1.
Forward Operating Base Salerno
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Forward Operating Base Salerno is a former forward operating base used by the U. S. military from 2002–2013 during Operation Enduring Freedom. On November 1,2013, U. S. forces withdrew from FOB Salerno, the facility was built by TF Panther in 2002, centered around the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was named for the beachhead in Salerno, Italy that the 505th PIR parachuted onto on 14 September 1943, over the years, the base eventually grew to house a population of nearly 5,000 servicemen, servicewomen, civilians, and contractors. S. SSG Matthew Pucino was a member of ODA2223, during its operations two Sapper platoons specializing in route clearance operations were stationed at Salerno. Most of the route clearance units were drawn from the National Guard of the United States serving on active duty and they were responsible for neutralizing IED threats as well as escorting convoys through the heavily mined area. The route clearance units at FOB Salerno were also responsible for clearing the Khost-Gardez Pass. The base is in a location and is only 30 miles south of Tora Bora. The bombs detonated close to the perimeter and killed 15 Afghans. Around midnight the day the base came under mortar fire and was attacked by about 30 Taliban insurgents. The attackers attempted to breach the base near the airfield, where there is no HESCO bastion, the attackers were also accompanied by suicide bombers, three of which detonated their vest early as they came under machine gun fire from the base. Afghan commandos are credited with surrounding the suicide bombers before they had a chance to attack. Another group of Taliban was observed preparing for an attack 1000 meters from the base before coalition forces opened up small arms fire, helicopter gunships later pounded the Taliban staging area, resulting in 3 deaths. After the attack the insurgents were found in possession of anti-personnel Type 69 RPGs, as anti-personnel RPGs are rare in Afghanistan it is unclear how the weapons were obtained. FOB Salerno continued to receive an amount or mortar and rocket fire through the summer of 2009. During one attack, a rocket detonated over the Base Defense Operations Center and a number of personnel was struck by shrapnel, bowe Berghahl, the only American POW in the US war in Afghanistan was captured in June 2009 after walking off the nearby Camp Clark. The attacker managed to sneak by security as he was allowed into the base, seven CIA operatives were killed, making this attack the deadliest for the agency since the 1983 United States embassy bombing. FOB Salerno was once attacked by a group of Taliban on 28 August 2010. The attack started around 0400 with small arms and mortar fire, in addition, suicide bombers participated in the attack
2.
Lake Jackson, Texas
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Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,849, in 1942 a portion of Lake Jackson was first developed as a company town for workers of the Dow Chemical Company, it developed 5,000 acres on the former Abner Jackson Plantation. An oxbow lake was named after the planter, whose house was located at the lake. Minor ruins of the Lake Jackson Plantation can now be seen in a park at the site. The city of Lake Jackson is located in south-central Brazoria County, and is bordered to the east by the cities of Clute and Richwood, and to the southwest by the Brazos River. According to the United States Census Bureau, Lake Jackson has an area of 20.9 square miles, of which 19.5 square miles is land and 1.5 square miles. As of the census of 2010, there were 26,849 people,10,319 households, the population density was 1,386.0 people per square mile. There were 11,149 housing units at a density of 550.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 84. 36% White,5. 10% African American,0. 52% Native American,3. 14% Asian,0. 04% Pacific Islander,4. 44% from other races, and 2. 40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20. 53% of the population, twenty percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 7. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the family size was 3.18. The median age was 35 years, for every 100 females there were 96.06 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males, the median income for a household in the city was $60,901, and the median income for a family was $69,053. Males had an income of $60,143 versus $30,398 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,877, about 5. 4% of families and 6. 4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6. 5% of those under age 18 and 6. 7% of those age 65 or over. The city was built in the early 1940s as a planned community, Dow of Midland, Michigan for workers in support of a new plant of the Dow Chemical Company, which his father owned. The City of Lake Jackson was incorporated March 14,1944, Lake Jackson is within Texass 14th congressional district and is represented by Randy Weber. Gas station and convenience store chain Buc-ees has its headquarters in Lake Jackson, the Dow Chemical Company and the Brazosport Independent School District are major employers of residents
3.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
4.
Sergeant
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Sergeant is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. Its origin is the Latin serviens, one who serves, through the French term sergent, the term sergeant refers to a non-commissioned officer placed above the rank of a corporal and a police officer immediately below a lieutenant. In most armies the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a squad, in Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a junior rank corresponding to a four-soldier fireteam leader. More senior non-commissioned ranks are often variations on sergeant, for example staff sergeant, many countries use sergeant rank, whether in English or using a cognate with the same origin in another language. The equivalent rank in Arab armies is raqeeb, meaning overseer or watcher, in medieval European usage, a sergeant was simply any attendant or officer with a protective duty. Any medieval knight or military order of knighthood might have sergeants-at-arms, the etymology of the term is from Anglo-French sergant, serjant servant, valet, court official, soldier, from Middle Latin servientem servant, vassal, soldier. Later, a sergeant was a man of what would now be thought of as the middle class. Sergeants could fight either as heavy to light cavalry, or as well trained professional infantry, most notable medieval mercenaries fell into the sergeant class, such as Flemish crossbowmen and spearmen, who were seen as reliable quality troops. The sergeant class was deemed to be half of a knight in military value. A specific kind of military sergeant was the serjeant-at-arms, one of a body of armed men retained by English lords, the title is now given to an officer in modern legislative bodies who is charged with keeping order during meetings and, if necessary, forcibly removing disruptive members. The responsibilities of a sergeant differ from army to army, there are usually several ranks of sergeant, each corresponding to greater experience and responsibility for the daily lives of the soldiers of larger units. Sergeant is a rank in both the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force, the ranks are equivalent to each other and the Royal Australian Navy rank of petty officer. The Australian Army rank of sergeant is now redundant and is no longer awarded, due to being outside the rank equivalencies. Chief petty officers and flight sergeants are not required to call a warrant officer class two sir in accordance with Australian Defence Force Regulations 1952. The rank of sergeant exists in all Australian police forces and is more senior than a constable or senior constable, New South Wales Police Force, for example, has the additional rank of incremental sergeant. This is a progression, following appointment as a sergeant for seven years. An incremental sergeant rank is less senior than a senior sergeant but is more senior than a sergeant, upon appointment as a sergeant or senior sergeant, the sergeant is given a warrant of appointment under the commissioners hand and seal
5.
82nd Airborne Division
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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
6.
Silver Star
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The Silver Star, officially the Silver Star Medal, is the United States militarys third-highest decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. The Silver Star is the award to the Citation Star which was established by an Act of Congress on July 9,1918 during World War I. On July 19,1932, the Secretary of War approved the conversion of the Citation Star to the Silver Star Medal with the original Citation Star incorporated into the center of the medal. Authorization for the Silver Star Medal was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the U. S. Navy on August 7,1942, the U. S. Army and Air Force award the medal as the Silver Star. The U. S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard continue to award the medal as the Silver Star Medal, however, during the Vietnam War, the last conflict to produce U. S. The pendant is suspended from a shaped metal loop with rounded corners. The reverse has the inscription FOR GALLANTRY IN ACTION, the Department of Defense does not keep extensive records the Silver Star. Independent groups estimate that between 100,000 and 150,000 Silver Stars have been awarded since the decoration was established. Colonel David Hackworth who was awarded ten Silver Stars while serving in the Army during the Korean War, three Army nurses who served in World War I were cited with Citation Stars for their service in July 1918. In 2007, it was discovered that they had never been awarded their Citation Stars, an unknown number of servicewomen received the award in World War II. Later that same year, Corporal Magdalena Leones, a Filipino American, notable recipients include, List of Australian Silver Star recipients Silver Star database at MilitaryTimes. com Awards and Decorations Air Force Personnel Center
7.
Dick Cheney
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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
8.
68W
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68W is the Military Occupational Specialty for the United States Armys Combat Medic Specialist, This specialty is open to males and females as well as allowing color vision deficient personnel. 69 The primary role of 68W combat medic specialists in the U. S. Army is providing treatment to wounded soldiers. Other nations and services also have similarly-trained personnel, but this discussion and these medics serve as the basic or first tier of the Army medical system accompanying units as small as platoons during training and deployments. Medics provide initial medical care, evacuation, and supervision to other soldiers with medical training as well as provide medical advice to unit chains of command. In this capacity, healthcare specialists work under the supervision and purview of physician assistants and physicians, healthcare specialists are initially trained as Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technicians with additional training in trauma and Army specific techniques and procedures. When no appropriate skill modifier is used, a letter O, for example, a healthcare specialist would be awarded MOS 68W1O. 0 is a medic prior to school completion. During the Vietnam War era, the MOS codes 91W, 91B, the Department of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel issued a notice for future change for the MOS 91B and 91C in September 1999. The notice established the transition of personnel holding both MOSs to 91W to begin on 1 October 2001 and end on 30 September 2007, the 91W MOS required additional training and the maintenance of civilian EMT certification which was previously optional for soldiers. Army personnel holding MOS 91C would become 91Ws with an additional skill identifier of M6, later—as part of an ongoing administrative revision of Army Enlisted MOSs—MOS 91W was redesignated 68W. After completion of Basic Combat Training, soldiers training for 68W10 ship to Fort Sam Houston, the AIT or job training may last for 16 to 68 weeks, depending what additional skill training is completed. Training includes a combination of lecture, hands-on, and practical field exercises with many skills—including starting intravenous lines—practiced on each other, the first part of the course focuses on CPR and EMT-Basic training and concludes with certification tests for both skills. Further training is on Army specific tasks, after assignment to a unit, 68Ws may, at the request of their units Physician Assistant, attend any number of advanced topics. Topics are generally prescribed per each units functional role, for example, front-line combat medic may learn about advanced trauma treatments including venous cutdowns, placement of chest tubes, or use of specialty hemorrhage control methods. In the case of those attached to units, they may learn to administer medications which result in more definitive treatment than their civilian counterparts are allowed to. Unlike civilian hospitals, field hospital units usually do not have a number of 68WM6. Some medics opt for EMT-I or EMT-P certification or additional certifications through civilian education, Medics completing the equivalent of a bachelors degree with required science prerequisites may apply for the Interservice Physician Assistant Program. Healthcare specialist also serve as the source for recruiting for special operations medics including 18D Special Forces Medical Sergeant
9.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
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