1.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
2.
Vice admiral (United States)
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Vice admiral ranks above rear admiral and below admiral. Vice admiral is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant general in the uniformed services. U. S. Code of law explicitly limits the number of vice admirals that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active-duty flag officers is capped at 160 for the navy, for the navy, no more than 16. 7% of the services active-duty flag officers may have more than two stars. Some of these slots can be reserved by statute, officers serving in certain Defense Agency Director positions such as the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, when filled by a naval officer, are vice admirals. The Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy is usually always a vice admiral, the President may also add vice admirals to the Navy if they are offset by removing an equivalent number of three-star officers from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the Presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency, the three-star grade goes hand-in-hand with the position of office it is linked to, so the rank is temporary. Officers may only achieve three-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank and their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office, the standard tour length for most vice admiral positions is three years but some are set four or more years by statute. Some statutory limits under the U. S. Code can be waived in times of emergency or war. Three-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Three-star officers must retire after 38 years of service unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer, otherwise all flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. The Secretary of Defense, however, can defer a three-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, flag officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there is a number of three-star slots available to each service
3.
Vice admiral
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Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to an admiral and junior to an admiral. The rank insignia for a vice admiral often involves three stars, but this is not always the case, in the navy of Iraq, vice admiral insignia involves one star. Vice admiral is the equivalent of air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force, in the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of vice-admiral is equivalent to lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. A vice-admiral is an officer, the naval equivalent of a general officer. A vice-admiral is senior to a rear-admiral and major general, two rows of gold oak leaves are located on the black visor of the white service cap. Vice-admirals are addressed by rank and name, thereafter by subordinates as Sir or Maam, vice-admirals are normally entitled to a staff car, the car will normally bear a flag, dark blue with three gold maple leaves arranged one over two. A vice-admiral generally holds only the most senior command or administrative appointments, barring only Chief of Defence Staff, charles, Prince of Wales holds the honorary rank of vice admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy. The vice-amiral rank used to be an OF-8 rank in NATO charts, the rank of vice-amiral descadre equals a NATO OF-8 rank. In the ancien régime Navy, between 1669 and 1791, the office of Vice-Admiral of France was the highest rank, the supreme office of Admiral of France being purely ceremonial. Distinct offices were, 1669-1791 Vice-admiral of the West, 1778-1791 Vice-admiral of the Asian and American Seas. 1784-1788 Vice-admiral of the Indian Seas, vizeadmiral is an OF-8 three-star rank equivalent to the German Heer and Luftwaffe rank of Generalleutnant. In India, vice admiral is a three star admiral, in Italy, the equivalent to vice admiral is the ammiraglio di squadra or squadron admiral. In the Philippines, the vice admiral is the highest-ranking official of the Philippine Navy. He is recognized as the flag officer in-charge of the Navy, the rank vice-admiral in the Philippines, has the same ranking in the U. S Navy. In Vietnam, the equivalent to vice admiral is the phó đô đốc
4.
Ted N. Branch
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In that capacity, he was the resource sponsor for the N2N6 portfolio which includes program investments for assured command and control, battlespace awareness, and integrated fires. He was the Navy’s Chief Information Officer, the Director of Navy Cybersecurity, the leader of the Information Warfare Community, and the Director of Naval Intelligence. Bachelor of Science, United States Naval Academy,1979 Master of international relations, Naval War College Branch was a naval aviator, specializing in A-7 Corsairs. He has flown missions over Grenada, Lebanon, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He has served as the officer of VFA-15, the USS Coronado, the USS Nimitz, Carrier Strike Group One. He has also served on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, as the commander of the USS Nimitz, then-Captain Branch was featured prominently in the Emmy award-winning documentary television series Carrier. In January 2010, as the Commander of CARL VINSON Strike Group, from February 2011 to July 2013, Branch served as the Commander of Naval Air Force, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, headquartered in Norfolk, VA, in that role he was responsible for manning, training, and equipping all elements of Naval Air Force, Atlantic — over 1000 aircraft,40 thousand personnel, and six nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. While there, he established the Interoperability Coordination Office for the United Kingdoms new aircraft carriers. On 16 May 2013, Branch was nominated by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to become the Director of Naval Intelligence and he was confirmed by the United States Senate in July 2013 and automatically promoted to Vice Admiral. While serving in the DCNO/DNI roles, he took on the position of Directory of Navy Cybersecurity. In this role, he stood up a year-long matrixed organization called Task Force Cyber Awakening to develop and that group developed the CYBERSAFE program to design and build in cyber resiliency, and inculcate an enhanced culture of cybersecurity throughout the U. S. Navy. When the Task Force completed their efforts, he stood up the Navy Cybersecurity Division within N2N6 so the process of instituting CYBERSAFE, although Branch remained in his post during the long Justice Department investigation, his access to classified information remained suspended, relegating him to unclassified duties. In September 2015, the Navy formally nominated Rear Admiral Elizabeth L. Train to succeed Branch as Director of Naval Intelligence. S, Vice Admiral Tighe relieved Vice Admiral Branch as Deputy CNO for Information Warfare/Director of Naval Intelligence in July 2016. Branch’s access to classified information remained suspended until he retired, Information Dominance Warfare Officer Badge Naval Aviator Wings Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge Official Navy Biography
5.
Fort Stockton, Texas
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Fort Stockton is a city in Pecos County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Pecos County, located on Interstate Highway 10, Future Interstate 14, highways 67,285, and 385, and the Santa Fe Railroad,329 miles northwest of San Antonio and 240 miles east of El Paso. The population was 8,283 at the 2010 census, Fort Stockton is located at 30°53′29″N 102°53′6″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 5.1 square miles. As of the census of 2010,8,535 people,2,790 households, the population density was 1,531.3 people per square mile. The 3,189 housing units averaged 622.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 70. 6% White,0. 89% African American,0. 57% Native American,0. 76% Asian,0. 01% Pacific Islander,25. 16% from other races, and 2. 54% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 71% of the population, about 21. 7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the family size was 3.25. In the city, the population was distributed as 30. 1% under the age of 18,9. 9% from 18 to 24,25. 6% from 25 to 44,20. 8% from 45 to 64, the median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,713, males had a median income of $25,735 versus $17,885 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,834, about 19. 7% of families and 22. 3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30. 6% of those under age 18 and 17. 7% of those age 65 or over. Fort Lancaster sent 1st Infantry Co, H to take post along Comanche Springs on 12 April 1859. Fort Stockton grew up around Comanche Springs, one of the largest sources of spring water in Texas, Comanche Springs was a favorite rest stop on the Great Comanche Trail to Chihuahua, San Antonio-El Paso Road, the Butterfield Overland Mail Route. In 1861, the fort was garrisoned by 39 men of Company C, 8th Infantry, under the command of Capt. Arthur Tracy Lee, who evacuated the fort by April. The Confederates took possession of the fort on 9 May by Charles L. Pyron at the outbreak of the Civil War, with the failure of John Baylors invasion of New Mexico, a general Confederate evacuation of West Texas occurred in 1862. In 1867, the Army rebuilt the fort on a larger, major James F. Wade took command of Troops A, B, D, and E, 9th Cavalry, and Company G, 41st Infantry, on 2 Oct.1868
6.
Vanderbilt University
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Vanderbilt University is a private research university founded in 1873 and located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt hoped that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War. Today, Vanderbilt enrolls approximately 12,000 students from all 50 U. S. states and over 90 foreign countries in four undergraduate and six graduate, despite its urban surroundings, the campus itself is a national arboretum and features over 300 different species of trees and shrubs. Vanderbilt is ranked as one of the top universities for its teaching, research opportunities. It is ranked 15th on the list of best national universities generated by U. S. News & World Report, however, lack of funds and the ravaged state of the Reconstruction Era South delayed the opening of the college. Indeed, the McTyeires had met at St. Francis Street Methodist Church in Mobile, Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was the wealthiest man in the United States at the time, was considering philanthropy as he was at an advanced age. He had been planning to establish a university on Staten Island, New York, however, McTyeire convinced him to donate $500,000 to endow Central University in order to contribute to strengthening the ties which should exist between all sections of our common country. The endowment was increased to $1 million and would be only one of two philanthropic causes financially supported by Vanderbilt. Though he never expressed any desire that the university be named after himself, McTyeire, Vanderbilt died in 1877 without seeing the school named after him. One of the trustees, Hezekiah William Foote, was a Confederate veteran. The Treasurer of the Board of Trust from 1872 to 1875, Alexander Little Page Green, whose portrait hangs in Kirkland Hall, was a Methodist preacher and a former slave owner. His son-in-law, Robert A. Young, was a Methodist minister who served as the Financial Secretary on the Board of Trust from 1874 to 1882, retiring from the board in 1902. The first building, Main Building, later known as Kirkland Hall, was designed by William Crawford Smith, in the fall of 1875, about 200 students enrolled at Vanderbilt, and in October the university was dedicated. Bishop McTyeire was named Chairman of the Board of Trust for life by Vanderbilt as a stipulation of his endowment, McTyeire named Landon Garland, his mentor from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and then-Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, as chancellor. Garland shaped the structure and hired the schools faculty, many of whom were renowned scholars in their respective fields. However, most of this faculty left after disputes with Bishop McTyeire, when the first fraternity chapter, Phi Delta Theta, was established on campus in 1876, it was shut down by the faculty, only to be reestablished as a secret society in 1877. Meanwhile, Old Gym, designed by Dutch-born architect Peter J. Williamson, was built in 1879–1880, by 1883, the Board of Trust passed a resolution allowing fraternities on campus, and more chapters were established in 1884. During the first 40 years, the Board of Trust, and therefore the university, was under the control of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, conflicts escalated after James H. Kirkland was appointed chancellor in 1893
7.
Naval War College
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The Naval War College is the staff college and Home of Thought for the United States Navy in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associated roles and missions, supports combat readiness, the college was established on October 6,1884, its first president, Commodore Stephen B. Luce, was given the old building of the Newport Asylum for the Poor to house it on Coasters Harbor Island in Narragansett Bay, among the first four faculty members were Tasker H. Bliss, a future Army Chief of Staff, James R. The College engaged in wargaming various scenarios from 1887 on, nearly all of the U. S. naval operations of the twentieth century were originally designed and gamed at the NWC. More than 50,000 students have graduated since its first class of 9 students in 1885 and about 300 of today’s active duty admirals, and generals and senior executive service leaders are alumni. Just as its programs have expanded in depth and reach, so have the research. Each student in the College of Naval Command and Staff is also required to enroll in one Elective Program course of his or her choice per trimester. During the first two of these trimesters, College of Naval Warfare students will be joined in lectures and in seminars by students of the Naval Command College. Each College of Naval Warfare student is required to enroll in one Elective Program course of his or her choice per trimester. The Naval War College has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools, several years later the Naval War College earned the authority to award to students in some of its programs a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies. Naval War College students are permitted to transfer up to 18 credits to the Graduate Program in International Relations at Salve Regina University. The arrangement allows Naval War College students to complete a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Salve Regina University by taking six additional courses, the Naval War College Press has published the scholarly quarterly journal the Naval War College Review since 1948. It also publishes the Newport Papers, as well as a monograph series. The Henry E. S. Navy in Narragansett Bay, over the years, the Naval War College has expanded greatly. The original building, the former Newport Asylum for the Poor, in 1892, Luce Hall was opened as the colleges new home, at a cost of $100,000. At the time, the building housed lecture rooms and a library, wings at either end provided two sets of quarters, occupied by the president of the College and members of the faculty. When the Naval War College was enlarged in 1932, this building was renamed Luce Hall in honor of the institutions founder and first Superintendent. This original pair of buildings was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964, Luce Hall was again listed on the National Register in 1972
8.
USS Forrestal (CV-59)
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USS Forrestal, formerly AVT-59 and CVA-59, was a supercarrier named after the first Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. Commissioned in 1955, she was the first completed supercarrier, and was the ship of her class. Unlike the successor Nimitz class, Forrestal and her class were conventionally powered, the other carriers of her class were USS Saratoga, USS Ranger and USS Independence. She superseded the World War II Japanese carrier Shinano as the largest aircraft ever built in terms of full load displacement and was the first to specifically support jet aircraft. The ship was affectionately called The FID, because James Forrestal was the first ever Secretary of Defense and this is also the slogan on the ships insignia and patch. Forrestal served for four decades in the Atlantic, Mediterranean. She was decommissioned in 1993, and made available as a museum, attempts to save her were unsuccessful, however, and in February 2014 she was towed to Brownsville, Texas, to be scrapped. Scrapping was completed in December 2015, Forrestals keel was laid down at Newport News Shipbuilding on 14 July 1952. She was launched on 11 December 1954, and commissioned into service on 1 October 1955, Forrestal was the first American aircraft carrier to be constructed with an angled flight deck, steam catapult, and an optical landing system, as opposed to having them installed after launching. The original design—USS United States—provided for the island to retract flush with the deck during flight operations, another solution was considered where the two masts were to fold down, in lieu of the retractable island, to allow the carrier to pass under the Brooklyn Bridge. The larger center mast was to fold to the side and rest on the deck. From her home port, Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, Forrestal spent the first year of service in training operations off the Virginia Capes. An important assignment was training aviators in the use of her advanced facilities, during this time she often operated out of Naval Station Mayport, Florida. On 7 November 1956, she put to sea from Mayport to operate in the eastern Atlantic during the Suez Crisis and she returned to Norfolk on 12 December to prepare for her first deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, for which she sailed on 15 January 1957. On this, as on her tours of duty in the Mediterranean, Forrestal visited many ports to show the flag and take on board dignitaries. For military observers, she staged underway demonstrations to illustrate her capacity to bring air power to and she returned to Norfolk on 22 July 1957 for exercises off the North Carolina coast in preparation for her first NATO operation, Operation Strikeback in the North Sea. The next year found Forrestal participating in a series of fleet exercises as well as taking part in experimental flight operations. During the Lebanon Crisis of summer 1958, the carrier was again called upon to operate in the eastern Atlantic to back up naval operations in the Mediterranean
9.
USS America (CV-66)
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USS America was one of three Kitty Hawk-class supercarriers built for the United States Navy in the 1960s. Commissioned in 1965, she spent most of her career in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and she also served in the Persian Gulf Wars operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. America held the distinction of being the first large aircraft carrier since Operation Crossroads in 1946 to be expended in weapons tests. In 2005, she was scuttled southeast of Cape Hatteras, after four weeks of tests and she was the largest warship ever to be sunk. After fitting out there until 15 March 1965, America remained in Hampton Roads for operations off the Virginia Capes until getting underway on 25 March and she conducted her first catapult launch on 5 April 1965, with Commander Kenneth B. Austin, the executive officer, piloting a Douglas A-4C Skyhawk. Proceeding thence to the Caribbean, the carrier conducted shakedown training, entering the Norfolk shipyard for post-shakedown availability on 10 July, she remained there until 21 August. She next operated locally through late August and then proceeded to the operating areas off the Virginia Capes and to Bermuda, on 25 September, Rear Admiral J. O. Cobb broke his flag as Commander, Carrier Division 2. America sailed for her first Mediterranean deployment late in 1965, New Years Day,1966, found her at Livorno, Italy. Over the ensuing weeks, the ship visited Cannes, Genoa, Toulon, Athens, Istanbul, Beirut, Valletta, Taranto, Palma and she sailed on 1 July for the United States. She arrived at Naval Station Norfolk on 10 July, remaining there for only a time before shifting to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 15 July for availability. America operated locally in the Norfolk area from 29 August –19 September, after time she proceeded to Guantanamo Bay to carry out training. After Hurricane Inez swirled through the region, her sailors spent an estimated 1,700 man-hours in helping the naval base at Guantanamo to recover, on 16 Oct 1965, two Phantom jets collided in midair 20 miles from the America, both pilots ejected safely. An airman was burned in the catwalk and the RA ejected safely, since leaving Norfolk, America had lost five planes. From 28 November –15 December, America took part in LANTFLEX66, gaining experience in the areas of anti-air, antisubmarine, the ship also participated in a mine drop, missile shoots, and provided air support for amphibious operations. She returned to Norfolk on 15 December, remaining there through the end of the year 1966, on 10 January 1967, America departed Norfolk for her second Mediterranean cruise and relieved Independence at Pollensa Bay on 22 January. While crossing the Atlantic, America conducted, carrier qualifications for her SH-3A crews, missile shoots in the mid-Atlantic, day and night air operations, upon nearing Gibraltar, she received a visit from Soviet long-range reconnaissance aircraft, Tu-95 Bears on 18 January. Two F-4B Phantom jets met the Bears as they approached and escorted them past the ship, before anchoring at Athens, on 4 February, America participated with Italian control and reporting centers in an intercept-controller exercise
10.
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
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USS Theodore Roosevelt is the fourth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Her radio call sign is Rough Rider, the name of President Theodore Roosevelts volunteer cavalry unit during the Spanish–American War and she was launched in 1984, saw her first action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Initially, U. S. President Gerald Ford cancelled the order for CVN-71 in 1976 and this capability to operate conventional aircraft proved important as the hoped-for supersonic V/STOL fighters did not come to fruition at the time. In any case, construction of the proposed CVV medium-sized carrier never took place. S, because of the international crisis that required the increased deployment of U. S. S. The official ships daily newspaper is called the Rough Rider and is distributed on the mess decks each morning as well as other locations. The official paper was replaced by the underground rag, and many people didnt typically realize which version they were reading at first glance and this has been widely covered up and hidden by the ships command. Roosevelt and those Nimitz-class vessels completed after her have slight differences from the earlier carriers. Theodore Roosevelts history began on 30 September 1980, when a contract was awarded for Hull 624D to Newport News Shipbuilding and her keel was laid down on 31 October 1981, with Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger initiating the first weld. On 3 November 1981, Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman announced that the carrier would be named for the 26th President of the United States, the vessels Pre-Commissioning Unit was formed in February 1984, with Captain Paul W. Parcells named the Commanding Officer. On 27 October 1984, the ship was christened by Mrs. Barbara Lehman. On 25 October 1986, Theodore Roosevelt was commissioned to service at Newport News. The ship patrolled the Mediterranean Sea prior to returning on 30 June 1989, Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the 1989 Battle E from Commander, Naval Air Force U. S. Atlantic Fleet on 20 March 1990, on 28 December 1990, Theodore Roosevelt and CVW-8 deployed for Operation Desert Shield, arriving in the Persian Gulf on 16 January 1991. When Iraqi forces turned on the Kurds, Theodore Roosevelt and CVW-8 were among the first coalition forces in Operation Provide Comfort, after a 189-day deployment, with 176 days at sea, Theodore Roosevelt returned to Norfolk on 28 June 1991. On 14 February 1992, the ship won her second Battle E and this was followed by the award of the Battenberg Cup for 1991 as the Atlantic Fleets premier ship. Theodore Roosevelt began her deployment on 11 March 1993, again with CVW-8 embarked. Also embarked was a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, in a test the concept of embarking a multi-purpose Marine force in a carrier. While the ship was still in the Virginia Capes operating area, Theodore Roosevelt operated in the Adriatic as CVW-8 planes enforced Operation Deny Flight in the U. S. no-fly zone over Bosnia
11.
USS Saratoga (CV-60)
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USS Saratoga, was the second of four Forrestal-class supercarriers built for the United States Navy in the 1950s. Saratoga was the sixth U. S. Navy ship, commissioned in 1956, she spent most of her career in the Mediterranean, but also participated during the Vietnam War, receiving one battle star for her service. One of her last operational duties was to participate in Operation Desert Storm, Saratoga was decommissioned in 1994, and had been stored at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. Multiple unsuccessful attempts were made to preserve her as a museum ship, the Navy is paying ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Texas, one cent to take the ship for dismantling and recycling. On 15 September 2014, ex-Saratoga arrived in Brownsville, Texas and she was ordered as a Large Aircraft Carrier, hull classification symbol CVB-60, and her contract was awarded to the New York Naval Shipyard of Brooklyn, New York on 23 July 1952. She is the second of the four Forrestal-class carriers and she was reclassified as an Attack Aircraft Carrier on 1 October 1952. Her keel was laid down on 16 December 1952 and she was launched on 8 October 1955 sponsored by Mrs. Charles S. Thomas, and commissioned on 14 April 1956 with CAPT Robert Joseph Stroh in command. She was the first carrier in the US Navy to use high-pressure 1,200 psi boilers, for the next several months, Saratoga conducted various engineering, flight, steering, structural, and gunnery tests. On 18 August, she sailed for Guantanamo Bay and her shakedown cruise, on 19 December, she reentered the New York Naval Shipyard and remained there until 28 February 1957. Upon completion of work, she got underway on a refresher training cruise to the Caribbean before entering her home port, Naval Station Mayport in Mayport. On 6 June 1957, President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower, for two days, she and eighteen other ships demonstrated air operations, antisubmarine warfare, guided missile operations, and the Navys latest bombing and strafing techniques. Also in 1957, Saratoga conducted Regulus guided missile tests, the carrier departed Mayport on 3 September 1957 for her maiden transatlantic voyage. Saratoga sailed into the Norwegian Sea and participated in Operation Strikeback and she returned briefly to Mayport before entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs. On 1 February 1958, Saratoga departed Mayport for the Mediterranean, from this date through 31 December 1967 she was to spend a part of each year in the Mediterranean on a total of eight cruises. The remainder of the time, she operated off the coast of Florida or was in port undergoing restricted availability. On the night of 24–25 May 1960, Saratoga collided with the German freighter Bernd Leonhardt off North Carolina, the freighters bridge and superstructure were damaged by the carriers flight-deck. The results of an investigation were never published, but repairs to the freighter, while deployed with the Sixth Fleet on 23 January 1961, a serious fire broke out in Saratogas number two machinery space which took seven lives. The fire, believed caused by a fuel oil line, was brought under control by the crew, and the ship proceeded to Athens, Greece
12.
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
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USS Enterprise, formerly CVA-65, is a decommissioned United States Navy aircraft carrier. She was the worlds first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name, like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed Big E. At 1,123 ft, she is the longest naval vessel ever built and her 93, 284-long-ton displacement ranked her as the 12th-heaviest supercarrier, after the 10 carriers of the Nimitz class and the USS Gerald R. Ford. Enterprise had a crew of some 4,600 service members, the only ship of her class, Enterprise was, at the time of inactivation, the third-oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy after the wooden-hulled USS Constitution and USS Pueblo. Enterprises home port was Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia as of September 2012 and her second home port was Naval Air Station Alameda until its closure in 1997. When in port at NAS Alameda, she was visible to those crossing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and she was the flagship of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz while he lived in Berkeley, California until his death in 1966. Her final deployment, the last before her inactivation, began on 10 March 2012 and she was inactivated on 1 December 2012 and has undergone the 48 month inactivation process that rendered her unfit for further military service. Enterprise was officially decommissioned on February 3,2017, after over 55 years of service and she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. The name has been adopted by the future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, Enterprise was meant to be the first of a class of six carriers, but construction costs ballooned and the remaining vessels were never laid down. Because of the huge cost of her construction, Enterprise was launched and commissioned without the planned RIM-2 Terrier missile launchers and these were never installed and the ships self-defense suite instead consisted of three shorter-range RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, Basic Point Defense Missile System launchers. Later upgrades added two NATO Sea Sparrow and three Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS gun mounts, One CIWS mount was later removed and two 21-cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers were added. She is the carrier with four rudders, two more than other classes, and features a more cruiser-like hull. Enterprise also had a phased array radar system known as SCANFAR, SCANFAR was intended to be better at tracking multiple airborne targets than conventional rotating antenna radars. SCANFAR consisted of two radars, the AN/SPS-32 and the AN/SPS-33, the AN/SPS-32 was a long-range air search and target acquisition radar developed by Hughes for the US Navy. The AN/SPS-32 operated together with the AN/SPS-33, which was the square used for 3D tracking. It was installed on two vessels, Enterprise and the cruiser USS Long Beach, placing a massive power drain on the ships electric system. The technology of the AN/SPS-32 was based on vacuum tubes and the required constant repairs. The SPS-32 was a phased array radar which had a range of 400 nautical miles against large targets and these early phased arrays, replaced around 1980, were responsible for the distinctive square-looking island
13.
USNS Rainier (T-AOE-7)
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The third US Navy vessel named after Mount Rainier, USNS Rainier, ex-USS Rainier, is the second ship in the Supply class of fast combat support ships. On September 28,1991, the ships sponsor - Mrs. Suzanne Callison Dicks, Rainier was commissioned on January 21,1995 at Bremerton, Washington - Captain Thomas P. Danaher, USN, commanding. Rainier has the speed to keep up with the strike groups. She rapidly replenishes Navy task forces and she receives petroleum products, ammunition and stores from shuttle ships and redistributes these items simultaneously to carrier strike group ships. This reduces the vulnerability of serviced ships by reducing alongside time, in April 2013, it was announced that the Military Sealift Command will take Rainier and her sister USNS Bridge out of service in 2014 as a cost-saving measure. The Rainer was finally deactivated on 1 October,2016 Dark blue, gold is indicative of honor, excellence, and achievement. The dark blue of the stands for loyalty and reflects the sea. White suggests integrity and purity of ideals, the chevron, a symbol of strength and support, alludes to the prow of the ship and the peak of Mt. Rainier, the ships namesake. The black pellets characterize fuel and ammunition pointing to the ships mission, the pellets are charged with twelve battle stars earned for World War II service in Korea and Vietnam. The three anchors, symbolic of tradition, simulate the past and present ships. Red symbolizes combat, valor, and zeal, the colors red, yellow and green are the colors associated with Vietnam. The Torii gate recalls service in Korea, the bamboo annulet signifies continuous replenishment operations conducted off Vietnam. The crossed palm fronds represent the ships service in the South Pacific and portray strength, support, honor. A scroll azure doubled and inscribed LEGEND OF SERVICE in gold, contract design was completed in February 1986 and steel fabrication work for Rainier began on August 16,1986 at National Steel and Shipbuilding in San Diego, California. The official keel laying was conducted on May 31,1990 and these pre-outfitted sections were then brought together to form a complete hull. As a result of construction technique Rainier was nearly 50 percent complete when launched on September 28,1991. The next three years were spent completing the electrical wiring, plumbing systems, ventilation systems, and equipment, as built, USS Rainier included the following Weapon Systems, NATO Sea Sparrow Missile Launching System Close-In-Weapons-System 25mm guns. During the month of May,1996, Rainier conducted several ammunition onloads, fueling at sea, throughout June 1996, Rainier participated in Rim of the Pacific exercise where numerous FAS, Vertical Replenishments and CONSOLs were conducted with US, Australian, Canadian and Japanese ships
14.
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
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USS Abraham Lincoln is the fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the United States Navy. It is the second Navy ship to have named after former President Abraham Lincoln. Its home port is Norfolk, Virginia, and it is a member of the United States Atlantic Fleet. It is administratively responsible to Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic and it is currently undergoing a four-year Refueling and Complex Overhaul process. Abraham Lincolns contract was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding on 27 December 1982, its keel was laid 3 November 1984 at Newport News, the ship was launched on 13 February 1988 and commissioned on 11 November 1989. It cost $4.726 billion in 2010 dollars, Abraham Lincoln was transferred to the Pacific in September 1990 performing Gringo-Gaucho with the Argentine Naval Aviation during its transit. From 4 October, Abraham Lincoln formed CTG24.8 in company with USS Doyle,6 October transit with USS Pawcatuck and its maiden Western Pacific deployment came unexpectedly on 28 May 1991 in response to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The ship had the staffs of Commander, Carrier Group Three, Rear Admiral Timothy W. Wright and it was accompanied by a seven-ship battle group. While heading towards the Indian Ocean, the ship was diverted to support operations after Mount Pinatubo erupted on Luzon Island in the Philippines. In support of Operation Fiery Vigil, Abraham Lincoln led a 23-ship armada that moved over 45,000 people from the Subic Bay Naval Station to the port of Cebu in the Visayas and it was the largest peacetime evacuation of active military personnel and their families in history. After Fiery Vigil, Abraham Lincoln steamed toward the Persian Gulf, to run reconnaissance and combat air patrols in Iraq and Kuwait, assisting allied, in early 1992, the ship was at Naval Air Station Alameda on Ships Restricted Availability for minor maintenance and refitting. From June 1993 Abraham Lincoln was the flagship of Commander, Carrier Group Three, in October 1993, the carrier was ordered to the coast of Somalia to assist UN humanitarian operations. For four weeks, Abraham Lincoln flew air patrols over Mogadishu in support of Operation Restore Hope, Abraham Lincoln was to be the first Pacific Fleet carrier to integrate female aviators into the crew after the Combat Exclusion Laws were lifted on 28 April 1993. The ship left San Diego on 24 October 1994, to begin refresher training, the next day, Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen, first female F-14 Tomcat pilot, died when her plane crashed into the sea. Her plane lost hydraulic control as she made her final approach and she aborted her landing to the best of her ability in an effort to prevent a collision into the aft end of the ship and the plane inverted and went into the ocean. Radar intercept officer Lieutenant Matthew Klemish ejected safely from the plane and was rescued from the water minutes later, but Hultgreen, who ejected seconds after Klemish, fell straight into the ocean and was killed. Her body, still strapped in the seat, was discovered 19 days later. Abraham Lincolns third deployment began in April 1995 when Abraham Lincoln was sent to the Persian Gulf, Abraham Lincoln was able to continue on with its mission while Sacramento had to dock at Jebel Ali, U. A. E. for several weeks for repair
15.
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
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The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was the worlds first amphibious helicopter, introduced in 1961, it served in the United States Navy as a key ASW and utility asset for several decades before being replaced by the non-amphibious Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk in the 1990s. The type also proved popular in service and with foreign military customers. As of 2015, many remain in service in nations around the world, the Sea King has been built under license by Agusta in Italy, Mitsubishi in Japan, and by Westland in the United Kingdom as the Westland Sea King. The major civil versions are the S-61L and S-61N, during the Cold War, the Soviet Navy built up a large and varied fleet of submarines which at one point was in excess of 200 operational submarines. The US Navy decided to counter this threat perusing the improvement and development of various anti-submarine warfare capabilities, during the late 1950s, the US Navy was keen to take advantage of newly made progress upon turboshaft engines by commissioning a sizable navalised helicopter for their purposes. In 1957, Sikorsky was awarded a contract to produce an all-weather amphibious helicopter for the U. S. Navy, as such, the navigation suite for the rotorcraft was developed jointly by Sikorsky and the US Navy. The designation HSS-2 was applied to imply a level of commonality to the earlier HSS-1, a total of ten prototypes were produced to support the development program. In March 1959, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, shortly after the competition of suitability trials, the US Navy formally accepted delivery of the first HSS-2 rotorcraft, which would be subsequently re-designated as the SH-3A, in September 1961. In late 1961 and early 1962, a modified U. S. Navy HSS-2 Sea King was used to break the FAI3 km,100 km,500 km and 1000 km helicopter speed records. This series of flights culminated on 5 February 1962 with the HSS-2 setting an absolute speed record of 210.6 mph. This record was broken by a modified French Sud-Aviation Super Frelon helicopter on 23 July 1963 with a speed of 217.7 mph, One of the major variants of the Sea King to be produced was a model for civil operators, which was designated as the Sikorsky S-61L. The first operator of the S-61L was Los Angeles Airways, who introduced the type to service on 11 March 1962. S, Air Force and the U. S. Coast Guard. It was also common for Sea Kings to be converted for non-ASW activities, these roles included minesweeping, combat search and rescue, and as a cargo/passenger utility transport. The Royal Canadian Navy became an operator of the type. One notable innovation in Canadian operations, which was adopted by several other nations, was the use of a winch hauldown landing method. This device considerably increased the ability of Sea Kings to land in difficult conditions, in addition to aircraft manufactured by Sikorsky, several license agreements were issued to other firms to produce the type, such as Mitsubishi in Japan and Agusta in Italy. Another licensee in the United Kingdom, Westland Helicopters, would modify the Sea King, producing the Westland Sea King
16.
Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk
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The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant airframe modification is a tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships. The U. S. Navy uses the H-60 airframe under the model designations SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60R, all Navy H-60s carry a rescue hoist for SAR/CSAR missions. During the 1970s, the U. S. Navy began looking for a new helicopter to replace the Kaman SH-2 Seasprite. The SH-2 Seasprite was used by the Navy as its platform for the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System Mark I avionics suite for maritime warfare and a secondary search and rescue capability. Advances in sensor and avionic technology lead to the LAMPS Mk II suite, in the mid-1970s, the Army evaluated the Sikorsky YUH-60 and Boeing-Vertol YUH-61 for its Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System competition. The Navy based its requirements on the Armys UTTAS specification to decrease costs from commonality, Sikorsky and Boeing-Vertol submitted proposals for Navy versions of their Army UTTAS helicopters in April 1977 for review. The Navy also looked at helicopters being produced by Bell, Kaman, Westland and MBB, in early 1978 the Navy selected Sikorskys S-70B design, which was designated SH-60B Seahawk. The SH-60B maintained 83% commonality with the UH-60A, other changes included larger fuel cells, an electric blade folding system, folding horizontal stabilators for storage, and adding a 25-tube pneumatic sonobuoy launcher on left side. Five YSH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III prototypes were ordered, the first YSH-60B flight occurred on 12 December 1979. The first production SH-60B made its first flight on 11 February 1983, the SH-60B entered operational service in 1984 with first operational deployment in 1985. The SH-60B is deployed primarily aboard frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, the primary missions of the SH-60B are surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare. It carries a complex system of including a towed Magnetic Anomaly Detector. Other sensors include the APS-124 search radar, ALQ-142 ESM system, munitions carried include the Mk 46, Mk 50, or Mk 54 torpedo, AGM-114 Hellfire missile, and a single cabin-door-mounted M60D/M2407.62 mm machine gun or GAU-16.50 in machine gun. A standard crew for a SH-60B is one pilot, one ATO/Co-Pilot, operating squadrons are designated Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron, Light. The SH-60J is a version of the SH-60B for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the SH-60K is a modified version of the SH-60J. The SH-60J and SH-60K are built under license by Mitsubishi in Japan, after the SH-60B entered service, the Navy began development of the SH-60F to replace the SH-3 Sea King. Development of this variant began with the award of a contract to Sikorsky in March 1985, an early-model SH-60B was modified to serve as a SH-60F prototype
17.
Lockheed S-3 Viking
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The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-seat, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft that was used by the U. S. Navy to identify and track enemy submarines. In the late 1990s, the S-3Bs mission focus shifted to surface warfare, the Viking also provided electronic warfare and surface surveillance capabilities to the carrier battle group. A carrier-based, subsonic, all-weather, multi-mission aircraft with range, it carried automated weapon systems. Because of the Vikings engines’ low-pitched sound, it was nicknamed the Hoover after the vacuum cleaner brand. In the mid-1960s, the U. S. Navy developed the VSX requirement for a replacement for the piston-engined Grumman S-2 Tracker as an aircraft to fly off the Navys aircraft carriers. In August 1968, a team led by Lockheed and a Convair/Grumman team were asked to develop their proposals to meet this requirement. Sperry Univac Federal Systems was assigned the task of developing the aircrafts onboard computers which integrated input from sensors, on 4 August 1969, Lockheeds design was selected as the winner of the contest, and eight prototypes, designated YS-3A were ordered. The first prototype flew on 21 January 1972 and the S-3 entered service in 1974, during the production run from 1974 to 1978, a total of 186 S-3As were built. The majority of the surviving S-3As were later upgraded to the S-3B variant, the S-3 is a conventional monoplane with a high-mounted cantilever wing, swept at an angle of 15°. Entry is by an entry door / ladder which folds out of the side of the fuselage, when the aircrafts anti-submarine warfare role ended in the late 1990s, the enlisted SENSOs were removed from the crew. In the tanking crew configuration, the S-3B typically flew only a crew of two. The wing is fitted with leading edge and Fowler flaps, spoilers are fitted to both the upper and the lower surfaces of the wings. All control surfaces are actuated by dual hydraulically boosted irreversible systems, in the event of dual hydraulic failures, an Emergency Flight Control System permits manual control with greatly increased stick forces and reduced control authority. Unlike many tactical jets which required ground service equipment, the S-3 was equipped with a power unit. The aircrafts original APU could provide only minimal electric power and pressurized air for both cooling and for the engines pneumatic starters. A newer, more powerful APU could provide electrical service to the aircraft. The APU itself was started from a hydraulic accumulator by pulling a handle in the cockpit. The APU accumulator was fed from the hydraulic system
18.
Operation Enduring Freedom
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Operation Enduring Freedom comprises several subordinate operations, Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, lasted from October 2001 to 31 December 2014. Government used the term Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan to officially describe the War in Afghanistan, continued operations in Afghanistan by the United States military forces, both non-combat and combat, now occur under the name Operation Freedoms Sentinel. In September 2001, U. S. President George W, the term OEF-A typically refers to the phase of the War in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Other operations, such as the Georgia Train and Equip Program, are loosely or nominally connected. All the operations, however, have a focus on counterterrorism activities, Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, which was a joint U. S. U. K. and Afghan operation, was separate from the International Security Assistance Force, which was an operation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations including the U. S. and the U. K. The two operations ran in parallel, although it had suggested that they merge. S. and British ships. The initial military objectives of OEF-A, as articulated by President George W, of those groups included are Abu Sayyaf Group, al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah. The operation consisted of training the AFP in counter-terrorist operations as well as supporting the people with humanitarian aid in Operation Smiles. In October 2002, the Combined Task Force 150 and United States military Special Forces established themselves in Djibouti at Camp Lemonnier, the stated goals of the operation were to provide humanitarian aid and patrol the Horn of Africa to reduce the abilities of terrorist organizations in the region. The military aspect involves coalition forces searching and boarding ships entering the region for illegal cargo as well as providing training, the humanitarian aspect involves building schools, clinics and water wells to enforce the confidence of the local people. Since 2001, the expenditure by the U. S. government on Operation Enduring Freedom has exceeded $150 billion. The operation continues, with military direction mostly coming from United States Central Command, seizing upon a power vacuum after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan after their invasion, the Taliban assumed the role of government from 1996–2001. Their extreme interpretation of Islamic law prompted them to ban music, television, sports, and dancing, amputation was an accepted form of punishment for stealing, and public executions could often be seen at the Kabul football stadium. Womens rights groups around the world were frequently critical as the Taliban banned women from appearing in public or holding many jobs outside the home and they drew further criticism when they destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan, historical statues nearly 1500 years old, because the Buddhas were considered idols. In 1996, Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden moved to Afghanistan upon the invitation of the Northern Alliance leader Abdur Rabb ur Rasool Sayyaf, when the Taliban came to power, bin Laden was able to forge an alliance between the Taliban and his al-Qaeda organization. It is understood that al-Qaeda-trained fighters known as the 055 Brigade were integrated with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001 and it has been suggested that the Taliban and bin Laden had very close connections. On 20 September 2001, the U. S. stated that Osama bin Laden was behind the 11 September attacks in 2001, the US made a five-point ultimatum to the Taliban, Deliver to the U. S
19.
Operation Southern Watch
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Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. Nothing in the resolution spelled out the Iraqi no-fly zones or Operation Southern Watch, military forces from Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France participated in Operation Southern Watch. An intensification was noted prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and it is now known that this increased activity occurred during an operation known as Operation Southern Focus. At first, Iraqi forces did not attack Coalition aircraft, later in the day, several Iraqi fighters dodged back and forth across the 32nd parallel, staying out of missile range of American fighters. However, an Iraqi MiG-25 crossed too far and was trapped inside the 32nd parallel by a flight of USAF F-16 Falcons of the 33rd Fighter Squadron, after intelligence verified the aircraft was hostile, the fighter pilot received clearance to fire. The lead plane piloted by then-Lieutenant Colonel Gary North, USAF and this was the first combat kill by an F-16 in USAF service, and the first combat kill using the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. On 17 January 1993, a USAF F-16C destroyed an Iraqi MiG-23 Flogger with an AMRAAM missile for the second USAF aerial victory, on 7 January 1993, Iraq agreed to American, British, and French demands to withdraw their surface-to-air missiles from below the 32nd parallel. However, they did not remove all of them, and U. S. President George H. W. Bush ordered U. S. aircraft to bomb the remaining missile sites. On 13 January, more than 100 American, British, and French aircraft attacked Iraqi missile sites near Nasiriyah, Samawah, Najaf, around half the Iraqi sites south of the 32nd parallel were hit. On 29 June, a USAF F-4G Phantom II destroyed an Iraqi radar which had illuminated it, the first nine months of 1994 were quiet, and the USAF began to withdraw forces from the region. Saddam later withdrew the Iraqi Republican Guard out of the Kuwati border due to massive American military buildup and this served to increase Coalition resolve to enforce the no-fly zones and contain Iraqi aggression. On 25 June 1996, terrorists bombed the U. S. base at Khobar Towers in Dhahran, the attack killing 19 American airmen and injured an additional 372 people. In August 1996, Iraqi forces invaded the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq, as a result, the no-fly zone was extended north to the 33rd parallel. This marked renewed conflict with Iraqi air defenses and several more radars were destroyed by F-16 fighters, on 15 December 1998, France suspended participation in the no-fly zones, arguing that they had been maintained for too long and were ineffective. On 16 December, U. S. President Bill Clinton ordered execution of Operation Desert Fox and this resulted in an increased level of combat in the no-fly zones which lasted until 2003. On 30 December 1998, Iraqi SA-6 missile sites fired 6 to 8 surface-to-air missiles at American military aircraft, USAF F-16s responded by bombing the sites. On 5 January 1999, four Iraqi MiG-25s crossed into the southern no-fly zone, the American fighters fired a total of six missiles at the Iraqi aircraft, but they were able to evade them all and escape back to the north. Over the same period, American aircraft had attacked Iraqi targets on 73 occasions
20.
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
21.
Office of Naval Intelligence
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The Office of Naval Intelligence is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. S. Navy and its partners, and surveying the global maritime environment, ONI employs over 3,000 military and civilian personnel worldwide and is headquartered at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland. Despite playing an active and decisive role in the American Civil War, towards the end of the 19th century, American naval power had become vastly obsolete compared to Europe, and even lagged behind the navies of less developed nations such as Ottoman Turkey and Chile. Largely in response to Masons recommendations, on March 23,1882, to facilitate this work, the Department Library will be combined with the Office of Intelligence, and placed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. The new Office of Naval Intelligence would be headquartered in the State, War and Navy Building, as originally conceived, ONI assisted in the Navys advancement by dispatching naval attachés around the world to acquire data and resources related to the latest in naval warfare. These findings would be analyzed, interpreted, and disseminated to Navy leaders and government officials, helping to inform policies, Mason was succeeded as Chief Intelligence Officer by Rear Admiral Raymond P. Rodgers in April 1885. ONI also began to develop capabilities in cryptography, which would foreshadow its evolution into a military intelligence office. ONIs emergence as a naval intelligence arm began in earnest with the Spanish–American War of 1898. Naval operations were critical in the conflict, and ONI was responsible for protecting Navy Personnel, providing tactical support, nevertheless, weaknesses in its intelligence gathering were revealed. ONI grew in prominence under President Theodore Roosevelt, a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy and his expansionist foreign policy — and the central role the U. S. Navy played therein — made maritime intelligence more crucial. By 1911, the U. S. was constructing super-dreadnoughts at a pace that would eventually become competitive with Britain, American entry into the First World War in 1917 marked a turning point in the offices history. President Woodrow Wilson was an exponent of the importance of a navy to U. S. defense. ONIs mandate often entailed partnering with the departments of State, War, Justice, Commerce, due to the increasingly sensitive nature of its work, ONI also began to censor radio and mail communications, which further marked its development as a major intelligence office. During the 1920s and 1930s, many of ONIs activities were dedicated to Japan, the office investigated Japanese fortifications in the Pacific, acquired information on Japanese military aircraft and weaponry, and partnered with the U. S. Following Japans attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, concerns about subversive activity by Japanese Americans grew more pressing, ONI commissioned Kenneth Ringle, assistant district intelligence officer for the Eleventh Naval District in Los Angeles, to conduct a thorough investigation of the resident Japanese population. The Second World War would see another expansion of ONIs duties, the office established two intelligence schools that trained hundreds of Intel officers for the Navy. Its Special Activities Branch offered critical intelligence on German U-boat technology, operations, and tactics, while other parts of the Navy were downsized after the war, U. S. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz ensured ONIs continued strength, which was to prove important during the Cold War, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal broadened ONIs mandate to include investigations of major criminal and security matters
22.
Naval aviation
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Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role, an exception to this is the United States Coast Guard, which is considered part of U. S. naval aviation. S. Naval aviation, whether based afloat or ashore, Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based aircraft must be enough to withstand demanding carrier operations. Early experiments on the use of kites for naval reconnaissance took place in 1903 at Woolwich Common for the Admiralty, in 1908 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith approved the formation of an Aerial Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence to investigate the potential for naval aviation. This resulted in the construction of Mayfly in 1909, the first air component of the navy to become operational, and the genesis of modern naval aviation. Two hundred applications were received, and four were accepted, Lieutenant C R Samson, Lieutenant A M Longmore, Lieutenant A Gregory and Captain E L Gerrard, RMLI. The French also established an aviation capability in 1910 with the establishment of the Service Aeronautique. U. S. naval aviation began with pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss who contracted with the Navy to demonstrate that airplanes could take off from, one of his pilots, Eugene Ely, took off from the USS Birmingham anchored off the Virginia coast in November 1910. Two months later Ely landed aboard another cruiser, USS Pennsylvania, in San Francisco Bay, however, the platforms erected on those vessels were temporary measures. The U. S. Navy and Glenn Curtiss experienced two firsts during January 1911, $25,000 was appropriated for the Bureau of Navigation to purchase three airplanes and in the spring of 1911 four additional officers were trained as pilots by the Wright brothers and Curtiss. A camp with a landing field was established on the Severn River at Greenbury Point, near Annapolis. Mustin successfully tested the concept of the launch in August 1912. The first permanent naval air station was established at Pensacola, Florida, in January 1912, the British battleship HMS Africa took part in aircraft experiments at Sheerness. Africa then transferred her flight equipment to her sister ship Hibernia, in May 1912, with Commander Samson again flying the S.38, the first ever instance of an aircraft to take off from a ship which was underway occurred. Hibernia steamed at 10.5 knots at the Royal Fleet Review in Weymouth Bay, Hibernia then transferred her aviation equipment to battleship London. The first aircraft participation in naval manoeuvres took place in 1913 with the cruiser Hermes converted into a seaplane carrier, in 1914, naval aviation was split again, and became the Royal Naval Air Service. However, shipboard naval aviation had begun in the Royal Navy, other early operators of seaplanes were Germany, within its Marine-Fliegerabteiling naval aviation units within the Kaiserliche Marine, and Russia
23.
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
24.
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
25.
5/16 inch star
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A gold star indicates one additional award, while a silver star is worn in lieu of five gold stars. A 5⁄16 inch silver star is not to be confused with representing a Silver Star medal, 5⁄16 inch stars are worn on a medal suspension and service ribbon with one point of the star pointing up. Up to five stars can be worn on a ribbon, there are no higher degrees of 5⁄16 inch stars authorized after five silver 5⁄16 inch stars. On miniature medals, a special 1⁄8 inch star is worn on the suspension ribbon in lieu of a 5⁄16 inch star. If the number of authorized 5⁄16 inch stars exceeds five, a service ribbon is worn after the first service ribbon. The second service ribbon counts as one additional award, after which more stars may be added to the second ribbon. The US Army and US Air Force uses an oak leaf cluster to indicate a subsequent decoration, a bronze oak leaf cluster is equivalent to a gold 5⁄16 inch star and a silver oak leaf cluster is equivalent to a silver 5⁄16 inch star. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices Oak leaf cluster Service star Campaign star Battle star Army Awards, archived from the original on June 4,2004
26.
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
27.
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
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The Defense Meritorious Service Medal is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, the medal is not the same as the Meritorious Service Medal, which is a separate federal military decoration. The medal was first created on 3 November 1977 by President Jimmy Carter under Executive Order 12019 to recognize non-combat meritorious achievement or service while serving in a joint assignment. The recognized service is typically for a period of greater than 12 months, encompassing a recipients entire joint assignment. The required achievement or service, is of a degree than that required for award of the Defense Superior Service Medal. Service members assigned to or attached to a Joint Task Force as individuals, not members of a specific military services unit, members of service specific units are eligible for awards of personal decorations from their parent service. The Defense Meritorious Service Medal is made of bronze and is 1 1⁄2 inches in diameter, the obverse design consists of a circular wreath of laurel leaves tied with a ribbon at base. In the center is a shape which slightly overlaps the wreath. Superimposed over the pentagon is an eagle with wings upraised standing at the base of the pentagon, the eagle is symbolic of the United States while the pentagon shape alludes to the Department of Defense, and the laurel wreath represents achievement. The reverse of the bears the inscription, Defense Meritorious Service in three horizontal lines while around the bottom are the words, United States of America. In between the inscriptions is space for engraving the name of the recipient, the colors, crimson and white, are duplicates of the colors of the Legion of Merit ribbon. The stripes of blue is the associated with the Department of Defense. Additional awards of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters. As a joint award, oak leaf clusters traditionally associated with Army and Air Force awards are used for multiple awards of the DMSM to Navy, Marine Corps. These oak leaf clusters are attached to the suspension and service ribbons, awards and decorations of the United States military
28.
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
29.
Air Medal
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The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States military. The medal was created in 1942 and is awarded for achievement while participating in aerial flight. The Air Medal was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Air Medal was awarded retroactive to 8 September 1939. The original award criteria set by an Army Policy Letter was for one award of the Air Medal. per each naval vessel or three aircraft in flight confirmed destroyed. Per twenty-five operational flights during which exposure to fire is probable. Per one-hundred operational flights during which exposure to fire is not expected. These criteria were altered by the commanding generals of each numbered Air Force to fit the conditions of their theater of operations. The Distinguished Flying Cross would usually be awarded for roughly twice to five times the requirements of the Air Medal, on 5 August 1943 score card awards for completing a set number of operational flights were officially abolished by a Headquarters Army Air Forces Awards Board memorandum. This was due to the embarrassment when airmen who had received the Air Medal for score carding five missions or more being later removed from flying duties for lack of moral fibre. Commanders could still issue the awards on those grounds, but the recipient must perform exceptional or meritorious service as well, during World War II the medals award criteria varied widely depending on the theater of operations, the aircraft flown, and the missions accomplished. In Europe the airspace was considered completely controlled by the enemy, elsewhere in the Pacific and CBI the pilots and crews flew mostly over uncontrolled or contested airspace for long hours and lighter air defenses were encountered, so much higher criteria were used. The Air Medal may be awarded to either single acts of merit or gallantry in combat or for meritorious service in a combat zone. These individuals must make a contribution to the operational land combat mission or to the mission of the aircraft in flight. Examples would be transport performing supporting Dustoff Medevac or resupply operations, Awards will not be made to individuals who use air transportation solely for the purpose of moving from point to point in a combat zone. The Army may award the Air Medal for peacetime service, the Air Force does not award the Air Medal for peace-time sustained operational activities and flights. Non-combat meritorious service is instead awarded the Aerial Achievement Medal, instituted in 1988, the Air Force uses the aircraft sortie designation as a tool, but uses Oak Leaf Clusters rather than Strike / Flight Numerals to indicate additional awards. A members individual flight management records will list the sorties that are eligible for the award and these sorties are designated Combat, Combat Support, or Operational. Only the first sortie of the day counts, armed aircraft crews require ten sorties for each award, while all others require twenty sorties
30.
Strike/Flight numerals
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A Strike/Flight Numeral is a Department of the Navy device that may be awarded for wear on the Air Medal to individuals serving in any capacity in the United States Armed Forces. A Strike/Flight Award is awarded to individuals for meritorious achievement while participating in sustained flight operations. Officers in the rank of Captain are not eligible for award of the Air Medal on a strike/flight basis unless the sorties they fly are required in the performance of their regular duties. Strikes are sorties that deliver ordnance against the enemy, insert or extract assault personnel, or engage in Search, flights are sorties that deliver ordnance against the enemy, insert or extract assault personnel, or engage in Search and Rescue operations that encounter no enemy opposition. The distinguishing feature of a flight is that although it takes place in a hostile environment. As of September 27,2006, gold 5/16 inch Arabic numerals are used to denote the number of Individual Air Medals and this is a return to the standard used before November 22,1989. In the interval between November 22,1989, and September 27,2006, bronze, gold, a bronze star was used to denote a first award and gold stars were used for the second through the fifth awards, seventh through tenth awards, and so on. Silver stars were used in lieu of five stars. United States military award devices Awards and decorations of the United States military
31.
"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
32.
Service star
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The service star may also be referred to as a campaign star or battle star depending on which award is authorized the star and the manner in which the device is used for the award. Service stars, Campaign stars, and Battle stars are worn with one point of the star pointing up on the ribbon of a medal. A silver star is worn instead of five bronze stars, a service star is sometimes mistaken for a Bronze Star or Silver Star. The service star is similar to the gold and silver 5⁄16 Inch Stars which may be authorized to be worn on specific individual decorations of certain services to denote additional decorations. Service stars are authorized for the following United States expeditionary medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Service stars are also authorized for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal effective February 9,2015 retroactive to September,11,2001. Each star represents a deployment in support of an approved GWOT operation, only one GWOT-EM is awarded for each operation. The five GWOT-EM approved operations by inclusive dates are, Enduring Freedom,11,2001 - TBD Iraqi Freedom, Mar.19,2003 - Aug.31, 2010Nomad Shadow, Nov.05,2007 - TBD New Dawn, Sep. 01,2010 - Dec.31,2011 Inherent Resolve, the bronze service star is also authorized for certain unit awards such as the Presidential Unit Citation to denote a second and subsequent award. The service ribbon itself indicates the first award, with a service star being added to indicate the second. If ever applicable, a service star is worn instead of five bronze stars. As a result, at least one star will be worn on the ribbon. However, though authorized for wear, no battle stars have been approved for wear, only a combatant commander can initiate a request for a battle star. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the approving authority, only one award of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and one award of the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal may be authorized for any individual. The specific manner of wear and symbolism of the stars varied from medal to medal, for example, an American Campaign Medal with a bronze service star indicated the service member had participated in an antisubmarine campaign. On other medals, bronze service stars were used on the service ribbon for those recipients of medals in possession of authorized campaign claps for those medals. Similarly, during the Vietnam War and afterwards, the Battle Effectiveness Award took the place of receiving battle stars for superior battle efficiency in place of combat operations. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices 5/16 inch star Oak leaf cluster United States award regulations for World War II
33.
Commendation Medal
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The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. The Commendation Medal was originally only a ribbon and was first awarded by the U. S. Navy. An Army Commendation Ribbon followed in 1945, and in 1949, the Navy, Coast Guard, by 1960, the Commendation Ribbons had been authorized as full medals and were subsequently referred to as Commendation Medals. Additional awards of the Army and Air Force Commendation Medals are denoted by bronze, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Coast Guard Commendation Medal are authorized gold and silver 5/16 inch stars to denote additional awards. The Operational Distinguishing Device is authorized for wear on the Coast Guard Commendation Medal upon approval of the awarding authority, order of Precedence is following the Bronze Star Medal but before the Prisoner of War Medal and all campaign medals. Each of the services also awards separate Achievement Medals which are below the Commendation Medals in precedence. This award is intended for service on a joint military staff and is senior in precedence to service-specific Commendation Medals. As such, it is worn above the service Commendation Medals on a military uniform. S, Army after December 6,1941, distinguished themselves by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service. Approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel or higher, the medallion of the Army Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagon, 1 3⁄8 inches wide. On the medallion is an American bald eagle with wings spread horizontally, on its breast is a shield paly of thirteen pieces and a chief. The reverse bears a panel for naming between the words FOR MILITARY above and MERIT below, all placed above a laurel sprig, the ribbon is 1 3⁄8 inches wide primarily of myrtle green. It is edged in white and in the center are five thin white stripes spaced equally apart, devices Oak leaf cluster and V Device The U. S. Air Force began issuing its own Air Force Commendation Medal in 1958 with additional awards denoted by oak leaf clusters. Prior to this time, USAF recipients received the Army Commendation Medal and it was not until 1996 that the V device was authorized on the Air Force Commendation Medal, prior to 1996, there was not a valor distinction in effect for the Air Force Commendation Medal. For USAF enlisted personnel, the Air Force Commendation Medal is worth three points under the Air Force enlisted promotion system, approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel or higher. The Air Force Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagonal medallion, on the medallion is a shield surmounted by an eagle superimposed over clouds. On the shield bears a pair of wings and a vertical baton with an eagles claw at either end, behind the shield are eight lightning bolts. The design on the shield is derived from the Seal of the Department of the Air Force, the ribbon of the Air Force Commendation Medal is golden yellow with blue edges. In the center are three bands of blue, the stripes are thin with the center stripe being wider
34.
Achievement Medal
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The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. Each military service issues its own version of the Achievement Medal, the Achievement Medal is awarded for outstanding achievement or meritorious service not of a nature that would otherwise warrant awarding the Commendation Medal. Award authority rests with local commanders, granting a broad discretion of when, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps version of the Achievement Medal. This title was shortened in 1967 to simply, the Navy Achievement Medal, the award is referred to in shorthand speech as a NAM. Awards for crewmembers had to be submitted to the Commodore or Air Wing Commander or the first appropriate O-6 in the chain of command for approval, since 2002 the commanding officers of aviation squadrons and ships have had the authority to award NAMs without submission to higher authority. For the Army, battalion commanders is the authority for the Army Achievement Medal. Effective 11 September 2001, the Army Achievement Medal may be awarded in a combat area, since this change over sixty thousand Army Achievement Medals have been awarded in theaters of operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The Joint Service Achievement Medal was created in 1983 and this award was considered a Department of Defense decoration senior to the service department Achievement Medals
35.
Combat Action Ribbon
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The Combat Action Ribbon, is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard military decoration. The Coast Guard CAR was authorized on 16 July 2008 and may be awarded to members of the Coast Guard in the grade of captain and below, who have actively participated in ground or maritime combat. The Navy Combat Action Ribbon is retroactive to 7 December 1941, the Combat Action Ribbon is awarded only to individual service members. The CAR is not awarded to a unit, station. To be considered for a Combat Action Ribbon, evidence must establish the military member engaged the enemy, was under hostile fire, a service members mere presence in an area where combat is occurring or in a designated combat zone does not qualify the member for the award. The Combat Action Ribbon is an award, unlike other services. Compare, The U. S. Army equivalent to the Combat Action Ribbon is the Combat Action Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, a U. S. Air Force combat participant is awarded the Air Force Combat Action Medal. The Combat Action Ribbon is worn in order of precedence on a members ribbon rack displayed on the side of a service members uniform. Only one Combat Action Ribbon is authorized, additional combat action awards are signified with an appropriate 5⁄16 inch gold star attached to the CAR. Some private companies selling replacement decorations or awards also advertise for sale, e. g. a commemorative combat action medal, combat tribute, some medallions are stylized from elements of various military combat action awards. Such medallions are considered decorative, have no military significance or recognition. The CAR is currently authorized with a U. S. Navy, the Navy version covers the Navy and Marine Corps service members from when the CAR was established in 1969, and made retroactive from December 7,1941 forward. Year 2009 forward, Coast Guard members who perform in combat are awarded the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon. The Navy Combat Action Ribbon was established during the Vietnam War by a Secretary of the Navy Notice, dated February 17,1969 with retroactive award to March 1,1961. The Navy CAR is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel with the grade of captain/colonel and below, sailors and Marines in clandestine or special operations where their ability to return fire is curtailed may be deemed eligible. Previously it applied only to exposure to IEDs detonated by the enemy, eligibility under this criterion is retroactive only to 7 October 2001. Additional awards of the Navy CAR are denoted by 5⁄16 inch gold stars on the ribbon, World War II and Korean War In October 1999, World War II and Korean War veterans became retroactively eligible for the Navy Combat Action Ribbon by Public Law 106-65 on Oct. Two specific blocks of time were designated by then SECNAV Danzig, Dec.7
36.
Navy Unit Commendation
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The Navy Unit Commendation is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. Normal performance of duty or participation in a number of combat missions does not, in itself. An award will not be made to a unit for actions of one or more of its component parts, unless the unit performed uniformly as a team, the NUC may be conferred upon the armed forces of friendly foreign nations serving with the U. S. Armed Forces, provided such units meet the established for Navy. Additional awards of the Navy Unit Commendation are denoted by 3⁄16 inch bronze stars, Military awards of the United States Armed Forces Military awards of the United States Department of the Navy An official Navy Unit Commendation, 2004-2005
37.
Meritorious Unit Commendation
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The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. Army Meritorious Unit Commendation The Army MUC emblem worn to represent award of the MUC is 1 7⁄16 inches wide, the emblem consists of a 1⁄16 inch wide gold frame with laurel leaves which encloses a scarlet 67111 ribbon. The previously authorized emblem was a gold color embroidered laurel wreath,1 5⁄8 inches in diameter on a 2 inches square of olive drab cloth, Service in a combat zone is not required, but must be directly related to the combat effort. Units based in CONUS are excluded from this award, as are other units outside the area of operation, the unit must display such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart and above other units with similar missions. The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit to an individual, recommendations for units larger than a brigade will not be submitted. For services performed during World War II, awards will be only to service units. Such service is interpreted to relate to combat service support type activities and not to the type of activities performed by senior headquarters, combat, all members of the unit cited for the award are approved to wear the emblem of the MUC. The emblem is thought of as a decoration for those in connection with the cited acts and is approved to be worn if they continue as members with the unit or not. Other personnel serving with the unit are approved to wear the emblem to show that the unit is a recipient of the MUC, the Army Meritorious Unit Commendation is worn after the Valorous Unit Award and before the Superior Unit Award. Additional awards of the Army MUC are denoted by oak leaf clusters. The Meritorious Service Unit Plaque was originally established by War Department Circular 345 on 23 August 1944, the circular provided units which received the Plaque were entitled to wear on their right sleeves of their service coat and shirt the Meritorious Service Unit Insignia. A gold star placed on the plaque represented additional awards until War Department Circular No,54,1946, provided that additional awards would be shown by placing a gold numeral on the inside of the wreath. In December 1946, the Meritorious Service Unit Plaque was eliminated, replaced with the issue of the Meritorious Unit Commendation, a new design of the Meritorious Service Unit Emblem was approved in April 1947. This replaced the sleeve insignia and was to be effective 1 January 1949, on 11 April 1949, TAG advised D/PA that the stock position was such that it would not be exhausted prior to 1959. However, the level was still so high that it was not introduced into the supply system until 14 July 1966. This award may also be conferred upon units of the branches of the U. S. Armed Forces, and the forces of friendly foreign nations serving with U. S. Armed Forces, provided such units meet the established for Navy
38.
Navy E Ribbon
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The Battle Efficiency Ribbon, Navy E Ribbon, or the Battle E ribbon was established in July 1976 by Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf. The Navy E Ribbon denotes permanent duty on U. S. Navy ships, aviation squadrons and this ribbon replaces the E patch previously sewn on the right sleeve of the enlisted naval uniform for pay grades E-1 through E-6. United States Marine Corps personnel assigned as ships company are eligible, however, when in standard uniform, the ribbon is placed above the left breast pocket, along with all other citations and awards. The Navy E Ribbon was designed by AZ3 Cynthia L. Crider in 1973. S, AZ3 Crider was stationed at Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 88, a Naval Air Reserve E-2 Hawkeye squadron at NAS North Island, CA. The E is also one of the few ribbons that is not an individual award, instead, it is a unit award, issued to any U. S. The United States Coast Guard equivalent of the Navy E Ribbon is the Coast Guard E Ribbon, for each award of the Navy E Ribbon, one 3/16 inch silver Battle E device is authorized for wear on the Navy E ribbon, up to the third award. When a service member receives a fourth Navy E award, a Wreathed Battle E device is bestowed and this replaces the first three devices and effectively closes out the award ribbon — no further devices are authorized for display of additional awards. While service members may receive more than four Navy Es, only four may be displayed, multiple E attachments are placed in a symmetrical, horizontal line in the center of the ribbon. Awards and decorations of the United States military Army-Navy ‘E’ Award Battle Effectiveness Award
39.
Navy Expeditionary Medal
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The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. The Navy Expeditionary Medal is retroactively authorized to February 12,1874, the medal was designed by A. A. Weinman and features a sailor beaching a craft carrying Marines, an officer, and a US flag with the word Expeditions above. The eagle is grasping sprigs of laurel, which extend beyond the anchor in both directions, above the eagle are the words UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS or UNITED STATES NAVY presented as an arch. Above the laurel are the words FOR SERVICE presented horizontally, the eagle is the American bald eagle and represents the United States, the anchor alludes to Marine Corps or Navy service, and the laurel is symbolic of victory and achievement. Both awards may not be bestowed simultaneously for the same action, additional awards of the Navy Expeditionary Medal are denoted by service stars. The Wake Island Device is authorized for service members who were awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal through the defense of Wake Island. As the vast majority of the defenders of Wake Island were U. S. Marines and it has been widely reported that L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, fraudulently claimed being awarded the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal. The issuance of military awards is available via a public records search and from lists of authorized recipients available online
40.
National Defense Service Medal
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The National Defense Service Medal is a service medal of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It may also be issued to military members for any other period that the Secretary of Defense designates. Currently, the National Defense Service Medal is the oldest service medal in use by the United States Armed Forces, the oldest continuously issued combat medal is the Medal of Honor. For service in the Global War on Terrorism, Selected Reserve and National Guard members need only to have been in good standing to receive the NDSM, inactive Ready Reserve and Retired Reserve are not eligible to be awarded the NDSM unless called to active duty. S. The NDSM ranks eleventh out of twenty-nine in the order of precedence of service medals and this accounts for the medals omission from a large number of uncharacterized and entry level separation documents. Veterans who have this medal so omitted may apply to the service departments to have the NDSM added to records via a DD Form 215. A second award of the medal is not granted for reenlisting during the time period or transferring between branches of service. Korean Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal Southwest Asia Service Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Media related to National Defense Service Medal at Wikimedia Commons
41.
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
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The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U. S. Armed Forces who, after July 1,1958, participated in U. S. military operations, U. S. operations in support of the United Nations. The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is issued as a bronze medal, on the reverse side of the medal is the shield from the United States Coat of Arms above two laurel branches separated by a bullet, all within the circumscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Ribbon devices The bronze service star is authorized for participation in subsequent U. S, military operations authorized for award of the AFEM. A silver service star is worn in lieu of five bronze service stars, the arrowhead device is authorized for United States Army personnel who are awarded the medal through participation in an airborne or amphibious assault. The Fleet Marine Force combat operation insignia is authorized for U. S. Navy service members assigned to Marine Corps units that participate in combat during the assignment. The medal shall be awarded only for operations for which no other U. S. campaign medal is approved, since its original conception in 1961, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal has been awarded for United States participation in over forty five designated military campaigns. The first campaign of the AFEM was the Cuban Missile Crisis, during the early years of the Vietnam War, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal was issued for initial operations in South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal was intended to replace the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, in 1965, with the creation of the Vietnam Service Medal, the AFEM was discontinued for Vietnam War service. Because of these awards during the Vietnam war period, some personnel have been awarded both the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal & the Vietnam Service Medal. In 2003, with the creation of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the AFEM was discontinued for Iraq, Saudi Arabia, after 18 March 2003, some personnel became eligible for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, as well as the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Beginning in 1992 an effort was begun to phase out the AFEM in favor of campaign specific medals, the primary difference between the two is that the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is normally awarded for combat operations and combat support missions. After the close of the Vietnam War, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal was issued for military operations in Panama, Grenada. The medal is authorized for several United Nations actions, such as peacekeeping efforts in Somalia. The medal is authorized for NATO peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Croatia. The AFEM has been issued for numerous operations in the Persian Gulf, most notably Operation Earnest Will, similar awards of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Similar in nature to the AFEM, the GWOTEM is awarded for deploying abroad on or after Sept.11,2001, Service stars are also authorized for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal effective February 9,2015 retroactive to September,11,2001
42.
Southwest Asia Service Medal
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The Southwest Asia Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H. W. Bush on March 12,1991. The award is intended to recognize military service members who performed duty during the years of the Persian Gulf War. The medal was designed by Nadine Russell of the Armys Institute of Heraldry, the colors of the ribbon are tan, representing sand, with the black, white, red, blue, and green colors symbolizing the colors of coalition countries national flags. Individuals awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal must have participated in or supported military operations in Southwest Asia between August 2,1990 and November 30,1995. For those service members who performed service during the Persian Gulf War, such as support personnel in the United States. The award is not authorized for those who performed support of the Persian Gulf War from European or Pacific bases. Ribbon devices Bronze service star, for participation in each designated campaign, each recipient of the medal should wear at least one campaign star. Fleet Marine Force Combat Operation Insignia, for personnel on duty with. Service in Operations that extended beyond the final date of November 30,1995 were recognized by awards of either the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal or the Armed Forces Service Medal. Thus, the number of bronze service stars that are authorized to be worn for the Southwest Asia Service Medals ribbon or streamer is three. In April 2016, the appearance of the suspension and service ribbon of the SASM was slightly modified by the United States Department of Defense through its Defense Logistics Agency. The DLA made the two vertical bars and one vertical black bar in the middle wider than in the original 1991 version
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Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
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The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal is a United States armed forces military award created by George W. Bush on March 12,2003 by Executive Order 13289. It recognizes those service members who have deployed overseas in direct service to the War on Terror from September 11,2001 to a date to be determined. In a similar fashion the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal is now issued instead for service in the fight against ISIS, the following are the established operations for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, The GWOT-E is a Defense Department campaign medal. Award of this medal does not prevent award of other types of recognition normally associated with deployment and this medal may be awarded posthumously. Effective February 9,2015, 3⁄16 inch service stars are authorized for wear to recognize participation in each of the authorized operations. For those who were engaged in combat, killed, or wounded in the line of duty, personnel who received the GWOTEM for previous service in these two regions may elect to exchange the GWOTEM or retain the original award. The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal may be awarded with the Arrowhead device and/or the combat operation insignia for qualified sailors assigned to Marine Corps units, the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal was designed by John Sproston of the Armys Institute of Heraldry. A similar medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, was created under the same Presidential Order that authorized the GWOT Expeditionary Medal, the only exception is for service personnel who served in Iraq or Afghanistan prior to April 30,2005. These personnel were awarded both the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Arrowhead device Awards and decorations of the United States military Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
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Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
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The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13289 on March 12,2003 by President George W. Bush. The award recognizes military service members who have supported operations to counter terrorism in the War on Terror from September 11,2001. In September 2002, the U. S. Department of Defense sent a request to the U. S. Army Institute of Heraldry to provide a design for a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. In January 2003, a design was completed, which was then approved, the following are the seven established operations for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal recognized by the Department of Defense, The Coast Guard awards the medal for different operations. For those who were engaged in combat, killed, or wounded in the line of duty the time requirement is waived. The initial authorized operation for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal was the so-called Airport Security Operation which occurred between September 27,2001 and May 31,2002, future operations are at the discretion of United States component commanders upon approval from the United States Department of Defense. The primary difference between the NDSM and the GWOTSM is that the NDSM is automatic as soon as a person joins the military whereas the GWOTSM may only be presented after thirty days of active duty. The GWOTSM was awarded automatically to all members on Active Duty between September 11,2001 and March 31,2004. While the award is no longer automatic, the date to be determined has not been set. The Battalion Commander is the authority for the GWOTSM. Service members are eligible for the medal provided they meet the criteria in AR 600-8-22. U. S. Army soldiers serving on active duty primarily in a training status are not authorized award of the GWOTSM for the duty time they are in training. The criteria for the awards specifically states that a Soldier has to serve on duty in support of a designated GWOT operation for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days. Army soldiers in a training status are “not” supporting these designated operations, regulations for rating the GWOTSM are the same in both the Navy, the Marine Corps, and Military Sealift Command for those who serve on both active duty, reserve duty, and support. Essentially,30 days of duty or 60 days of non-consecutive duty in support of approved organizations. Personnel who are still in their initial training are not eligible. Eligibility begins when they reach their first permanent duty station, Civilian Mariners attached to Military Sealift Commands supply ships may be eligible for the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal. Air Force service members were first awarded the GWOTSM for conducting airport security operations in the fall and it was subsequently awarded for participation or support of Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom
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Armed Forces Service Medal
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The Armed Forces Service Medal is a military award of the United States military which was created on January 11,1996 by President Bill Clinton under Executive Order 12985. The medal is a service award which is presented to those service members who engage in significant activity for which no other campaign or service medal is authorized. Actions to be considered include peacekeeping operations, prolonged humanitarian actions, the primary difference between the two is that the Armed Forces Service Medal is awarded for actions through which no foreign armed opposition or imminent threat of hostile action was encountered. This definition separates the two medals in that the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is normally awarded for operations and other combat support missions. Participate as an assigned crew member of an aircraft flying into, out of, within. The Armed Forces Service Medal is round bronze medal 1 1⁄4 in in diameter, the obverse of the medal bears a demi-torch, as held by the Statue of Liberty, with rays radiating from behind the torch. Encircling at the top is the inscription ARMED FORCES SERVICE MEDAL, the reverse bears the eagle found on the United States Department of Defense seal. Below is a wreath with the inscription IN PURSUIT OF DEMOCRACY at the top. The center stripe is 1⁄4 in wide in bluebird, additional awards of the Armed Forces Service Medal are denoted by service stars
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Sea Service Ribbon
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The Army Sea Duty Ribbon was established April 17,2006. It may be awarded to active duty soldiers who complete two years of sea duty on a Class A or B United States Army Vessel. Duty aboard U. S. Navy, U. S. Coast Guard, the Chief of the Marine Qualification Division is the approval authority for award of the ASDR to eligible service members. The ASDR may be awarded retroactively to those personnel who were credited with qualifying service, as defined in regulations, subsequent awards are authorized upon completion of an additional two years of cumulative sea duty under qualifying conditions. U. S. Army Reserve and U. S. Army National Guard soldiers must have two years in a U. S. Subsequent awards are authorized upon the completion of additional qualifying periods of sea duty, for mobilized soldiers, one year of sea duty as a mobilized soldier will be credited toward one creditable year as long as minimum underway requirements are met. The Army Sea Duty Ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide, composed of vertical stripes, subsequent awards are denoted by bronze and silver service stars. It was the first type of sea service ribbon established in the U. S, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is granted to any member of the U. S. Navy or U. S. A 3/16 inch bronze star is awarded for the second through the award of the ribbon. The Navy Reserve Sea Service Ribbon was created in May 1986 and is awarded to any member of the U. S. S, Navy Reserve Force surface ship or assigned to a deployable/regularly deploying U. S. Navy Reserve Force Aviation Squadron. The term “Navy Reserve Force Ship” refers to any U. S, the Navy Reserve Sea Service Ribbon is also granted to members of embarked Navy Reserve staffs, provided that at least half of the embarked reserve drills qualified as underway drills. The Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon is a United States Coast Guard decoration that was created in 1984, additional awards, displayed as service stars, may be awarded for a further three years of sea service. The NOAA Corps Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is a NOAA Commissioned Corps award established retroactive to 1 January 2002, subsequent awards may be earned for additional twelve-month accumulations of sea duty, so long as they also include an additional 90 consecutive-day deployment. Previously, the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon was awarded and those NOAA Corps members who previously earned the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with replace it with the NOAA version, unless they earned the Navy version while serving in the Navy. Awards and decorations of the United States military Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual
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Vice admiral
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