, at a time when the communist state was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the mid-1980s, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of perestroika and glasnost. Pressures for national independence grew stronger in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Gorbachev meanwhile refused to use Soviet troops to bolster the faltering Warsaw Pact regimes as had occurred in the past. The result in 1989 was a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew all of the communist regimes of Central, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control and was banned following an abortive coup attempt in August 1991. This in turn led to the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The United States remained as the only superpower. The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy and it is often referred to in popular culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare
9.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
10.
Navy Cross
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The Navy Cross is the United States militarys second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat. The Navy Cross is awarded primarily to a member of the United States Navy, U. S. Marine Corps, the medal is equivalent to the Armys Distinguished Service Cross, the Air Forces Air Force Cross and the Coast Guards Coast Guard Cross. The Navy Cross is bestowed by the Secretary of the Navy and may also be awarded to members of the armed services. The Navy Cross was established by Act of Congress and approved on February 4,1919, the Navy Cross was instituted in part due to the entrance of the United States into World War I. Many European nations had the custom of decorating heroes from other nations, the Army instituted the Distinguished Service Cross and Distinguished Service Medal in 1918, while the Navy followed suit in 1919, retroactive to 6 April 1917. Congress revised this on 7 August 1942, making the Navy Cross a combat-only decoration that follows the Medal of Honor in order of precedence, since the medal was established, it has been awarded more than 6,300 times. It was designed by James Earle Fraser, since the 11 September attacks the Navy Cross has been awarded forty seven times, with two of them having the name of the recipient held in secret. One of those secret awardings was due to actions during the 2012 Benghazi attack, the first actual recipient of the Navy Cross is unknown because initial awards were made from a lengthy list published after World War I. The Navy Cross may be awarded to any member of the U. S, armed Forces while serving with the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard who distinguishes himself or herself in action by extraordinary heroism not justifying an award of the Medal of Honor. An accumulation of minor acts of heroism does not justify an award of the Navy Cross, as originally authorized, the Navy Cross could be awarded for distinguished non-combat acts, but legislation of 7 August 1942 limited the award to acts of combat heroism. The Navy Cross originally was the Navys third-highest decoration, after the Medal of Honor, on 7 August 1942, Congress revised the order of precedence, placing the Navy Cross above the Distinguished Service Medal in precedence. Since that time, the Navy Cross has been worn after the Medal of Honor, additional awards of the Navy Cross are denoted by gold or silver 5⁄16 inch stars affixed to the suspension and service ribbon of the medal. A gold star would be issued for each of the second through fifth awards, to date no one has received more than five awards. The medal is similar in appearance to the British Distinguished Service Cross, obverse, The medal is a modified cross pattée one and a half inches wide. The ends of its arms are rounded whereas a conventional cross patée has arms that are straight on the end, there are four laurel leaves with berries in each of the re-entrant arms of the cross. In the center of the cross a sailing vessel is depicted on waves, the vessel is a symbolic caravel of the type used between 1480 and 1500. Fraser selected the caravel because it was an often used by the Naval Academy. The laurel leaves with berries refer to achievement, reverse, In the center of the medal, a bronze cross pattée, one and a half inches wide, are crossed anchors from the pre-1850 period, with cables attached
11.
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
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The medal was created on July 9,1970 by President Richard Nixon in Executive Order 11545. It is the United Statess highest non-combat related military award and it is the highest joint service decoration, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal is awarded only while assigned to a joint activity. Whose duties bring them frequently into direct contact with the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the medal is gold in color and on the obverse it features a medium blue enameled pentagon. Superimposed on this is an American bald eagle with wings facing left grasping three crossed arrows in its talons and on its breast is a shield of the United States. The pentagon and eagle are enclosed within a gold pieced circle consisting, in the half of 13 five-pointed stars and in the lower half. At the top is a suspender of five graduated gold rays, the reverse of the medal has the inscription For Distinguished Service at the top in raised letters, and within the pentagon the inscription From The Secretary of Defense To, all in raised letters. Additional awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters
12.
Distinguished Service Medal (United States Navy)
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The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919. The medal is presented to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving in a duty or position of great responsibility. The award is the Navy and Marine Corps equivalent to the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal was originally senior to the Navy Cross, until August 1942 when the precedence of the two decorations was reversed. Currently, it is worn after the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, at the start of World War I, the Navy had the Medal of Honor as the only decoration with which to recognize heroism. The law made the award retroactive to 6 April 1917, the first award of the decoration was a posthumous presentation to Brigadier General Charles A. Doyen, USMC, on 13 March 1919. Originally, senior in precedence to the Navy Cross, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal assumed its current place below the Navy Cross by congressional action on 7 August 1942. To justify this decoration, exceptional performance of duty must be clearly above that normally expected, generally, the Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to officers in principal commands at sea, or in the field, whose service is of a manner to justify the award. However, this does not preclude the award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to any individual who meets the service requirements, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a gilt bronze medallion 1.25 inches in diameter. The obverse of the medal depicts an American bald eagle in the center displaying its wings, the eagle holds an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left talons. The eagle is surrounded by an enameled ring with the words, • UNITED • STATES • OF • AMERICA • at the top. Surrounding the blue ring is a gold border of scroll waves depicted moving in a clockwise direction. The medal is surmounted by a white five-pointed star, point up, in the center of the star is a blue anchor, while gold rays radiate between the arms of the star. The reverse of the medal depicts a trident surrounded by a laurel wreath, the wreath is surrounded by a blue enamel ring containing the inscription FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE. Like the obverse, the blue ring on the reverse is surrounded by scroll waves. The medals suspension and service ribbon is blue with a single central stripe of yellow. Additional awards of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal are denoted by gold and silver 5/16 inch stars worn on the medals suspension, awards and decorations of the United States military
13.
Legion of Merit
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The Legion of Merit is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the seven uniformed services of the United States as well as to military and political figures of foreign governments. The Legion of Merit is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as an order and the only United States military decoration which may be issued in award degrees. The Legion of Merit is sixth in the order of precedence of U. S. military awards and is worn after the Defense Superior Service Medal, in contemporary use in the U. S. S. However, this degree was awarded by President Roosevelt to some Allied World War II theater commanders, Commander, Equivalent of a U. S. military chief of staff or higher position, but not to a head of state. Legionnaire, All recipients not included above, when the Legion of Merit is awarded to members of the Uniformed Services of the United States, it is awarded without reference to degree. The performance must have such as to merit recognition of key individuals for service rendered in a clearly exceptional manner. Performance of duties normal to the grade, branch, specialty, or assignment, for service not related to actual war, the term key individual applies to a narrower range of positions than in time of war and requires evidence of significant achievement. In peacetime, service should be in the nature of a requirement or of an extremely difficult duty performed in an unprecedented. However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of important positions, the degrees and the design of the decoration were influenced by the French Legion of Honour. Although recommendations for creation of a Meritorious Service Medal were initiated as early as September 1937, no formal action was taken toward approval. Proposed designs prepared by Bailey, Banks and Biddle and the Office of the Quartermaster General were provided to Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel Colonel Heard) by the QMG on January 5,1942. The Assistant Chief of Staff, in a response to the QMG on April 3,1942, the design of the Legion of Merit would be ready for issue immediately after legislation authorizing it was enacted into law. The medal was announced in War Department Bulletin No, executive Order 9260, dated October 29,1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established the rules for the Legion of Merit and required the Presidents approval for the award. The Legion of Merit is similar to the French Legion of Honor in both its design, a five armed cross, and in that it is awarded in multiple degrees, unlike the Legion of Honor, however, the Legion of Merit is only awarded to military personnel. Additionally, it is the award in the world with multiple degrees of which the higher degrees cannot be awarded to citizens of the country of the awards origin. She received the award for her service during the defense of the Philippines, LTJG Bernatitus was also the first recipient of the Legion of Merit authorized to wear a Combat V with the medal. General Eisenhower was presented the Legion of Merit by President Roosevelt, while he was en route to the Tehran Conference, in Cairo, in 1943, at the request of Army Chief of Staff General George C
14.
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
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Two of the airmen died in a mid-air collision trying to land at Buenos Aires on February 26,1927, and received their awards posthumously. Since the award had only authorized by Congress the previous year, no medals had yet been struck. Among the ten airmen were Major Herbert A. Dargue, Captains Ira C, eaker and Muir S. Fairchild, and 1st Lt. Ennis C. The medal had hurriedly been struck and readied just for that occasion, numerous military recipients of the medal would later earn greater fame in other occupations—a number of astronauts, actors, and politicians have been Distinguished Flying Cross recipients. DFC awards could be retroactive to cover notable achievements back until the beginning of World War I, on February 23,1929, Congress passed special legislation to allow the award of the DFC to the Wright brothers for their December 17,1903 flight. Other civilians who have received the award include Wiley Post, Jacqueline Cochran, Roscoe Turner, Amelia Earhart, Glenn H. Curtiss, eventually, it was limited to military personnel by an Executive Order. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to receive the DFC on July 29,1932 when it was presented to her by Vice President Charles Curtis in Los Angeles, Earhart received the decoration for her solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean earlier that year. During World War II the medals award criteria varied widely depending on the theater of operations, aerial combat, in the Pacific oftentimes commissioned officers were awarded the DFC, while enlisted men were given the Air Medal. In Europe some crews, often received it for performances throughout a tour of duty, during wartime, members of the Armed Forces of friendly foreign nations serving with the United States are eligible for the Distinguished Flying Cross. It is also given to those who display heroism while working as instructors or students at flying schools, Colonel Francis S. Gabby Gabreski, USAF, received 13 Distinguished Flying Crosses—the most earned by any individual. He is followed by Admiral Stan Arthur, USN, with 11 DFCs, during the Vietnam War high ranking Army officers often received the DFC for directing combat operations from aircraft. The Distinguished Flying Cross was authorized by Section 12 of the Air Corps Act enacted by the United States Congress on July 2,1926, as amended by Executive Order 7786 on January 8,1938. ”The Distinguished Flying Cross was designed by Elizabeth Will and Arthur E. DuBois. The medal is a cross pattee, on whose obverse is superimposed a four-bladed propeller,1 11/16 inches in width. Five rays extend from the reentrant angles, forming a one-inch square, the reverse is blank, it is suitable for engraving the recipients name and rank. The cross is suspended from a rectangular bar, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps may authorize the V device for wear on the DFC to denote valor in combat, Navy and Marine Corps, Combat V. The Army does not authorize the V Device to be worn on the DFC, in July 2014, the United States Senate passed the Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act. The act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 25,2014, in the movie Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian the character of Amelia Earhart mentions that she received the Flying Cross. The real life Amelia Earhart did, in fact, receive the Distinguished Flying Cross and was the first woman and civilian to do so
15.
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
16.
Naval Station Great Lakes
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Naval Station Great Lakes is the home of the United States Navys only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center, Naval Station Great Lakes is the second largest military installation in Illinois and the largest training station in the Navy. The base has 1,153 buildings situated on 1,628 acres and has 50 miles of roadway to access to the bases facilities. Within the naval service, it has several different nicknames, including The Quarterdeck of the Navy, the original 39 buildings built between 1905 and 1911 were designed by Jarvis Hunt. The base is like a city, with its own Fire Department, Naval Security Forces. One of the landmarks of the area is Building 1, also known as the clocktower building, completed in 1911, the building is made of red brick, and has a tower over the third floor of the building. The large parade ground in front of the building is named Ross Field. In 1996, RTC Great Lakes became the Navys only basic training facility, approximately 40,000 recruits pass through Recruit Training Command annually with an estimated 7,000 recruits on board the installation at any time. RTC Great Lakes has been active for over 100 years, TSC Great Lakes is the Navys premier technical training command. It has a throughput of 16,000 sailors a year. The course has been consolidated with the US Armys parallel program and relocated to Fort Lee, Hospital Corpsman A School has been moved out of Great Lakes. The last class graduated on July 27,2011 and its last class was Class 11-125. The school has relocated to the Medical Education and Training Campus at Fort Sam Houston, Joint Base San Antonio and this change has merged Air Force, Army, and Navy Medical staff to a centralized location. In addition, all Navy rates that require basic electrical knowledge and this includes the Mineman and Sonar Technician rates, as well as some aviation rates prior to detachment to their respective school locations in San Diego, CA and Pensacola, Florida. Boatswains Mates complete Surface Common Core Basic Maintenance Training and engineering rates complete Basic Engineering Common Core Great Lakes was approved in 1904 by Theodore Roosevelt, construction was supervised by Navy Captain Albert R. Ross. Chicago-area architect Jarvis Hunt designed the original 39 buildings and Lt. George A. McKay was the engineer for the construction on the 172 acres wilderness location. $3.5 million was appropriated to finance construction, president William Howard Taft dedicated the Naval Training Station in 1911. On 3 July 1911, Joseph Gregg was the first recruit to arrive and he would graduate in the first class of 300
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Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation
18.
Aviation Cadet Training Program (USN)
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The US Navy had four programs for the training of naval aviators. In 1908 at Fort Myer, Virginia, a demonstration of an early heavier-than-air craft was flown by a pair of inventors named Orville, Two navy officers observing the demonstration were inspired to push for the navy to acquire aircraft of their own. In May,1911 the navy purchased their first aircraft, from 1911 to 1914 the navy received free flying lessons from aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss at North Island, San Diego, California. In 1911, the navy began training its first pilots at the newly founded Aviation Camp at Annapolis, in 1914, the navy opened Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, dubbed the Annapolis of the air, to train its first naval aviators. Candidates had to have served at least two years of sea duty and training was for 12 months, in 1917, the navys program became part of the Flying Officer Training Program. Demand for pilots, however, still exceeded supply, the navy organized an unfunded naval militia in 1915 encouraging formation of ten state-run militia units of aviation enthusiasts. The Naval Appropriations Act of 29 August 1916 included funds for both a Naval Flying Corps and a Naval Reserve Flying Corps, students at several Ivy League colleges organized flying units and began pilot training at their own expenses. The NFC mustered 42 navy officers, six United States Marine Corps officers and these men recruited and organized qualified members from the various state naval militia and college flying units into the Naval Reserve Flying Corps. To meet the demand for aviators the navy created a program similar to the Flight Officer Program used by the army. On April 15,1935 Congress passed the Naval Aviation Cadet Act and this set up the volunteer naval reserve class V-5 Naval Aviation Cadet program to send civilian and enlisted candidates to train as aviation cadets. Training was for 18 months and candidates had to agree to not marry during training, Civilian candidates who had graduated or dropped out of college were classified as volunteer reserve class V-1 and held the rank of ordinary seaman in the organized reserve. Candidates who had not yet completed a degree had a set time limit after training to complete it. Those that did not, lost their rank and received a transfer to volunteer reserve class V-6, Candidates who volunteered while still in college were enrolled in the Accredited College Program and were classified as volunteer reserve class V-1. Candidates who were not already in the navy were evaluated and processed at one of 13 naval reserve air bases across the country and they consisted of the 1st and 3rd through 13th naval districts and the 14th Naval District. Candidates who were selected went on to Naval Flight Preparatory School and this was a course in physical training, military skills, and naval customs and etiquette. Pre-flight school was a course in mathematics and physics with practical applications of these skills in flight. This was followed by a preliminary flight training module in which the cadets did 10 hours in a simulator followed by a one-hour test flight with an instructor. Those that passed received V-5 flight badges and they were sent on to primary and basic flight training at NAS Pensacola and advanced flight training at another naval air station
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Pensacola, Florida
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Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, in the U. S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 51,923. Pensacola is the city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which had an estimated 461,227 residents in 2012. Pensacola is a sea port on Pensacola Bay, which is protected by the island of Santa Rosa. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center, the area was originally inhabited by Muskogean peoples. The Pensacola people lived there at the time of European contact, Spanish explorer Tristán de Luna founded a short-lived settlement in 1559. In 1698 the Spanish established a presidio in the area, from which the city gradually developed. The area changed several times as European powers competed in North America. During Floridas British rule, fortifications were strengthened, other nicknames include Worlds Whitest Beaches, Cradle of Naval Aviation, Western Gate to the Sunshine State, Americas First Settlement, Emerald Coast, Red Snapper Capital of the World, and P-Cola. The original inhabitants of the Pensacola Bay area were Native American peoples, at the time of European contact, a Muskogean-speaking tribe known to the Spanish as the Pensacola lived in the region. This name was not recorded until 1677, but the tribe appears to be the source of the name Pensacola for the bay and thence the city. Creek people, also Muskogean-speaking, came regularly from present-day southern Alabama to trade, so the peoples were part of a broader regional and even continental network of relations. The best-known Pensacola culture site in terms of archeology is the Bottle Creek site and this site has at least 18 large earthwork mounds, five of which are arranged around a central plaza. Its main occupation was from 1250 AD to 1550 and it was a ceremonial center for the Pensacola people and a gateway to their society. This site would have had access by a dugout canoe. The areas written recorded history begins in the 16th century, with documentation by Spanish explorers who were the first Europeans to reach the area. The expeditions of Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto in 1539 both visited Pensacola Bay, the latter of which documented the name Bay of Ochuse. In 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano landed with some 1,500 people on 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico
20.
Naval Air Station Cecil Field
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Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Including nearly 2,500 acres at OLF Whitehouse, the NAS Cecil Field complex consisted of 22,939 acres, in addition and it is now a civilian, public-use, joint civil-military airfield and industrial park known as Cecil Commerce Center and Cecil Airport. NAS Cecil Field was named in honor of Commander Henry Barton Cecil, USN, who died in 1933 in the crash of the Navy airship USS Akron. Shortly before the United States entry into World War II, a 2,600 acre tract of land was purchased in western Duval County and construction began on the U. S. Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Cecil Field. The base got its start in June 1941 as a field of NAS Jacksonville. From 1943 until the war ended, NAAS Cecil Field was a pilots last stop before assignment to combat in either the Atlantic Fleet or Pacific Fleet and it operated at full capacity during the war years and after the war. Disestablished as NAAS Cecil Field at the end of World War II, the station was rejuvenated as an operating base for fleet aircraft squadrons and air groups, ushering in the jet age for Naval Aviation in the Jacksonville area. In 1951, the area of NAS Cecil Field was increased to 4,600 acres and additional new buildings. Naval Air Station Cecil Field occupied 19,664 acres, and was projected to be Navys largest Master Jet Base. S, Squadrons from NAS Cecil Field were aboard every Atlantic Fleet aircraft carrier deployed to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. During this period, thirteen NAS Cecil Field pilots were listed as POW or MIA, the POW/MIA memorial located behind the base chapel has become the chosen site for many retiring officers and enlisted personnel to hold their retirement ceremonies. The first Atlantic Fleet Squadrons to fly the A-7 Corsair II, the F/A-18 Hornet, the S-3A and S-3B Viking, and the ES-3A Shadow were all based at NAS Cecil Field. NAS Cecil Field squadrons again made history during the Gulf War, marking the final deployment for the A-7E Corsair II. The first weather observations were recorded at NAS Cecil Field in May 1949, in those days, weather observing and forecasting services were provided by the Meteorology Division of the Air Operations Department. In September 1979, almost 14 years later, the changed to Naval Oceanography Command Detachment. Naval Air Station Cecil Field was identified for closure by the 1993 federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission and approved by the U. S. Congress and President Bill Clinton in July 1993. There have been efforts to see the base returned as a Naval Air Station, the FLARNG operates CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Blackhawk, UH-72 Lakota and C-12 Huron aircraft from AASF #1 at Cecil Field. Also located at Cecil Field is Coast Guard Air Facility Jacksonville, which supports the U. S. Coast Guards Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron and its MH-65C Dolphin helicopters
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Naval Air Station Jacksonville
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Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport, eight miles south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. NAS Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport are the two bases in Duval County. During World War I, the now occupied by NAS Jacksonville, often referred to colloquially as NAS Jax, was named Camp Joseph E. Johnston. The United States Army trained quartermasters and the center included more than 600 buildings, by 1918 Camp Johnston was the largest of all Quartermaster mobilization and training camps. The second largest rifle range in the U. S. was constructed there, the Florida National Guard began using the site in 1928 and it was renamed Camp J. Clifford R. Foster. Most of their names are lost to history, only two are known, Charles Bennett and Ira Lane. On the same date, Captain Charles P. Mason, USN, prior to the commissioning, on September 7, Commander Jimmy Grant became the first pilot to land on the still unfinished runway in his N3N-3 biplane. More than 10,000 pilots and 11,000 aircrewmen followed their lead to earn their wings of gold at the air station during World War II, increased training and construction characterized NAS Jacksonville’s response to America’s entry into World War II. Three runways over 6,000 feet long were operating, as were seaplane runways in the St. Johns River and seaplane ramps leading from the water. More than 700 buildings sprung to life on the base before V-J Day, including an 80-acre hospital, archbishop Francis J. Spellman dedicated the Catholic Chapel at its Birmingham Avenue location on January 17,1943. The chapel and other buildings constructed during the war years, intended for a life of only 20 years, are still in use, during the late 1940s, the jet age was dawning and in 1948 the Navy’s first jet carrier air groups and squadrons came to NAS Jacksonville. NAS Jacksonville continued growing throughout the late 1940s, Fleet Air Wing Eleven made its move to the base, bringing with it Patrol Squadron THREE from NAS Coco Solo, Panama and Patrol Squadron FIVE from NAS San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Blues would not return to the station for more than two years, in the early 1950s, Naval Air Technical Training Center Jacksonville was also reactivated and included nine different schools. In the mid-1950s, an air control center for joint use by the Navy, Air Force. Major changes also occurred as parking ramps were added shore-based aircraft hangars, by the mid-1950s, with the stations continuing growth, the Navy was having a tremendous impact on the economic growth in the Jacksonville and Duval County area. The station had over 11,000 military personnel assigned, along with 5,000 civilians, vMA-142 would remain at NAS Jax until its relocation to nearby NAS Cecil Field in 1978. These squadrons consisted of Attack Squadron TWO ZERO THREE, Patrol Squadron SIXTY-TWO, in 1973, with the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One, the station’s primary mission became antisubmarine warfare. Accompanying the wing were five helicopter squadrons which are based here today
22.
Naval Postgraduate School
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The Naval Postgraduate School is a graduate school operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants masters degrees, engineers degrees, established in 1909, the school also offers research fellowship opportunities at the postdoctoral level through the National Academies National Research Council research associateship program. Most of the faculty are civilians, NPS concentrates on technical areas that are of interest to the navy whereas staff colleges and war colleges focus on staff functions, civil-military affairs, tactics and strategy. NPS offers graduate programs through four graduate schools and twelve departments, the different schools and departments offer various PhD and M. S. Masters of Arts Program The M. A. program is offered at no cost to local, tribal, state. To accommodate participants time constraints, NPS requires students to be in only two weeks every quarter. Students complete the remainder of their coursework via the web, the degree is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is awarded by the Naval Postgraduate School. The degree program requires 18 months of enrollment and coursework. It involves a significant commitment on the part of the participants, the courses are organized in quarters rather than semesters. Each quarter requires only two weeks in residence at the NPS campus, located in Monterey, California or at the National Capital Region campus located in West Virginia, the remainder of the coursework is completed via network-based learning. Participants and their agency must be cognizant of this commitment and should view it as an investment in enhancing the individual´s, the thesis is a qualitative or quantitative research project on a topic beneficial to the participant´s sponsoring agency and jurisdiction. It may, for example, have a strategic planning focus, the thesis project should be of significant benefit to the participant´s jurisdiction. On 9 June 1909, Secretary of the Navy George von L. Meyer signed General Order No,27, establishing a school of marine engineering at Annapolis, Maryland. On 31 October 1912, Meyer signed Navy General Order No,233, which renamed the school the Postgraduate Department of the United States Naval Academy. The order established courses of study in ordnance and gunnery, electrical engineering, radio telegraphy, naval construction, in 1945, Congress passed legislation to make the school a fully accredited, degree-granting graduate institution. Two years later, Congress adopted legislation authorizing the purchase of an independent campus for the school, a postwar review team, which had examined 25 sites nationwide, had recommended the old Hotel Del Monte in Monterey as a new home for the Postgraduate School. During WWII, the Navy had leased the facilities, first for a training school. Negotiations with the Del Monte Properties Company led to the purchase of the hotel and 627 acres of surrounding land for $2.13 million, the Postgraduate School moved to Monterey in December 1951
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Monterey, California
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The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, in the Northern Portion of Californias Central Coast. It stands at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level, the 2010 census recorded a population of 27,810. Monterey was the capital of Alta California under both Spain and Mexico and it was the only port of entry for taxable goods in California. In 1846 the U. S. flag was raised over the Customs House, the city had Californias first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper. The city and surrounding area have attracted artists since the late 19th century, until the 1950s, there was an abundant fishery. Among Montereys notable present-day attractions are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fishermans Wharf, long before the arrival of Spanish explorers, the Rumsen Ohlone tribe, one of seven linguistically distinct Ohlone groups in California, inhabited the area now known as Monterey. They subsisted by hunting, fishing and gathering food on and around the biologically rich Monterey Peninsula, researchers have found a number of shell middens in the area and, based on the archaeological evidence, concluded the Ohlones primary marine food consisted at various times of mussels and abalone. A number of sites have been located along about 12 miles of rocky coast on the Monterey Peninsula from the current site of Fishermans Wharf in Monterey to Carmel. In 1602, Spanish maritime explorer Sebastian Vizcaino recorded the name Bahía de Monterrey, Vizcaino landed at the southern end of the bay and described a great port, suitable for use as an anchorage by southbound Manila galleons. Vizcaino also noted and named the Point of Pines, all other uses of the name Monterey derive from Vizcainos name for the bay. Variants of the name are recorded as Monte Rey and Montery. In 1769, the first European land exploration of Alta California, for some reason, the explorers failed to recognize the place when they came to it on October 1,1769. The party continued north as far as San Francisco Bay before turning back, on the return journey, they camped near one of Montereys lagoons on November 27, still not convinced they had found the place Vizcaino had described. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí noted in his diary, We halted in sight of the Point of Pines and camped near a lagoon which has rather muddy water. Portolá returned by land to Monterey the next year, having concluded that he must have been at Vizcainos Port of Monterey after all, the land party was met at Monterey by Junípero Serra who traveled by sea. Portolá erected the Presidio of Monterey to defend the port and, on June 3,1770, Portolá returned to Mexico, replaced in Monterey by Captain Pedro Fages, who had been third in command on the exploratory expeditions. Fages became the governor of Alta California, serving from 1770 to 1774. Serras missionary aims soon came into conflict with Fages and the soldiers, the existing wood and adobe building became the chapel for the Presidio
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Bachelor of Science
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A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years. Whether a student of a subject is awarded a Bachelor of Science degree or a Bachelor of Arts degree can vary between universities. For one example, a degree may be given as a Bachelor of Arts by one university but as a B. Sc. by another. Some liberal arts colleges in the United States offer only the BA, even in the natural sciences, in both instances, there are historical and traditional reasons. Northwestern Universitys School of Communication grants B. Sc. degrees in all of its programs of study, including theater, dance, the first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of London in 1860. Prior to this, science subjects were included in the B. A. bracket, notably in the cases of mathematics, physics, physiology, in Argentina and Chile, most university degrees are given as a license in a field or discipline. For instance, besides the courses, biochemistry and biology require 1–2 years hands-on training either in a clinical laboratory plus a final exam or in a research laboratory plus a thesis defense. The degrees are term licenses in the field of study or profession i. e. biology, nutrition, physical therapy or kinesiology, etc. However, a masters degree requires 2-3 more years of specific training, engineering and medical degrees are also different and are six-year programs of specific classes and training starting immediately after high school. No intermediate degrees count towards the admission examination or even exist, medical degrees are complemented with a 3–4 years of hospital residence plus 1–2 years of specialization training. In Australia, the B. Sc. is generally a three-four year degree, an honours year or a Master of Science is required to progress on to the Doctor of Philosophy. In New Zealand, in cases, the honours degree comprises an additional postgraduate qualification. In South Africa, the B. Sc. is taken three years, while the postgraduate B. Sc. Entails an additional year of study, admission to the honours degree is on the basis of a sufficiently high average in the B. Sc. major, an honours degree is required for M. Sc. Level study, and admission to a doctorate is via the M. Sc, commonly in British Commonwealth countries and Ireland graduands are admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Science after having completed a programme in one or more of the sciences. These programmes may take different lengths of time to complete, note that in British English, no full stops are used in the title, hence BSc, not B. Sc. A Bachelor of Science receives the designation BSc or BS for a major/pass degree, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland an honours degree is typically completed over a three-year period, though there are a few intensified two-year courses. Bachelors degrees were typically completed in two years for most of the twentieth century, in Scotland, where access to university is possible after one less year of secondary education, degree courses have a foundation year making the total course length four years
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VA-163 (U.S. Navy)
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Attack Squadron 163 Saints was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. VA-163 flew the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk from 1960 to 1969, on September 1,1960, Attack Squadron 163 was established at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida. Shortly thereafter, the Saints moved to Naval Air Station Lemoore, during her operational history, Attack Squadron 163 made six Pacific Fleet cruises, including four combat cruises during the Vietnam War. The first five were with Carrier Air Wing 16 in USS Oriskany between 1962 and 1968, and the last with Carrier Air Wing 21 in USS Hancock in 1968-1969. The Saints also lost two squadron Commanding Officers to combat action, with the first during the 1965 WESTPAC combat cruise, CDR Harry Jenkins, the second was CDR Wynne Foster, who lost an arm to flak in July 1966, but ejected and was rescued. These unit losses were followed by the tragic at-sea USS Oriskany fire, in October 1966. Among the four total WESTPAC combat cruises that VA-163 completed, the 1967-68 cruise was by far the costliest, during this cruise alone, five Saints pilots were Killed In Action, or went Missing In Action, over North Vietnam. A total of 12 A-4E aircraft were lost during the 1967-68 WESTPAC alone, with ten lost to enemy action, two notable VA-163 Saints pilots who became POWs were then-Commander James B. Stockdale, Commander Air Group of Attack Carrier Air Wing 16 in 1965, among them, three Saints were awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary combat heroism, Commander Bryan Compton, and Lieutenant Commanders James Busey and Marvin Reynolds. (Not surprisingly, these three awards were earned during the infamous 1967-68 WESTPAC, with the first two mentioned awards earned during the same mission, on April 1,1969 VA-163 was placed on inactive status, and two years later the squadron officially disestablished on July 1,1971. Wynn Foster John McCain James Stockdale Harry Tarleton Jenkins History of the United States Navy List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons VA-163 page at skyhawk. org VA163 website
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Hanoi
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Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the countrys second largest city by population. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts and 7 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction, the population in 2015 was estimated at 7.7 million people. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam and it was eclipsed by Huế, the imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn Dynasty, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam, the city lies on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City and 120 km west of Hai Phong city, October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city. The Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural is a 4 km ceramic mosaic mural created to mark the occasion, Hanoi has had many official and unofficial names throughout history. During the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, it was known first as Long Biên, then Tống Bình, in 866, it was turned into a citadel and named Đại La. This gives it the nickname La Thành, when Lý Thái Tổ established the capital in the area in 1010, it was named Thăng Long. During the Hồ dynasty, it was called Đông Đô, during the Ming Chinese occupation, it was called Đông Quan. During the Lê dynasty, Hanoi was known as Đông Kinh and this gave the name to Tonkin and Gulf of Tonkin. Minh Mạng renamed the city Hà Nội in 1831 and this has remained its official name until modern time. Several unofficial names of Hanoi include, Kẻ Chợ, Tràng An, Hà Thành, Thủ Đô In modern tourism, it is sometimes nicknamed Paris of the Orient, Hanoi has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. The Cổ Loa Citadel in Dong Anh district served as the capital of the Âu Lạc kingdom founded by the Shu emigrant Thục Phán after his 258 BC conquest of the native Văn Lang. In 197 BC, Âu Lạc Kingdom was annexed by Nanyue, by the year 679, the Tang dynasty changed the regions name into Annan, with Songping as its capital. In order to defeat the people’s uprisings, in the half of the 8th century, Zhang Boyi. In the earlier half of the 9th century, it was built up. In 866, Gao Pian, the Chinese Jiedushi, consolidated and named it Daluocheng, in 1010, Lý Thái Tổ, the first ruler of the Lý Dynasty, moved the capital of Đại Việt to the site of the Đại La Citadel. Claiming to have seen a dragon ascending the Red River, he renamed the site Thăng Long - a name still used poetically to this day
27.
North Vietnam
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North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was a state in Southeast Asia which existed from 1945 to 1976. Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh declared independence from France on 2 September 1945, France reasserted its colonial dominance and a war ensued between France and the Viet Minh, led by Ho. The Viet Minh was a coalition of nationalist groups, mostly led by communists, in February 1951, the communists announced the creation of the Lao Động Party, gradually marginalizing non-communists in the Viet Minh. Between 1946 and 1954, the Viet Minh captured and controlled most of the areas of Vietnam. In 1954, after the French were defeated, the negotiation of the Geneva Accords ended the war between France and the Viet Minh and granted Vietnam independence. The Geneva Accords divided the country provisionally into northern and southern zones, the northern zone was commonly called North Vietnam and the southern zone South Vietnam, or, formally, the Republic of Vietnam. Supervision of the implementation of the Geneva Accords was the responsibility of an International Commission consisting of India, Canada, and Poland. In July 1955, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem and he said that South Vietnam had not signed the Geneva accords and was not bound by it. With the failure to reunify Vietnam by elections, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam attempted to unify the country by force in the Vietnam War, North Vietnam also supported indigenous communist rebels in Cambodia and Laos against their respective U. S, -backed governments. The war ended when Democratic Republic of Vietnam forces and the Viet Cong defeated the Republic of Vietnam, Viet Minh leader Hồ Chí Minh became head of the government. U. S. President Franklin Roosevelt had spoken against French rule in Indochina, the Hanoi government of Ho Chi Minh claimed dominion over all of Vietnam, but during this time South Vietnam was in profound political disorder. The successive collapse of French, then Japanese power, followed by the dissension among the factions in Saigon had been accompanied by widespread violence in the countryside. On September 12,1945, the first British troops arrived in Saigon, on September 23,28 days after the people of Saigon seized political power, French troops occupied the police stations, the post office, and other public buildings. In June 1946, Chinese Nationalist troops evacuated Hanoi, and on the 15th of June, after the departure of the British in 1946, the French controlled a part of Cochinchina, South Central Coast, Central Highlands since the end Southern Resistance War. In January 1946, the Viet Minh held an election to establish a National Assembly, when France declared Cochinchina, the southern third of Vietnam, a separate state as the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina in June 1946, Vietnamese nationalists reacted with fury. In November, the National Assembly adopted the first Constitution of the Republic, the French reoccupied Hanoi and the First Indochina War followed. Following the Chinese Communist Revolution, Chinese communist forces arrived on the border in 1949, Chinese aid revived the fortunes of the Viet Minh and transformed it from a guerrilla militia into a standing army. The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 transformed what had been a struggle into a Cold War battleground
28.
USS Oriskany (CV-34)
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USS Oriskany – nicknamed Mighty O, and occasionally referred to as the O-boat – was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed only after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War, the history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a long-hulled Essex-class ship her construction was suspended in 1946 and she eventually was commissioned in 1950 after conversion to an updated design called SCB-27, which became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships. Oriskany was the final Essex-class ship completed and she operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and five for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966 one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a flare was accidentally ignited. Oriskanys post-service history also differs considerably from that of her sister ships, decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995, but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing was being done. In 2004 it was decided to sink her as a reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, she was sunk in May 2006. As of 2008, Oriskany is the largest vessel ever sunk to make a reef, Oriskany has been featured in films such as Men of the Fighting Lady and The Bridges at Toko-Ri from 1954 and What Dreams May Come. The name Oriskany was originally assigned to CV-18, but that hull was renamed Wasp when the keel was laid in 1942, cV-34 was laid down on 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard, launched on 13 October 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. Construction was suspended on 22 August 1946, when the ship was approximately 85% complete, Oriskany was redesigned as the prototype for the SCB-27 modernization program beginning on 8 Aug 1947, and torn down to 60% complete. To handle the new generation of aircraft, the flight deck structure was massively reinforced. Stronger elevators, more powerful catapults, and new arresting gear were installed. The island structure was rebuilt, the turrets were removed. Blistering the hull increases the area of a ships hull, thereby increasing its buoyancy. It also provides increased bunker volume, in the case of Oriskany, this would have been for aviation fuel. These features would have been crucial to a ship that had so much topside weight added after its original design, Oriskany was commissioned in the New York Naval Shipyard on 25 September 1950, Captain Percy H. Lyon in command. Oriskany departed New York on 6 December 1950, for carrier operations off Jacksonville, Florida, followed by a Christmas call at Newport
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"V" device
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The decorations with which a V may be authorized differ between the military services, as well as the manner in which the V is worn and the name by which it is referred to. The Department of Defense, Army, and Air Force refer to the V as the V Device, the Coast Guard refers to it as the Valor Device, while the Navy and Marine Corps refer to it as the Combat Distinguishing Device or Combat V. Until 2 February 2017, the also used different criteria in determining whether a V could be authorized. Soldiers and airmen who were awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism in combat, were now authorized to wear a bronze V on the suspension, only one V was allowed to be worn on a ribbon. Most World War II veterans who were entitled to the V probably did not know about or apply for the device, since large scale separations from the services were taking place after the war ended. Stocks of the device also were not available for issue for at least a year since the Army circular, to be worn on a decoration, the V device must have been specifically authorized in the written award citation issued with the medal. In 1996, the V device garnered public attention after the suicide of Admiral Jeremy Boorda, there has not been a living repeat Medal of Honor recipient since the World War I era, so the V device was never actually worn in this fashion. Until 2017, the criteria and conditions under which the V device could be awarded differed between the services, for the Army, the V was worn solely to denote participation in acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy. Prior to 1 January 2014, the device was authorized on Outstanding Unit Awards. The V device is authorized for the Air Medal by all the services where heroism in aerial combat was involved on an individual mission. Two new C and R devices will also be used on relevant awards. On 2 February 2017, a new silver plated and gold plated V device was introduced, sometime after 2 February 2017, the individual services will change their regulations such that the silver and gold V device will be used to denote second and third awards with the V. A fourth, fifth, and sixth awarding with the V is to be issued with a bronze, silver, currently, the following decorations of the United States Armed Forces are eligible to be awarded with a V device. For the Army and the Air Force, the V is positioned to the right of any bronze or silver oak leaf clusters from the wearers perspective, the following examples depict decorations that were awarded with the V Device before 2 February 2017. After 2 February 2017, bronze, silver, and gold V devices will be used to indicate first, second, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard continue to award and issue the bronze version. The Marine Corps allows anodized medals and gold anodized Combat Vs to be worn on the blues uniform. Fourth, fifth, and sixth awards with the V would be denoted by a bronze V with wreath, silver V with wreath, the following examples depict decorations that were awarded with the device in at least one instance. After 2 February 2017, bronze, silver, and gold V devices will be used to indicate first, second, and third awards of the device
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Air Medal
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The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States military. The medal was created in 1942 and is awarded for achievement while participating in aerial flight. The Air Medal was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Air Medal was awarded retroactive to 8 September 1939. The original award criteria set by an Army Policy Letter was for one award of the Air Medal. per each naval vessel or three aircraft in flight confirmed destroyed. Per twenty-five operational flights during which exposure to fire is probable. Per one-hundred operational flights during which exposure to fire is not expected. These criteria were altered by the commanding generals of each numbered Air Force to fit the conditions of their theater of operations. The Distinguished Flying Cross would usually be awarded for roughly twice to five times the requirements of the Air Medal, on 5 August 1943 score card awards for completing a set number of operational flights were officially abolished by a Headquarters Army Air Forces Awards Board memorandum. This was due to the embarrassment when airmen who had received the Air Medal for score carding five missions or more being later removed from flying duties for lack of moral fibre. Commanders could still issue the awards on those grounds, but the recipient must perform exceptional or meritorious service as well, during World War II the medals award criteria varied widely depending on the theater of operations, the aircraft flown, and the missions accomplished. In Europe the airspace was considered completely controlled by the enemy, elsewhere in the Pacific and CBI the pilots and crews flew mostly over uncontrolled or contested airspace for long hours and lighter air defenses were encountered, so much higher criteria were used. The Air Medal may be awarded to either single acts of merit or gallantry in combat or for meritorious service in a combat zone. These individuals must make a contribution to the operational land combat mission or to the mission of the aircraft in flight. Examples would be transport performing supporting Dustoff Medevac or resupply operations, Awards will not be made to individuals who use air transportation solely for the purpose of moving from point to point in a combat zone. The Army may award the Air Medal for peacetime service, the Air Force does not award the Air Medal for peace-time sustained operational activities and flights. Non-combat meritorious service is instead awarded the Aerial Achievement Medal, instituted in 1988, the Air Force uses the aircraft sortie designation as a tool, but uses Oak Leaf Clusters rather than Strike / Flight Numerals to indicate additional awards. A members individual flight management records will list the sorties that are eligible for the award and these sorties are designated Combat, Combat Support, or Operational. Only the first sortie of the day counts, armed aircraft crews require ten sorties for each award, while all others require twenty sorties
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Federal Aviation Administration
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The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States is a national authority with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation. The FAAs roles include, Regulating U. S, each LOB has a specific role within the FAA. Airports — plans and develops projects involving airports, overseeing their construction, Air Traffic Organization — primary duty is to safely and efficiently move air traffic within the National Airspace System. ATO employees manage air traffic facilities including Airport Traffic Control Towers, Aviation Safety — Responsible for aeronautical certification of personnel and aircraft, including pilots, airlines, and mechanics. Commercial Space Transportation — ensures protection of U. S. assets during the launch or reentry of commercial space vehicles, the FAA is headquartered in Washington, D. C. as well as the William J. The newly created Aeronautics Branch, operating under the Department of Commerce assumed primary responsibility for aviation oversight, in fulfilling its civil aviation responsibilities, the Department of Commerce initially concentrated on such functions as safety regulations and the certification of pilots and aircraft. It took over the building and operation of the system of lighted airways. The Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1934 to reflect its status within the Department. As commercial flying increased, the Bureau encouraged a group of airlines to establish the first three centers for providing air traffic control along the airways, in 1936, the Bureau itself took over the centers and began to expand the ATC system. The pioneer air traffic controllers used maps, blackboards, and mental calculations to ensure the separation of aircraft traveling along designated routes between cities. In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Act transferred the civil aviation responsibilities from the Commerce Department to a new independent agency. The legislation also expanded the role by giving them the authority. President Franklin D. Roosevelt split the authority into two agencies in 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Civil Aeronautics Board, CAA was responsible for ATC, airman and aircraft certification, safety enforcement, and airway development. CAB was entrusted with safety regulation, accident investigation, and economic regulation of the airlines, the CAA was part of the Department of Commerce. The CAB was an independent federal agency, on the eve of Americas entry into World War II, CAA began to extend its ATC responsibilities to takeoff and landing operations at airports. This expanded role eventually became permanent after the war, the application of radar to ATC helped controllers in their drive to keep abreast of the postwar boom in commercial air transportation. The approaching era of jet travel, and a series of midair collisions and this legislation gave the CAAs functions to a new independent body, the Federal Aviation Agency. The act transferred air safety regulation from the CAB to the new FAA, the FAAs first administrator, Elwood R. Quesada, was a former Air Force general and adviser to President Eisenhower
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Curtiss-Wright
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The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American-based, global diversified product manufacturer and service provider for the commercial, industrial, defense and energy markets. S. It has since evolved away from final assembly of finished aircraft, becoming a component manufacturer specializing in actuators, aircraft controls, valves and it also is a supplier to commercial nuclear power, nuclear navy systems, industrial vehicles and to the oil and gas industries. With $75 million in capital, it was the largest aviation company in the country, after 1929, most engines produced by the new company were known as Wrights, while most aircraft were given the Curtiss name, with a few exceptions. Throughout the 1930s, Curtiss-Wright designed and built aircraft for military, commercial, but it was the Wright engine division and the longstanding relationship with the US military that would help the company through the difficult years of the Great Depression. In 1937, the developed the P-36 fighter aircraft, resulting in the largest peacetime aircraft order ever given by the Army Air Corps. Curtiss-Wright also sold the P-36 abroad, where they were used in the days of World War II. During World War II, Curtiss-Wright produced 142,840 aircraft engines,146,468 electric propellers and 29,269 airplanes, Curtiss-Wright employed 180,000 workers, and ranked second among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. Its most visible success came with the P-40, variously known as the Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, and Warhawk, which were built between 1940 and 1944 at the main production facilities in Buffalo, New York. During the war, a large plant was added at Buffalo, followed by new plants at Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri. Engine and propeller production was at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Louisville plant was converted to C-46 Commando production, eventually delivering 438 Commandos to supplement the roughly 2,500 C-46s produced at Buffalo. The C-46 cargo plane was fitted with two radial engines, and could carry more cargo at higher altitudes than any other Allied aircraft. Consequently, it was used extensively in the China-Burma-India Theater, from 1941 to 1943, the Curtiss Aeronautical plant in Lockland, Ohio produced aircraft engines under wartime contract destined for installation in U. S. Army Air Forces aircraft. Wright officials at Lockland insisted on high production levels, resulting in a significant percentage of engines that did not meet Army Air Forces inspection standards. These defective engines were nevertheless approved by inspectors for shipment and installation in U. S. military aircraft, Army Air Forces technical adviser Charles W. Bond was dismissed by the Army in 1943 for gross irregularities in inspection procedure. In 1944, three Army officers, Lt. Col. Frank Constantine Greulich of Detroit, former chief inspection officer for the material command, All three men were later convicted of neglect of duty. Arthur Millers play All My Sons is based on this incident, in 2011, columnist Richard J. Eskow, senior fellow with the Campaign for Americas Future and columnist for the Huffington Post, alleged that his uncle Jack Temple died in World War II. Temples death in a bomber crash was allegedly tied to engine failure due to improper manufacture and/or assembly. Eskow referenced a 2006 article by Sarah Anderson that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Anderson had alleged that Curtiss-Wright had sold leaky motors to the government and covered it up with forged inspection reports
33.
United States Aviator Badge
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A United States Aviator Badge refers to three types of aviation badges issued by the United States military, those being for Army, Air Force, and Naval aviation. In the modern military, Army and Air Force Aviator Badges are issued in three ratings, Basic, Senior, and Command/Master/Chief, the higher degrees are denoted by a star or star with wreath above the badge. Air Force regulations state that the basic rating denotes completion of specified training, the Naval Aviator Badge is issued in a single rating for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The first United States Aviator Badges were issued to members of the Air Service during World War I, the badges were issued in three degrees, Observer, Junior Aviator or Reserve Aviation Officer, and Senior Aviator. The Army Air Corps also issued a badge for balloon pilots, Enlisted Aviators wore their regular rank insignia and the Observers badge. There were 29 enlisted pilots before the American entry into World War I, the second enlisted aviator, William A. Lamkey, got a discharge and flew for Pancho Villa. The remaining enlisted pilots received commissions in 1917, there were 60 enlisted mechanics who were trained as pilots in France during the war, but they were used for ferrying duties and did not fly in combat. The recruiting and training of enlisted Aviators ended in 1933, during World War II, with the rise of the Army Air Forces, a second series of aviator badges were issued to include a design that has survived to the modern day. The Army Air Corps Pilot Badge was issued in three degrees, including Pilot, Senior Pilot, and Command Pilot, a polished silver colored version of these badges is currently used as the United States Air Force Pilot Badges. From August 1941 to November 1942, the Enlisted Aviator program was restarted, candidates had to be at least 18, possess a high school diploma, and have graduated at the top of their High School class. Graduates were rated as Flight Staff Sergeants or Flight Technical Sergeants and they were usually assigned to pilots of transport and auxiliary aircraft to free officer pilots to pilot the more prestigious fighters and bombers. Auxiliary pilots received their own wings to indicate their status. In November 1942 all enlisted pilots were promoted to Flight Officer rank, after the creation of the U. S. Air Force as a separate service in 1947, Army Aviation continued to a degree that warranted a new badge for Army Aviators. The result was the creation of the Army Aviator Badge, which is a version of the U. S. Air Force Pilot Badge. It comes in three grades, Basic, Senior, and Master, the Aviator and Senior Aviator Badges were approved on 27 July 1950 and the Master Aviator Badge was approved on 12 February 1957. In 1947, the U. S. Army Air Corps-cum-U. S, Army Air Forces became its own separate service as the U. S. Air Force. The U. S. Air Force currently issues several aviation badges including pilot, combat officer, air battle manager, flight surgeon, flight nurse, non-rated officer aircrew. The requirements to earn these are listed here, the aviator badge currently used in the Navy has remained virtually unchanged since it was first issued on 13 November 1917
34.
Oak leaf cluster
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The bronze oak leaf cluster represents one additional award, while the silver oak leaf cluster is worn in lieu of five bronze oak leaf clusters. Oak leaf clusters are worn with the stems of the leaves pointing to the wearer’s right, for medals, 13⁄32 inch oak leaf clusters are worn on the medals suspension ribbon. If four oak leaf clusters are worn on the suspension ribbon, for service ribbons, 5⁄16 inch oak leaf clusters are worn, with no more than four oak leaf clusters being worn side by side. If the number of authorized oak leaf clusters exceeds four, a ribbon is authorized for wear and is worn after the first ribbon. The second ribbon counts as one additional award, after which more leaf clusters may be added to the second ribbon, a gold 5/16 inch star is equivalent to a bronze oak leaf cluster, while a silver 5/16 inch star is equivalent to a silver oak leaf cluster. In other nations, oak leaf clusters are used as symbols for various awards. In Germany, the German oak is the tree of Germany. During World War II, the Knights Cross of the German Iron Cross could be awarded with the distinction of oak leaves. Of the 7,313 awards of the Knights Cross, only 882 received oak leaves, after World War II, Iron Crosses awarded previously could be worn by the recipient provided the swastika was replaced by oak leaves. The Bundeswehr awards the Cross of Honour for Bravery for extraordinary bravery, the Cross of Honour for Bravery differs from the Badge of Honour by an adornment in the shape of stylized double oak leaves. Furthermore, it was featured on the Pfennig in Germany and since the introduction of the euro in 2001 it is used on the side of the German euro coinage. In earlier times, the Pour le Mérite, the highest military order in the Kingdom of Prussia, a civil version of the order, for accomplishments in the arts and sciences, still exists in the Federal Republic of Germany. In Commonwealth countries, an oak leaf signifies a Mention in Despatches. The Commonwealth equivalent of a United States oak leaf cluster is a bar worn with a campaign medal. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices 5/16 inch star Service star Campaign star Battle star
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