1.
United States Army
–
The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
2.
82nd Airborne Division
–
The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division is the U. S. Armys most strategically mobile division. Some sources consider the 82nd Airborne Division the most highly trained light infantry division in the world, recently the 82nd Airborne has been conducting operations in Iraq. The 82nd Airborne has been assigned to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, since its initial members came from all 48 states, the unit acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its famed AA shoulder patch. Famous soldiers of the division include Sergeant Alvin C, York, General James M. Colonel Chris Gibson, Brigade Commander 325 Airborne Infantry, New York Congressman. The 82nd Division was first constituted on 5 August 1917 during World War I in the National Army and it was organized and formally activated on 25 August 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia. The division consisted entirely of conscripted soldiers. The citizens of Atlanta held a contest to give a nickname to the new division, Major General Eben Swift, the commanding general, chose All American to reflect the unique composition of the 82nd—it had soldiers from all 48 states. The bulk of the division was two infantry brigades, each commanding two regiments, the 163rd Infantry Brigade commanded the 325th Infantry Regiment and the 326th Infantry Regiment. The 164th Infantry Brigade commanded the 327th Infantry Regiment and the 328th Infantry Regiment and it sailed to Europe to join the American Expeditionary Force, commanded by General John Pershing, on the Western Front. William P. Burnham, who had commanded the 164th Brigade, led the division during most of its training. In early April, the division embarked from the ports in Boston, New York and Brooklyn to Liverpool, England, on 16 June it moved by rail to Toul, France to take position on the front lines in the French sector. Its soldiers were issued French weapons and equipment to simplify resupply, the division was briefly assigned to I Corps before falling under the command of IV Corps until late August. It was then moved to the Woëvre front, in the Lagney sector, the division relieved the 26th Division on 25 June. Though Lagney was considered a defensive sector, the 82nd Division actively patrolled and raided in the region for several weeks, from there it moved to the Marbache sector in mid-August, where it relieved the 2nd Division under the command of the newly formed US First Army. There it trained until 12 September, when the division joined the St. Mihiel offensive, once the First Army jumped off on the offensive, the 82nd Division engaged in a holding mission to prevent German forces from attacking the right flank of the First Army. On 15 September, the 328th Infantry, in order to protect the 90th Divisions flank, resumed the advance, and reached Vandières, on 17 September, the St-Mihiel Operation stabilized, and the 90th Division relieved the 82nds troops west of the Moselle River. During this operation, the division suffered casualties from enemy artillery
3.
Dick Cheney
–
Richard Bruce Dick Cheney is an American politician and businessman who was the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009, under President George W. Bush. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney was primarily raised in Sumner, Nebraska and he attended Yale and then the University of Wyoming, at the latter of which he earned a BA and an MA in Political Science. Cheney was selected to be the Secretary of Defense during the Presidency of George H. W. Bush, during his time in the Department of Defense, Cheney oversaw the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, among other actions. Out of office during the Clinton administration, Cheney was the Chairman, in July 2000, Cheney was chosen by presumptive Republican Presidential nominee George W. Bush as his running mate in the 2000 Presidential election. They defeated their Democratic opponents, incumbent Vice President Al Gore, in 2004 Cheney was reelected to his second term as Vice President, defeating Senator John Kerrys running mate, Senator John Edwards. He was a proponent of Operation Iraqi Freedom and defender of the Administrations anti-terrorism record. He became at odds with President Bushs position against same-sex marriage in 2004 and he has been cited as the most powerful Vice President in American history. At the same time he has been among the least favored politicians in the history of the United States, Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Marjorie Lorraine and Richard Herbert Cheney. He is of predominantly English, as well as Welsh, Irish, although not a direct descendant, he is collaterally related to Benjamin Pierce Cheney, the early American expressman. His father was a soil conservation agent for the U. S. Department of Agriculture and his mother was a star in the 1930s. He attended Calvert Elementary School before his family moved to Casper, Wyoming and he attended Yale University, but by his own account had problems adjusting to the college, and failed out twice. Among the influential teachers from his days in New Haven was Professor H. Bradford Westerfield and he later attended the University of Wyoming, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in political science. He subsequently started, but did not finish, doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in November 1962, at the age of 21, Cheney was convicted of driving while intoxicated. He was arrested for DWI again the following year, Cheney said that the arrests made him think about where I was and where I was headed. I was headed down a bad road if I continued on that course, in 1964, he married Lynne Vincent, his high school sweetheart, whom he had met at age 14. When Cheney became eligible for the draft, during the Vietnam War, he applied for, initially, Cheney was not drafted due to his marriage to Lynne Cheney. When the draft was expanded to include married men without children and he applied for his fifth exemption on January 19,1966, when his wife was about 10 weeks pregnant. He was granted 3-A status, the exemption, which excluded men with children or dependent parents
4.
Humvee
–
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, commonly known as the Humvee, is a four-wheel drive military light truck produced by AM General. Primarily used by the United States military, it is used by numerous other countries and organizations. The Humvees widespread use in the Gulf War of 1991, where it negotiated the treacherous desert terrain, since the WWII era Bantam Reconnaissance Car, the United States Army had relied on jeeps to transport small groups of soldiers. The jeep was built around a requirement for a vehicle with a folding windshield that was actually shorter than the Volkswagen Beetle. It seated three with a 660 lb payload and weighed just over one ton, by the 1970s, the U. S. Army had tried larger militarized civilian trucks, but even these no longer satisfied newer requirements. In 1977, Lamborghini developed the Cheetah model in an attempt to meet the Army contract specifications, the specification called for excellent on and off-road performance, the ability to carry a large payload, and improved survivability against indirect fire. Compared to the jeep, it was larger and had a wider track, with a 16 in ground clearance. The new truck was to climb a 60 percent incline and traverse a 40 percent slope, the radiator was to be mounted high, sloping over the engine on a forward-hinged hood. Out of 61 companies that showed interest, only three submitted prototypes, in July 1979, AM General, a subsidiary of American Motors Corporation began preliminary design work. Less than a later, the first prototype was in testing. Chrysler Defense and Teledyne Continental also produced competing designs, in June 1981, the Army awarded AM General a contract for development of several more prototype vehicles to be delivered to the government for another series of tests. The original M998 A0 series had a weight of 5,200 lb, a payload of 2,500 lb, a 6.2 L V-8 diesel engine. The three companies were chosen to design and build eleven HMMWV prototypes, which covered over 600,000 miles in trials which included courses in desert. Ft. Lewis, Washington and the 9th Infantry Division was the unit to employ HMMWV in the new concept of a motorized division. Yakima Training Center in Yakima, Washington was the testing grounds for HMMWVs from 1985 through December 1991, when the motorized concept was abandoned. HMMWVs first saw combat in Operation Just Cause, the U. S. invasion of Panama in 1989, the HMMWV was designed primarily for personnel and light cargo transport behind front lines, not as a front line fighting vehicle. Like the previous jeep, the basic HMMWV has no armor or protection against chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threats, nevertheless, losses were relatively low in conventional operations, such as the Gulf War. Vehicles and crews suffered considerable damage and losses during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 due to the nature of the urban engagement
5.
Paktia Province
–
Paktia is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. The province is divided into districts and has a population of roughly 525,000. Pashtun tribes make up the majority of the population but smaller number of Tajiks are also found, Paktia used to be a unified province with Khost and Paktika, these three provinces are now referred to as Loya Paktia, meaning Greater Paktia. Paktia came to prominence during the 1980s, when a significant portion of Afghanistans leadership originated from the province, some of the more notable leaders include, Najibullah Ahmadzai, a former President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Aslam Watanjar, Shahnawaz Tanai, and Sayed Muhammad Gulabzoi. Soviet commanders wanted to secure the entire section of the road from Gardez to Khost, shortly after landing, the airborne troopers, who were well trained and experienced in Afghan conditions, started to take up positions which covered both the road and the uphill passages. Just as they had dug in, the began their attack at 1530 hrs. First they fired with all possible weapons including guns and RPG. After a few salvos, Soviet artillery replied and silenced some of the Mujahideens guns, with the commander of the first platoon, Lt. Viktor Gagarin, when rebel fire slackened, it was clear that this was the beginning of an infantry assault. The airborne troopers were attacked by a coordinated and well-armed force of between 200 and 250 mujahideen, attacks were made from two directions, indicating that the assailants may have been assisted by rebels trained in Pakistan by American agents. The exhausted and mostly wounded Soviets were nearly out of ammunition, the Soviet forces sustained very low casualties, with 6 men out of 39 killed and 28 injured. Two of the killed, Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Alexandrov and Andrey Alexandrovich Melnikov, were posthumously awarded the golden star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. All of the paratroopers in this battle were given the Order of the Red Banner and Order of the Red Star, according to the Soviet estimates, the Mujahideen lost over 200+ men. The Mujahideen wore black uniforms with rectangular black-yellow-red stripes. S, troops some of their heaviest losses in the cave complexes south of Gardez. Paktia was the site of fighting between Taliban insurgents and ISAF-backed Afghan National Security Forces. Paktia was one of the last redoubts of organized Taliban resistance, much of Operation Anaconda took place in Zurmat, February of 2003, the 1st Provincial Reconstruction Team in Gardez commenced with the objective of providing funding for local Afghan projects concurrent to a reinforce security presence in overwatch. The PRT Gardez composition includes a platoon from the 504th 82nd ABN along with US Army Civil Military Affairs contingent plus Special Forces. In March of 2003, USAID and State Department representatives joined the 1st Provincial Reconstruction Team in Gardez, in September 2006, Governor Hakim Taniwal was killed by a Taliban suicide bomber as he left his office in Gardez. At the time, Taniwal was the highest-ranking post-Taliban official to be killed by insurgent forces in the country, on February 12,2010, five civilians including two pregnant women and a teenage girl were killed by U. S. special forces during the Khataba raid
United States of America
United States Army.jpg)
.svg){kind=small}
Media related to Monica Lin Brown at Wikimedia Commons