1.
United States Secretary of Defense
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The Secretary of Defense is the leader and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense, an Executive Department of the Government of the United States of America. The Secretary of Defenses power over the United States military is only to that of the President. This position corresponds to what is known as a Defense Minister in many other countries. The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, Secretary of Defense is a statutory office, and the general provision in 10 U. S. C. This is also extended to the United States Coast Guard during any period of time in which its command, only the Secretary of Defense can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three Military Departments and the nine Combatant Commands. The current Secretary of Defense is retired United States Marine Corps general James Mattis, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established in 1775, in concurrence with the American Revolution. Based on the experiences of World War II, proposals were made on how to more effectively manage the large combined military establishment. The Army generally favored centralization while the Navy had institutional preferences for decentralization, the resulting National Security Act of 1947 was largely a compromise between these divergent viewpoints. The Act merged the Department of War with the Department of the Navy to form the National Military Establishment, the Act also separated the Army Air Forces from the Department of the Army to become its own branch of service, the Department of the Air Force. At first, each of the service secretaries maintained quasi-cabinet status, the position of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the number two position in the department, was also created at this time. The last major revision of the framework concerning the position was done in the Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. In particular, it elevated the status of joint service for commissioned officers, making it in practice a requirement before appointments to general officer and flag officer grades could be made. Because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, as the head of DoD, all officials, employees and service members are under the Secretary of Defense. All of these positions, civil and military, require Senate confirmation. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the relationships within the Department. The latest version, signed by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in December 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987, the name of the principally military staff organization, organized under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the Joint Staff. In addition, there is the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, which is the ribbon and unit award issued to joint DoD activities. While the approval authority for DSSM, DMSM, JSCM, JSAM and JMUA is delegated to inferior DoD officials, Permanent Representative to NATO in recognition of U. S
2.
Donald Trump
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Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States. Prior to entering politics he was a businessman and television personality, Trump was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He then took charge of The Trump Organization, the estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother, which he ran for four. During his real career, Trump has built, renovated, and managed numerous office towers, hotels, casinos. Besides real estate, he started several ventures and has lent the use of his name for the branding of various products. He owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he hosted The Apprentice, as of 2017, Forbes listed him as the 544th wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $3.5 billion. Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for office in 1987. He won two Reform Party presidential primaries in 2000, but withdrew his candidacy early on, in June 2015, he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and quickly emerged as the front-runner among 17 candidates in the Republican primaries. His final opponents suspended their campaigns in May 2016, and in July he was nominated at the Republican National Convention along with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate. His campaign received unprecedented media coverage and international attention, many of the statements he made at rallies, in interviews, or on social media were controversial or false. Trump won the election on November 8,2016, in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. His political positions have been described by scholars and commentators as populist, protectionist, Trump was born on June 14,1946 at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Queens, New York City. He was the fourth of five born to Frederick Christ Fred Trump. His siblings are Maryanne, Fred Jr. Elizabeth, and Robert, Trumps ancestors originated from the village of Kallstadt, Palatinate, Germany on his fathers side, and from the Outer Hebrides isles of Scotland on his mothers side. All his grandparents, and his mother, were born in Europe and his mothers grandfather was also christened Donald. On a visit to his village, he met Elisabeth Christ. He died from the flu pandemic of 1918 and Elizabeth incorporated the family real estate business, Elizabeth Trump and Son, which would later become The Trump Organization. Trumps father Fred was born in the Bronx, and worked with his mother since he was 15 as a real estate developer, primarily in the New York boroughs of Queens and he eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks and apartments
3.
Robert O. Work
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Robert Orton Bob Work is a United States national security professional who has served as the 32nd United States Deputy Secretary of Defense for both the Obama and Trump administrations since 2014. Work was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and he attended the University of Illinois and earned a B. S. in Biology. Works military service began while he was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois and he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of the United States Marine Corps in September 1974. Work spent 27 years in the Marines, holding a variety of positions and he commanded an artillery battery, then an artillery battalion. Works rank when he retired from the Marines in 2001 was Colonel and he joined the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments as a senior fellow for maritime affairs. He later became the CSBAs vice president for strategic studies and he also took a position as an adjunct professor at George Washington University, teaching defense analysis and roles and missions of the armed forces. During this period, Work wrote and spoke extensively on naval and he also directed and analyzed war games for the Office of Net Assessment and for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He participated in the Quadrennial Defense Review in 2006, works work has focused on defense strategy, proposals to restructure the Department of Defense, and maritime affairs. During the presidential transition of Barack Obama, Work was a member of the Department of Defense Transition Team, President Barack Obama nominated Work as Under Secretary of the Navy and Work was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 19,2009. Work has criticized former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for assuming that the United States would always have an advantage in guided weapons and, as such, be able to quickly defeat any foe. In July 2011, Work called into question the Navys plans for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, in 2012, after submitting a budget request that reduced submarine construction, Work said that only a submarine could operate in the Taiwan Strait during a conflict with China. In 2013, the Center for a New American Security announced that Work would be their new CEO as of April 22,2013, on February 7,2014, President Obama nominated Work to become Deputy Secretary of Defense. In October 2014, Deputy Secretary Work instructed the Defense Business Board to hire consultants from McKinsey & Company to identify wasteful spending, on January 22,2015, the Board then voted to recommend adoption of McKinseys five-year plan to cut $125 billion in waste. Under Secretary Frank Kendall III argued that he could not achieve any efficiencies and, instead, Secretary Carter then replaced the Board chairman, classified the McKinsey results as secret, and removed the report from public websites. This may mark the first time in history where the top three posts at the Pentagon — Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs — are held by Marines. On March 21,2013, Robert Work was presented with the Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal, Defense. gov biography for Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work Faculty Profile at the Elliott School of International Affairs CNAS bio Appearances on C-SPAN
4.
Ash Carter
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He was nominated by President Barack Obama, and confirmed in February 2015 by the Senate by a vote of 93–5, to replace Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. Carter received a B. A. in his double-major of Physics and Medieval History from Yale University, summa cum laude and he then became a Rhodes Scholar and studied at the University of Oxford, from which he received his D. Phil. in theoretical physics in 1979. He worked on quantum chromodynamics, the field theory that was then postulated to explain the behavior of nuclear reactions. He was a fellow research associate in theoretical physics at Rockefeller University from 1979 to 1980. Carter taught at Harvard University, beginning in 1986, Carter is author or co-author of 11 books and more than 100 articles on physics, technology, national security, and management. For his service to national security, Carter has on five occasions been awarded the DOD Distinguished Public Service Medal and he has also received the CJCS Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the Defense Intelligence Medal for his contributions to Intelligence. Ashton Baldwin Carter was born on September 24,1954, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and his father is William Stanley Carter, Jr. a World War II veteran, Navy neurologist and psychiatrist, and department chairman at Abington Memorial Hospital for 30 years. His mother is Anne Baldwin Carter, an English teacher and he has three siblings, including childrens book author Cynthia DeFelice. As a child he was nicknamed Ash and Stoobie and he was raised in Abington, Pennsylvania, on Wheatsheaf Lane. At age 11, working at his first job at a Philadelphia car wash, Carter was educated at Highland Elementary School and at Abington Senior High School in Abington. In high school he was a wrestler, lacrosse player, cross-country runner and he was inducted into Abington Senior High Schools Hall of Fame in 1989. He attended Edinburgh University in Scotland in the spring of 1975, in 1976 Carter received a B. A. in his double-major of Physics and Medieval History from Yale College, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. His senior thesis, “Quarks, Charm and the Psi Particle”, was published in Yale Scientific in 1975 and he was also an experimental research associate at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in 1975 and at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1976. Carter then became a Rhodes Scholar, studying at the University of Oxford and he was subsequently a postdoctoral fellow research associate in theoretical physics at Rockefeller University from 1979 to 1980, studying time-reversal invariance and dynamical symmetry breaking. Kennedy School of Government from 1988 to 1990, and director of the Center from 1990 to 1993, at the Kennedy School, he became chair of the International and Global Affairs faculty and Ford Foundation Professor of Science and International Affairs. He concurrently was co-director of the Preventive Defense Project of Harvard and Stanford Universities, from 1993 to 1996, Carter served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy during President Clintons first term. Carter directed military planning during the 1994 crisis over North Koreas nuclear weapons program and he also led the development and production of thousands of mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, and other acquisitions. He instituted Better Buying Power, seeking smarter and leaner purchasing and he was confirmed by Senate voice vote for both positions
5.
United States Central Command
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The United States Central Command is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command of the U. S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the 1980 Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force responsibilities, the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility includes countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, most notably Afghanistan and Iraq. CENTCOM has been the main American presence in many operations, including the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan. As of 2015, CENTCOM forces are deployed primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq in supporting, as of 1 August 2016, CENTCOMs commander was General Joseph Votel, U. S. Army. Of all six American regional unified combatant commands, CENTCOM is among the three with headquarters outside its area of operations, CENTCOMs main headquarters is located at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida. A forward headquarters was established in 2002 at Camp As Sayliyah in Doha, Qatar, United States Central Command was established on January 1,1983. As its name implies, CENTCOM covers the area of the globe located between the European and Pacific Commands. Steps were taken to transform the RDJTF into a permanent unified command over a two-year period, the first step was to make the RDJTF independent of U. S. Readiness Command, followed by the activation of CENTCOM in January 1983, overcoming skeptical perceptions that the command was still an RDJTF in all but name, designed to support a Cold War strategy, took time. The Iran–Iraq War clearly underlined the growing tensions in the region, on 17 May 1987, the USS Stark, conducting operations in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War, was struck by Exocet missiles fired by an Iraqi aircraft, resulting in 37 casualties. Soon afterward, as part of what became known as the Tanker War, in Operation Earnest Will, these tankers were escorted by USCENTCOM’s Middle East Force through the Persian Gulf to Kuwait and back through the Strait of Hormuz. By late 1988, the regional strategy still focused on the potential threat of a massive Soviet invasion of Iran. Exercise Internal Look has been one of CENTCOMs primary planning events and it had frequently been used to train CENTCOM to be ready to defend the Zagros Mountains from a Soviet attack and was held annually. In autumn 1989, the main CENTCOM contingency plan, OPLAN 1002-88, the plan called for five-and-two-thirds US divisions to deploy, mostly light and heavy forces at something less than full strength. The original plan called for these divisions to march from the Persian Gulf to the Zagros Mountains. After 1990, General Norman Schwarzkopf reoriented CENTCOMs planning to fend off a threat from Iraq, U. S. President George Bush responded quickly. A timely deployment of forces and the formation of a coalition deterred Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia, the buildup of forces continued, reinforced by United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, which called for Iraqi forces to leave Kuwait. On January 17,1991, U. S. and coalition forces launched Operation Desert Storm with an air interdiction campaign
6.
Barack Obama
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Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have served as president and he previously served in the U. S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state and he grew up mostly in Hawaii, but also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago, in 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he became a civil rights attorney and professor, Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he ran for the U. S. Senate. In 2008, Obama was nominated for president, a year after his campaign began and he was elected over Republican John McCain, and was inaugurated on January 20,2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, during his first two years in office, Obama signed more landmark legislation than any Democratic president since LBJs Great Society. Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, after a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts. In foreign policy, Obama increased U. S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the U. S. -Russian New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, after winning re-election over Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013. Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration. In foreign policy, Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60% approval rating. He currently resides in Washington, D. C and his presidential library will be built in Chicago. Obama was born on August 4,1961, at Kapiʻolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu and he is the only President to have been born in Hawaii. He was born to a mother and a black father. His mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas, of mostly English descent, with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss and his father, Barack Obama Sr. was a married Luo Kenyan man from Nyangoma Kogelo. Obamas parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii on February 2,1961, six months before Obama was born. In late August 1961, Obamas mother moved him to the University of Washington in Seattle for a year
7.
David Petraeus
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David Howell Petraeus AO is a retired American military officer and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6,2011, prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a highly decorated four-star general, serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander of the International Security Assistance Force and Commander, Forces Afghanistan from July 4,2010, to July 18,2011. His other four-star assignments include serving as the 10th Commander, U. S, Central Command from October 13,2008, to June 30,2010, and as Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq from February 10,2007, to September 16,2008. As commander of MNF-I, Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq, Petraeus has a B. S. degree from the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1974 as a distinguished cadet. In his class were three other future generals, Martin Dempsey, Walter L. Sharp and Keith B. Alexander. He was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College class of 1983. He subsequently earned an M. P. A. in 1985 and he later served as Assistant Professor of International Relations at the United States Military Academy and also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University. Petraeus has repeatedly stated that he has no plans to run for elected political office, on June 30,2011, Petraeus was unanimously confirmed as the Director of the CIA by the U. S. Senate 94–0. Petraeus relinquished command of U. S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan on July 18,2011, and retired from the U. S. Army on August 31,2011. On November 9,2012, General Petraeus resigned from his position as Director of the CIA, citing his extramarital affair, eventually, Petraeus pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information. Petraeus was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, the son of Miriam, a librarian, and Sixtus Petraeus and his mother was American, a resident of Brooklyn, New York. His father had sailed to the United States from the Netherlands at the start of World War II and they met at the Seamens Church Institute of New York and New Jersey and married. Sixtus Petraeus commanded a Liberty ship for the U. S. A. for the duration of World War II, the family moved after the war, settling in Cornwall-on-Hudson, where David Petraeus grew up and graduated from Cornwall Central High School in 1970. Petraeus went on to the United States Military Academy at West Point, Petraeus was on the intercollegiate soccer and ski teams, was a cadet captain on the brigade staff, and was a distinguished cadet academically, graduating in the top 5% of the Class of 1974. In the class yearbook, Petraeus was remembered as always going for it in sports, academics, leadership, while a cadet, Petraeus started dating the daughter of Army General William A. Knowlton, Hollister Holly Knowlton. Two months after graduation, Petraeus married her, Holly, who is multi-lingual, was a National Merit Scholar in high school, and graduated summa cum laude from Dickinson College. They have a daughter and son, Anne and Stephen, Petraeus administered the oath of office at his sons 2009 commissioning into the Army after his sons graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8.
Lloyd Austin
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Lloyd James Austin III is a retired United States Army general. He was the 12th commander of United States Central Command, Austin was the first African American to head the organization. Prior to his assignment in CENTCOM, Austin served as the 33rd Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from January 31,2012, on December 6,2012, the Pentagon announced that President Barack Obama had nominated Austin to lead the U. S. Austin was confirmed by the U. S. Senate on March 5,2013, on April 5,2016, Austins retirement ceremony took place at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall. Austin was born on August 8,1953, in Mobile, Alabama and raised in Thomasville and he graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in June 1975. He later earned a Master of Arts degree in education from Auburn Universitys College of Education in 1986. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College, Austin was commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduation from West Point. Upon completing this assignment, he attended Auburn University where he completed studies for a Masters Degree in Education and he was then assigned to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he served as a Company Tactical Officer, after his selection and subsequent completion of the U. S. He subsequently served as Executive Officer for 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division and later as Director of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security for Fort Drum, New York. In 1993, Austin returned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he commanded the 2nd Battalion and he later served as the G-3 for the 82nd Airborne Division. Following graduation from the U. S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, he commanded the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Shortly after Brigade command, he was assigned to the Pentagon in Washington, D. C. where he served as Chief, Joint Operations Division, J-3 and his next assignment was as Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia. As the ADC-M, he helped spearhead the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. His next position was Chief of Staff of the United States Central Command at MacDill AFB, in Tampa, on December 8,2006, Austin was promoted to Lieutenant General, and assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Austin handed over command of XVIII Corps to become Director of the Joint Staff in August 2009, in February 2008, Austin became the second highest ranking commander in Iraq, taking command of the Multi-National Corps-Iraq. As commander of MNC-I, he directed the operations of approximately 152,000 joint, on September 1,2010, Austin became Commanding General of U. S. Forces – Iraq at a ceremony at the palace in Baghdad
9.
George W. Bush
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George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and he is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election and he is the second president to assume the nations highest office after his father, following the lead of John Quincy Adams. He is also a brother of Jeb Bush, a former Governor of Florida who was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bushs first term as president. Bush responded with what became known as the Bush Doctrine, launching a War on Terror, a military campaign that included the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He also promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, Social Security reform and his tenure included national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and torture. In the 2004 Presidential race, Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in another close election. After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the spectrum for his handling of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina. Amid this criticism, the Democratic Party regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, Bush left office in 2009, returning to Texas where he purchased a home in Crawford. He wrote a memoir, Decision Points and his presidential library was opened in 2013. His presidency has been ranked among the worst in historians polls published in the late 2000s and 2010s. George Walker Bush was born on July 6,1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, as the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife, the former Barbara Pierce. He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U. S and his father, George H. W. Bush, was Ronald Reagans Vice President from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U. S. President from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and some German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch, Welsh, Irish, French, Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School, a school in Houston. Bush attended high school at Phillips Academy, a school in Andover, Massachusetts
10.
Lance L. Smith
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United States Air Force General Lance L. Smith served as the Commander, U. S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation from November 10,2005, a highly decorated combat veteran, the general retired from active duty on January 1,2008. Gen Smith entered the United States Air Force in 1970 after graduating from Virginia Tech and he served two tours at The Pentagon and was Commandant of the NATO School at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Commandant of Air War College, and Vice Commander of Air University. He commanded two wings and led two air expeditionary force deployments to Southwest Asia, AEF III and the 4th Air Expeditionary Wing. He flew more than 165 combat missions in Southeast and Southwest Asia in the A-1 Skyraider, a command pilot, he has more than 3,000 hours in various military aircraft. L. C. C. S. Air Forces Korea, and Chief of Staff, Combined Republic of Korea, Forces Korea, Commander, Air Component Command, Republic of Korea and U. S. Combined Forces Command, and Commander, 7th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Osan AB, South Korea October 2003 - November 2005, Deputy Commander, U. S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Florida November 2005 - November 2007, Commander, joint Forces Command Biography This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document http, //www. af. mil/bios/bio. asp. bioID=7181
11.
Raymond T. Odierno
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Raymond Thomas Ray Odierno is a retired United States Army general who served as the 38th Chief of Staff of the Army. Prior to his service as Chief of Staff, Odierno commanded United States Joint Forces Command from October 2010 until its disestablishment in August 2011. He served as Commanding General, United States Forces – Iraq and its predecessor, Multi-National Force – Iraq, before then, he served as Commanding General, III Corps, from May 2006 to May 2008. Odierno is the twelfth American military officer to command at the Division, Corps, Odierno is the 2009 recipient of the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award for his strategic leadership and insight. Odierno grew up in Rockaway, New Jersey, where he attended Morris Hills High School and he graduated in June 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He later received a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University. Odierno is also a graduate of the U. S. Army War College and he later served as aide-de-camp to Major General Richard D. Boyle, commander of the 56th Field Artillery Brigade. Subsequently, he served as the Battalion S3 in the 1st Battalion, during Operation Desert Storm, Odierno served as the Executive Officer for the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery, and then he held the same position in Division Artillery, 3rd Armored Division. Odierno went on to command 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery, 7th Infantry Division, followed by command of the Division Artillery and he later commanded the 4th Infantry Division and the III Corps. It was there that his troopers affectionately gave him the nickname Old Odie. His significant staff duties include Arms Control Officer, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chief of Staff, United States V Corps, U. S. Army Europe, Assistant Division Commander, on 1 September 2010, he turned over command to General Lloyd Austin. Following the successful transition of command in Iraq, Odierno returned stateside to assume command of U. S, Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. When he assumed command in October 2010, Odierno transitioned to the new challenge of disestablishing the organization as part of wider DOD efficiencies initiatives. S. Additionally, Odierno has been the speaker at numerous public events. He visited The Harvard Kennedy School of Governments Institute of Politics, Odierno commanded the U. S. 4th Infantry Division from October 2001 to June 2004, during which he deployed the division to Operation Iraqi Freedom from March 2003 to April 2004. Originally, the 4th Infantry Division was designated to enter Iraq through Turkey, though diplomatic complications prevented such a maneuver. The division did not deploy in time to start the invasion but joined it as a force in April 2003, attacking toward Tikrit and Mosul. Following the invasion and conclusion of major operations, the division was then headquartered in Tikrit
12.
Allied Command Transformation
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Allied Command Transformation is a NATO military command, which was formed in 2003 after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation restructuring. Since France rejoined the NATO Military Command Structure in mid-2009, a significant change took place where the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation is now a French officer, the first French Officer to serve as SACT was French Air Force General, Stephane Abrial. Allied Command Transformation was preceded by Allied Command Atlantic established in 1952 under the command of Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, with its headquarters at Norfolk. Following the end of the Cold War, the Command was reduced, with many of its subordinate headquarters spread across the Atlantic area losing their NATO status, however, the basic structure remained in place until the Prague Summit in the Czech Republic in 2002. This led to ACLANT being decommissioned effective 19 June 2003, US Navy became the last SACLANT on 2 October 2002. He served as ACLANT commander until 19 Jun 2003 and he then served as Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation, until 1 Aug 2005. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope RN, the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, thus NATO’s military command structure was reorganized. One strategic command, Allied Command Transformation, was focused on transforming NATO, while the strategic command focused on NATO’s operations. Initial reports about a NATO transformation command began to appear in July 2002, ACT was formally established on June 19,2003. A suite of Baseline for Rapid Iterative Transformational Experimentation software was designed in response to the Maritime Situational Awareness request, since Allied Command Atlantic became Allied Command Transformation, commanders have included non-naval officers. Gen. Lance L. Smith USAF commanded ACT from 10 Nov 2005 until 9 Nov 2007 and he was succeeded by Gen. James N. Mattis USMC, who served from 9 Nov 2007 -08 Sep 2009. A significant change was the assumption of command by a French officer, after France rejoined the NATO Command Structure in mid-2009, General Stéphane Abrial, former chief of the French Air Force assumed command in 2009. French Air Force General Jean-Paul Paloméros replaced fellow Frenchman General Stéphane Abrial at the end of September 2012, on 30 Sep 2015 French Air Force General Denis Mercier succeeded General Paloméros. The Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation position is filled by General Mirco Zuliani of the Italian Air Force. He succeeded General Mieczysław Bieniek of the Polish Land Forces, who had himself succeeded Admiral Luciano Zappata, for several years, in a carryover from SACLANT, the Deputys position was filled by a Royal Navy admiral. Stanhopes succession by Zappata meant an end to this practice, a large number of conferences and seminars have been organised by the command in fulfilment of its conceptual development mission. These have included CD&E, a national Chiefs of Transformation conference, an examination of the Global Commons, Law of Armed Conflict, the commands headquarters is located in Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States. This division probably serves as NATOs linkpoint to the annual U. S. -led Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration, reflecting NATO as a whole, ACT has a presence on both sides of the Atlantic
13.
Pullman, Washington
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Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington state within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, estimated to have reached 31,682 in 2014, originally incorporated as Three Forks, the city was later renamed after industrialist George Pullman. Pullman is noted as a fertile agricultural area known for its many miles of rolling hills. It is best known as the home to Washington State University, Pullman is located eight miles from Moscow, Idaho, home to the University of Idaho, and is served by the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport. In 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek selected Pullman as the Best Place to Raise Kids in Washington, factors included affordability, safety, a family-friendly lifestyle, the quality of Pullman High School, the presence of Washington State University, and the natural beauty of the area. Within the year, Dan McKenzie and William Ellsworth arrived to stake claims for adjoining land and they named the first post office located here as Three Forks. In the spring of 1881, Orville Stewart opened a general store, Pullman was incorporated 131 years ago in 1886 with a population of about 200 people. It was originally named Three Forks, after the three rivers that converge there, Missouri Flat Creek, Dry Fork, and the South Fork of the Palouse River. In 1884, Dan McKenzie and Charles Moore replatted the site, on March 28,1890, the Washington State Legislature established the states land grant college, but did not designate a location. Pullman leaders were determined to secure the new college and offered 160 acres of land for its campus, Idaho Territory had established its land grant college in 1889, the University of Idaho was to be located in neighboring Moscow. On April 18,1891, the site selection commission appointed by Washingtons governor chose Pullman, on January 13,1892, the institution opened with 59 students under the name Washington Agricultural College and School of Science. It was renamed the State College of Washington in 1905, more known as Washington State College. In 1961, Pullman became a code city under the Mayor-Council form of government. The city has a mayor with an elected seven-member council and an appointed administrative officer. The WSU campus is located on College Hill, and part of the area is a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic character of College Hill is manifest in its many early-twentieth century craftsman-style bungalows, see Red Brick Roads of Pullman, Washington. Companies associated with an expanding high-tech industry are located at the end of the city. The lab company was founded by Edmund Schweitzer, a Ph. D. graduate of WSU, SEL and other firms are located within the 107-acre Pullman Industrial Park, run by the Port of Whitman County
14.
Washington (state)
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It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, the Washington Territory was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The area was part of a region called the Columbia District after the Columbia River. The area was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president. To distinguish it from the U. S. capital, which is named for George Washington, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, or, in more formal contexts. Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest refer to the state simply as Washington, calling the nations capital Washington, D. C. or, often, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
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Central Washington University
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Central Washington University, or CWU, is a regional, comprehensive public university located on a 380-acre campus in Ellensburg in the US state of Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of three chief divisions include the Office of the President, Business and Financial Affairs, and Academic and Student Life. Within ASL are four colleges, the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Business, the College of Education and Professional Studies, CWU is located about 110 miles east of Seattle, Washington on Interstate 90 in the Kittitas Valley. In addition to being the fastest growing university in the state of Washington, CWU is considered an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution with 15 percent Hispanic students. ”WSNS originally opened on September 6,1891. In 1893, the schools first building was constructed and named Barge Hall, in honor of the first WSNS principal, Barge Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 1937, the Washington Legislature authorized a change to Central Washington College of Education. Reflecting the fact that the curriculum had expanded into areas of study in addition to teacher education and it became Central Washington University in 1977. The on-campus location is established by a residence hall, surrounded by the Student Union and Recreation Center. The STEM and teaching facilities are located near the buildings, which include Black Hall, Bouillon Hall. Barge Hall and Mitchell Hall are where the administrative faculty are located. Admissions, Running Start, a Cashiers Office, the Registrar and this region is bounded by Samuelson Hall and living spaces Kamola Hall and Sue Lombard Hall. On April 26,2006, the opened a $58-million Student Union and Recreation Center. In addition to the campus in Ellensburg, Central Washington University has multiple locations around the state of Washington. These hazards arise from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, wine Quality Research Initiative has identified the nature of wine faults in some wines and how to prevent them. Currently the initiative is directed at detecting and preventing wine fraud, the Science Honors Research Program offers undergraduate students an opportunity to conduct high level research on projects that they design, develop, and implement. CWU students, alumni, and varsity athletes are known as the Wildcats and their colors are crimson, CWU is part of NCAA Division II and is part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Official website Central Washington Athletics website
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Bachelor of Arts
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A Bachelor of Arts is a bachelors degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both. Bachelor of Arts degree programs take three to four years depending on the country, academic institution, and specific specializations, majors or minors. The word baccalaureus or baccalarium should not be confused with baccalaureatus, degree diplomas generally are printed on high-quality paper or parchment, individual institutions set the preferred abbreviation for their degrees. In Pakistan, the Bachelor of Arts degree can also be attained within two years as an external degree, in colleges and universities in Australia, New Zealand, Nepal and South Africa, the BA degree can be taken over three years of full-time study. Unlike in other countries, students do not receive a grade for their Bachelor of Arts degree with varying levels of honours. Qualified students may be admitted, after they have achieved their Bachelors program with an overall grade point average. Thus, to achieve a Bachelor Honours degree, a postgraduate year. A student who holds a Honours degree is eligible for entry to either a Doctorate or a very high research Master´s degree program. Education in Canada is controlled by the Provinces and can be different depending on the province in Canada. Canadian universities typically offer a 3-year Bachelor of Arts degrees, in many universities and colleges, Bachelor of Arts degrees are differentiated either as Bachelors of Arts or as honours Bachelor of Arts degree. The honours degrees are designated with the abbreviation in brackets of. It should not be confused with the consecutive Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours, Latin Baccalaureatus in Artibus Cum Honore, BA hon. de jure without brackets and with a dot. It is a degree, which is considered to be the equivalent of a corresponding maîtrise degree under the French influenced system. Going back in history, a three-year Bachelor of Arts degree was called a pass degree or general degree. Students may be required to undertake a long high-quality research empirical thesis combined with a selection of courses from the relevant field of studies. The consecutive B. cum Honore degree is essential if students ultimate goal is to study towards a two- or three-year very high research masters´ degree qualification. A student holding a Baccalaureatus Cum Honore degree also may choose to complete a Doctor of Philosophy program without the requirement to first complete a masters degree, over the years, in some universities certain Baccalaureatus cum Honore programs have been changed to corresponding master´s degrees. In general, in all four countries, the B. A. degree is the standard required for entry into a masters programme, in science, a BA hons degree is generally a prerequisite for entrance to a Ph. D program or a very-high-research-activity master´s programme
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National Defense University
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It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Major General Frederick M. Padilla, USMC, as president. It is located on the grounds of Fort Lesley McNair in Washington, the universitys mission is to support the joint warfighter by providing rigorous Joint Professional Military Education to members of the U. S. Armed Forces and select interagency civilians in order to develop leaders that have the ability to operate and creatively think in an unpredictable, the schools masters program is a one-year intensive study program. Before 1946, the U. S. military relied on specially-created programs to meet specific needs and they also made use of smaller training programs elsewhere. The closer integration of forces and increasing complexity of strategy and technology necessitated the foundation of The National War College. To better integrate all the programs, Congress created the National Defense University in 1976. In 1981, the Joint Forces Staff College was created, followed by the Department of Defense Computer Institute in 1982, in 1984 the university created the Institute for National Strategic Studies to meet the demand for military research. After the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the House Armed Services Committee Skelton Panel Report, the university is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Official website National Defense University publications on the Internet Archive
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United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
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General (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force, General is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other uniformed services. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps,198 for the Air Force, and 162 for the Navy. No more than about 25% of an active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service. This is set at 7 four-star Army generals,9 four-star Air Force generals,2 four-star Marine Generals, several of these slots are reserved by statute. For example, the two highest-ranking members of service are designated as four-star generals. In addition, for the National Guard, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a general under active duty in the Army or Air Force. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions e. g. the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the President may add four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the Presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency and their active rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. For some positions, statute allows the President to waive those requirements for a nominee deemed to serve national interests, the nominee must be confirmed by the United States Senate before the appointee can take office and assume the rank. Four-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, service vice chiefs serve for a nominal four years, but are commonly reassigned after one or two years. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps serves for two years, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau serves a nominal four years. Some statutory limits can be waived in times of emergency or war. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement, a four-star general must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to serve longer. Otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday, however, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officers 68th birthday. General officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. Since only a number of four-star slots are available to each service
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United States Marine Forces Central Command
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The Commander, U. S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command, is designated as the Marine Corps service component commander for Commander, U. S. MARCENT is responsible for all Marine Corps Forces in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility, Special Operations Command, and Special Operations Command, Central Command. The Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and part of the Indian Ocean are included in this region, three of the worlds major religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam have their roots here. The region contains the major trade routes which link the Middle East, Europe, Asia. Petroleum products which fuel the economies of European and Asian allies pass through three maritime choke points in the region, the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab El Mandab. COMUSMARCENT provides Marine Expeditionary Forces capable of conducting a range of operations, offering the command a responsive. Marines embarked aboard U. S. Navy amphibious ships deploy regularly to the region and these forces provide a potent mix of capabilities that can project combat power rapidly to any location in the region. While afloat in the CENTCOM AOR, they serve as a deterrent force, train continuously. In addition to providing MAGTFs deployed aboard U. S. Navy ships, MARCENT has the capability to deploy MAGTFs to the CENTCOM AOR by air. This provides COMUSCENTCOM with a response capability across the range of military operations. On 3 August 2005, Headquarters Marine Corps designated MARCENT as a headquarters, under the command of Commanding General. U. S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida received its dedicated three-star Commander on 7 September 2012
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1st Marine Division (United States)
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The 1st Marine Division is a Marine infantry division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is the oldest and largest active duty division in the United States Marine Corps and it is one of three active duty divisions in the Marine Corps today and is a multi-role, expeditionary ground combat force. It is nicknamed The Old Breed, the division is employed as the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force or may provide task-organized forces for assault operations and such operations as may be directed. The 5th Marines were created in Vera Cruz, Mexico on 13 July 1914 and participated in 15 major engagements during World War I, including Belleau Wood, Chateau Thierry, and St. Mihiel. On 7 August 1917, 7th Marines were activated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the 11th Marines was formed in January 1918 at Quantico, Va. as a light artillery regiment. The regiment went to France as a unit, providing a machine gun company. Decommissioned and reactivated twice between the wars, the regiment was re-formed in 1940 as a full-fledged artillery unit. The 1st Marine Division was activated aboard the USS Texas on 1 February 1941, the 1st Raider Battalion was on New Caledonia, and the 3rd Defense Battalion was in Pearl Harbor. All of the units, with the 11th Marines and 75mm howitzer armed 10th Marines battalion would rendezvous at Fiji. Also, because the Wellington dock workers were on strike at the time, other things not yet available to this first wave of Marine deployments were insect repellent and mosquito netting. On 31 July the entire Marine task force was placed under the command of Vice Admiral Frank J. Fletchers Task Force 61, the division as a whole would fight in the Guadalcanal Campaign until relieved at 1400 on 9 December 1942 by Alexander Patchs Americal Division. This operation won the Division its first of three World War II Presidential Unit Citations, the battle would cost the division 650 killed in action,1,278 wounded in action with a further 8,580 contracting malaria and 31 missing in action. Others were awarded for the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa, following the Guadalcanal Campaign, the divisions Marines were sent to Melbourne, Australia for rest and refit. It was during this time that the division took the traditional Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda as its battle hymn, to this day, 1st Division Marines still ship out to this song being played. The division would see action during Operation Cartwheel which was the codename for the campaigns in Eastern New Guinea. They came ashore at the Battle of Cape Gloucester on 26 December 1943 and fought on New Britain until March 1944 at such places as Suicide Creek, during the course of the battle the division had 310 killed and 1,083 wounded. Following the battle they were sent to Pavuvu in the Russell Islands for rest, the next battle for the 1st Marine Division would be the bloodiest yet at the Battle of Peleliu
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1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade (United States)
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1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade is a unit in the I Marine Expeditionary Force and is the middleweight global crisis response force. It is able to operate independently, as a service component, the brigade was stationed at Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Air Station until 1992. From 1976 to 1981 while at Kaneohe, the unit was designated as the 1st Marine Brigade, ground Combat Element - Regimental Combat Team consisting of a reinforced Marine Infantry Regiment. Logistics Combat Element - Combat Logistics Regiment, consisting of from 1 to 3 Combat Logistics Battalions, Marine Air-Ground Task Force Organization of the United States Marine Corps Web
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7th Marine Regiment (United States)
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The 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Nicknamed the Magnificent Seventh, they fall under the command of the 1st Marine Division, conduct mechanized, combined-arms operations and other expeditionary operations in order to support theater engagement plans and contingency operations. During World War I, the 7th Marine Regiment immediately deployed to Cuba for two years and they were deactivated in the demobilization that followed the war. When the Marine Corps was once called upon to provide peacekeepers in the Caribbean. At the end of the crisis, 7th Marines was once again inactivated, on 1 January 1941, the 7th Marine Regiment was re-activated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The regiment moved to what is today Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, on 18 September 1942 the regiment landed in the Solomon Islands on Guadalcanal. For four long months the regiment relentlessly attacked the Japanese defenders and repulsed banzai charges, again and again the regiment was called upon to storm the Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. The Seventh Marine Regiment fought in places as Eastern New Guinea, New Britain, Bloody Peleliu. After the surrender of Japan, 7th Marines took part in the Occupation of Northern China from 30 September 1945 through 5 January 1947 and they returned to MCB Camp Pendleton, California in January 1947 and were reassigned to the 1st Marine Division. The regiment was deactivated on 6 March 1947 as part of the Marine Corps draw down of forces after the war, 7th Marines however was quickly reactivated on 1 October 1947 but only as a shell of its former self as it consisted of only four companies. Company C deployed to China from 2 May through 23 June 1949 to safeguard the withdrawal of Americans and was the last element of Fleet Marine Force to depart China. On 17 August 1950, after the outbreak of the Korean War, the Regiment was reactivated, the regiment fought from Inchon to the Yalu, at The Frozen Chosin Reservoir and in the long defense of South Korea until the armistice. In fall of 1962, substantial parts of the regiment embarked for the Caribbean and possible action in Cuba, as the Cuban Missile Crisis subsided, The Seventh Marines returned to Camp Pendleton, California. In 1965, the regiment was deployed to South Vietnam, the last elements of 7th Marines departed the Republic of Vietnam 13 October 1970. They were part of the attack into Kuwait and eventual victory, in December 1992, RCT-7 deployed on Operation Restore Hope to relieve famine and return order to Somalia, remaining there for five months. On 13 August 1993, on the eve of the regiments 76th anniversary, in August 1996, organizational changes once again designated 3rd LAR Battalion and 1st Tank Battalion as separate battalions in direct support of the 7th Marines MPF Mission. Also in direct support is Delta Company 3rd AA Battalion who returned to 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, in January 2003, the 7th Marines deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On 21 March, the regiment crossed the line of departure into Iraq as it moved to seize, during the course of the next few weeks, the regiment continued the offensive to capture Baghdad and collapse the regime of Saddam Hussein
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1st Battalion, 7th Marines
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The 1st Battalion, 7th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. It is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, consists of approximately 1,000 Marines, famous Marines who have served in 1/7 include Lieutenant General Lewis Chesty Puller and Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, and General James Mattis. The 1st Battalion, 7th Marines was created on 1 April 1921 in San Diego, in September 1924, the Battalion was deactivated with its personnel being absorbed by the newly organized 4th Marine Regiment. For the next twenty years the Battalion was activated, re-designated and disbanded on numerous occasions until being reborn on 1 January 1941. Just over a year after its rebirth, the Battalion deployed to take part in the Pacific Theater during World War II, under its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. Chesty Puller, the Battalion distinguished itself many times over for valor and it was also during this campaign that the legendary Sgt Manila John Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor for defending the regiment from a comprehensive Japanese assault using only a machine gun. Throughout the remainder of the war, the First Team distinguished itself throughout many campaigns, including the Battle of Cape Gloucester, the Battle of Peleliu, the battalion deployed to North China for occupation duty at the end of the war. Following World War II, the First of the Seventh was sent to Camp Pendleton in California where it was deactivated on 5 March 1947, however, in response to the invasion of South Korea by the communist North Korea, the battalion was again called into action. On 21 September 1950, the unit carried out a landing at Inchon. Once more the First Team distinguished itself in the battle as it took part in such as Hook, Reno and Vegas, as well as fighting its way to. It was during this war that such names as 1st Lt Frank Mitchell, SSgt Archie Van Winkle, davis, became part of Marine Corps history when each were awarded the Medal of Honor. Following the cessation of hostilities in Korea and through 1965, the Battalion spent time both in Camp Pendleton and Okinawa while maintaining its combat readiness, in August 1965, the battalion was once again called to service, this time in the Republic of Vietnam. For the next five years, the First Team participated in operations such as Starlite, Piranha, Mameluke Thrust. Ingram would be awarded the Medal of Honor in 1966, five Marines from the battalion were responsible for the only war crime attributable to the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. On 19 February 1970, in the village of Son Thang-4 just southwest of Danang, one member of the team was convicted of premeditated murder. The 1st Battalion, 7th Marines was the first unit to man defensive positions in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in August 1990, the unit was an integral member of Task Force Ripper. As Desert Shield became Desert Storm, the participated in the diagonal thrust to the perimeter of Kuwait City. The battalion returned to Twentynine Palms in March 1991, on 11 December 1992, the first elements of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines arrived at Mogadishu, Somalia for Operation Restore Hope
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Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
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Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
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2003 invasion of Iraq
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The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 20 March to 1 May 2003 and signalled the start of the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States. 160,000 troops were sent by the Coalition into Iraq, during the invasion phase. About 130,000 were sent from the USA alone, with about 28,000 British soldiers, Australia,36 other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion,100,000 U. S. troops were assembled in Kuwait by 18 February, the coalition forces also received support from Kurdish irregulars in Iraqi Kurdistan. Others place a greater emphasis on the impact of the September 11 attacks, and the role this played in changing U. S. strategic calculations. The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long-standing U. S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there was no evidence of weapons of destruction in Iraq. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003,36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war. The invasion was preceded by an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003, the following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Province from their massing point close to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the army into chaos. The main body of forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq. Most of the Iraqi military was defeated and Baghdad was occupied on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of the Iraqi army, including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May, an end of combat operations was declared, ending the invasion period. Hostilities of the 1991 Gulf War were suspended on 28 February 1991 and it was revealed that a biological weapons program in Iraq had begun in the early 1980s with help from the U. S. and Europe in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972. The investigation concluded there was no evidence the program had continued after the war. The U. S. and its allies then maintained a policy of containment towards Iraq, Iraqi military helicopters and planes regularly contested the no-fly zones. In October 1998, removing the Saddam regime became official U. S. foreign policy with enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act
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First Battle of Fallujah
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The battle polarized public opinion within Iraq. Fallujah had generally benefited economically under Saddam Hussein, and many residents were employed as military, however, there was little sympathy for him following the collapse of his government, which many residents considered oppressive. The city was one of the most religious and culturally traditional areas in Iraq and this led to the United States committing few troops to Fallujah from the start. On 28 April, a crowd of approximately 200 people gathered outside the school past curfew, demanding that the Americans vacate the building, the protesters became increasingly heated, and the deployment of smoke gas canisters failed to disperse the crowd. There were no U. S. Army or coalition casualties in the incident, U. S. forces said that the shooting took place over 30–60 seconds, however other sources claim the shooting continued for half an hour. Following both incidents, coalition forces asserted that they had not fired upon the protesters until they were fired upon first, the Renegades were hit with an RPG while mounting vehicles to take them back the base. The attack resulted in 6 injured soldiers and one KIA. Brandon Oberleitner was killed on impact as the RPG struck the vehicle he was sitting in. His death marked the loss of life for B. Co for the deployment. Soon after this attack the 3rd Armoured Cavalry was forced to request an additional 1,500 troops to quell the growing resistance faced in Fallujah. In June, American forces began confiscating motorcycles from local residents, on 30 June, a large explosion occurred in a mosque in which the imam, Sheikh Laith Khalil and eight other people were killed. While the local population claimed that Americans had fired a missile at the mosque, at least 17 police officers were killed, and as many as 87 prisoners released. In March 2004, Swannack transferred authority of the Al-Anbar province to the I Marine Expeditionary Force commanded by Lt. General Conway, by early March 2004, the city began to fall under the increasing influence of guerrilla factions. This was coupled with one or two patrols around the limits of FOB Volturno, the former site of Qusay and Uday Husseins palace. On March 27, a JSOC surveillance team was compromised in the town and had to shoot its way out of trouble. On 31 March 2004 – Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah ambushed a convoy containing four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA who were conducting delivery for food caterers ESS. The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were killed by gun fire. A mob then set their bodies ablaze, and their corpses were dragged through the streets before being hung over a crossing the Euphrates. The insurgents provided images to news agencies for broadcast worldwide, causing a great deal of indignation, an announcement of an upcoming pacification of the city promptly followed
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Second Battle of Fallujah
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It was led by the U. S. Marine Corps against the Iraqi insurgency stronghold in the city of Fallujah and was authorized by the U. S. -appointed Iraqi Interim Government. The U. S. military called it some of the heaviest urban combat U. S, Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968. This operation was the major operation in Fallujah. Earlier, in April 2004, coalition forces fought the First Battle of Fallujah in order to capture or kill insurgent elements considered responsible for the deaths of a Blackwater Security team. In February 2004, control of Fallujah and the area in the Al-Anbar province was transferred from the U. S. 82nd Airborne Division to the 1st Marine Division. Shortly afterward, on 31 March 2004, four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA were ambushed and killed in the city, images of their mutilated bodies were broadcast around the world. Within days, U. S. Marine Corps forces launched Operation Vigilant Resolve to take control of the city from insurgent forces. On 28 April 2004, Operation Vigilant Resolve ended with an agreement where the population was ordered to keep the insurgents out of the city. The Fallujah Brigade, composed of local Iraqis under the command of a former Baathist officer named Muhammed Latif, took control of the city. Before beginning their attack, U. S. and Iraqi forces had established checkpoints around the city to prevent anyone from entering the city, in addition, overhead imagery was used to prepare maps of the city for use by the attackers. American units were augmented by Iraqi interpreters to assist them in the planned fight, after weeks of withstanding air strikes and artillery bombardment, the militants holed up in the city appeared to be vulnerable to direct attack. U. S. Iraqi and British forces totaled about 13,500, the U. S. had gathered some 6,500 Marines and 1,500 Army soldiers that would take part in the assault with about 2,500 Navy personnel in operational and support roles. Regimental Combat Team 7 comprised the 1st Battalion/8th Marines, 1st Battalion/3rd Marines, about 2,000 Iraqi troops assisted with the assault. All were supported by aircraft U. S. Marine and U. S. Army artillery battalions, the 850-strong 1st Battalion of the Black Watch was ordered to help U. S. and Iraqi forces with the encirclement of Fallujah. In April, Fallujah was defended by about 500 hardcore and 1, by November, it was estimated that the numbers had doubled. Another estimate put the number of insurgents at 3,000, however, three groups, had their nationwide headquarters in Fallujah. An estimated 2,000 insurgents were from the Army of Mohammed, Ansar al-Sunna, the Iraqi insurgents and foreign mujahadeen present in the city prepared fortified defenses in advance of the anticipated attack. They dug tunnels, trenches, prepared spider holes, and built and they blocked streets with Jersey barriers and even emplaced them within homes to create strong points behind which they could attack unsuspecting troops entering the building
30.
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
31.
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
32.
Defense Superior Service Medal
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The decoration is most often presented to senior officers in the flag and general officer grades, followed by a lesser number of Colonels and USN and USCG Captains. The medal is presented in the name of the Secretary of Defense and was established by President Gerald R. Ford on February 6,1976 in Executive Order 11904 and it is analogous to the Legion of Merit, albeit awarded for service in a joint duty capacity. This service must be as part of a joint activity, the award is generally for a period of time exceeding 12 months and encompassing an entire joint assignment. Service members assigned to or attached to a Joint Task Force as individuals, not members of a specific military services unit, can be eligible for the DSSM. In these cases, the 12 month time period was considered to include the period prior to that actual space flight. Members of service units are eligible for awards of personal decorations from their parent service. The Defense Superior Service Medal is specifically intended to recognize exceptionally superior service, Joint or Department of Defense awards, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, may be awarded posthumously. At the time of creation of the Defense Superior Service Medal it was decided that it would be obtained at the lowest possible cost and with as little effort as possible. For these reasons, and because it would rank just below the Defense Distinguished Service Medal for similar service, the difference is that it is finished in silver rather than gold and the inscriptions on the reverse of the medal are appropriately modified. The medal is made of a silver colored metal with blue enamel,1 7/8 inches in height overall, the obverse depicts a silver American eagle superimposed over a medium blue pentagon. The eagle has outstretched wings, charged on its breast is the shield of the United States, in its talons are three crossed arrows in silver. The reverse is plain except for the inscription at the top, below in the pentagon is the inscription From The Secretary of Defense To. Subsequent awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters worn on the suspension and service ribbons of the medal
33.
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
34.
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
35.
"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
36.
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)
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Normally, the acts or services rendered must be comparable to that required for the Legion of Merit but in a duty of lesser, though considerable, responsibility. Within the U. S. Army, according to AR 600-8-22, Paragraph 3-16, in the Army, an MSM recommendation that is downgraded will be approved as an Army Commendation Medal. In the U. S. Army and U. S, the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps and U. S. In the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, the authority for the MSM must be either a Flag Officer or General Officer holding the pay grade of O-7 or above. It is most common for Navy and Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officers, to receive this medal the individual must exhibit exceptionally meritorious service at that level of responsibility. The Meritorious Service Medal is a medal,1. The reverse has the encircled inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and MERITORIOUS SERVICE. The suspension ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide and consists of the stripes, 1/8 inch Crimson 67112, 1/4 inch White 67101, center 5/8 inch Crimson, 1/4 inch White. Additional awards of the Meritorious Service Medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters in the U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force. And gold 5/16 inch stars in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps and these devices are also authorized for wear on the suspension and service ribbon of the medal. In certain instances, the U. S. Coast Guard also authorizes an Operational Distinguishing Device for the medal, an ad hoc committee was formed by the Secretary of Defense to select a name. On November 8,1968, the unanimously approved the name Meritorious Service Medal. President Lyndon B. Johnson established the Meritorious Service Medal per Executive Order 11448, the Executive Order was amended by President Ronald Reagan per Executive Order 12312, dated July 2,1981, to authorize award to members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations. The medal was designed by Mr. Jay Morris of the Institute of Heraldry, the ribbon design purposely follows the colors used for the Legion of Merit to reflect the parallel between the two medals. The eagle, symbol of the United States, stands on laurel branches denoting achievement, the star is used to represent the military service and the rays emanating therefrom denote the constant efforts of individuals to achieve through excellent and meritorious service. Meritorious Civilian Service Award – a comparable award given to employees of the United States Departments of Defense. US Army Institute of Heraldry, Meritorious Service Medal
37.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
38.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
39.
United States Senate
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The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. S. From 1789 until 1913, Senators were appointed by the legislatures of the states represented, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The Senate chamber is located in the wing of the Capitol, in Washington. It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House, in the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers. This idea of having one chamber represent people equally, while the other gives equal representation to states regardless of population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise, there was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal check on each other. One was intended to be a Peoples House directly elected by the people, the other was intended to represent the states to such extent as they retained their sovereignty except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. The Senate was thus not designed to serve the people of the United States equally, the Constitution provides that the approval of both chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation. First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate, the name is derived from the senatus, Latin for council of elders. James Madison made the comment about the Senate, In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people. An agrarian law would take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation, landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority, the senate, therefore, ought to be this body, and to answer these purposes, the people ought to have permanency and stability. The Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that states consent, the District of Columbia and all other territories are not entitled to representation in either House of the Congress. The District of Columbia elects two senators, but they are officials of the D. C. city government. The United States has had 50 states since 1959, thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959. In 1787, Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming and this means some citizens are effectively two orders of magnitude better represented in the Senate than those in other states. Seats in the House of Representatives are approximately proportionate to the population of each state, before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, Senators were elected by the individual state legislatures
40.
Kirsten Gillibrand
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Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand is an American politician and the junior United States Senator from New York, in office since 2009. Previously, she served in the United States House of Representatives and she is a member of the Democratic Party. In December 2008, President-elect Barack Obama nominated Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, after two months and many potential names considered, Governor David Paterson appointed Gillibrand to fill the seat. Gillibrand was required to run in an election in 2010. She was re-elected to a full term in 2012 with 72% of the vote. Kirsten Gillibrand was born in Albany, New York, on December 9,1966, both her parents are attorneys, and her father has also worked as a lobbyist. Her parents divorced in the late 1980s, Gillibrand has an older brother, Douglas Rutnik, and a younger sister, Erin Rutnik Tschantret. She has English, Austrian, Scottish, German, and Irish ancestry, during her childhood and college years, Gillibrand used the nickname Tina. She began using her name of Kirsten a few years after law school. In 1984 she graduated from Emma Willard School, a high school in Troy, New York. Gillibrand majored in Asian Studies, studying in both Beijing and Taiwan, while in Beijing, she studied and lived with Connie Britton. Gillibrand graduated magna cum laude in 1988, while at Dartmouth, she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. During college, Gillibrand interned at Republican U. S, Gillibrand received her J. D. from UCLA School of Law and passed the bar exam in 1991. In 1991, Gillibrand joined the Manhattan-based law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell as an associate, in 1992, she took a leave from Davis Polk to serve as a law clerk to Judge Roger Miner on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Albany. She became an associate while working on Philip Morris litigation. While working at Davis Polk, Gillibrand became involved in—and later the leader of—the Womens Leadership Forum and it was such a challenge to the women in the room. And it really hit me, Shes talking to me, following her time at Davis Polk, Gillibrand served as Special Counsel to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo during the last year of the Clinton administration. Gillibrand worked on HUDs Labor Initiative and its New Markets Initiative, as well as on TAPs Young Leaders of the American Democracy, and strengthening Davis–Bacon Act enforcement
41.
South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
United States
United States Marine Corps
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