1.
Bellingham, Washington
–
Bellingham is the largest city in and the county seat of Whatcom County in the U. S. state of Washington. The boundaries of the city encompass the towns of Fairhaven, Whatcom, Sehome. Bellingham is the northernmost city in the contiguous United States with a population of more than 50,000 residents and it is acclaimed for its easy access to outdoor opportunities in the San Juan Islands and North Cascades as well as proximity to the cities of Vancouver and Seattle. It is also famous for the quantities of Canadian tourists and shoppers who visit daily to take advantage of relatively cheap gasoline, airfare. The name of Bellingham is derived from the bay on which the city is situated, George Vancouver, who visited the area in June 1792, named the bay for Sir William Bellingham, the controller of the storekeepers account of the Royal Navy. Prior to Euro-American settlement, Bellingham was in the homeland of Coast Salish peoples of the Lummi, the first Caucasian settlers reached the area in 1854. In 1858, the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush caused thousands of miners, storekeepers, Coal was mined in the Bellingham area from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. It was Henry Roeder who had discovered coal off the shore of Bellingham Bay. The mine extended to hundreds of miles of tunnels as deep as 1200 feet and it ran southwest to Bellingham Bay, on both sides of Squalicum Creek, an area of about one square mile. At its peak in the 1920s, the mine employed some 250 miners digging over 200,000 tons of coal annually, Whatcom is todays Old Town area and was founded in 1852. Sehome was an area of downtown founded in 1854, Bellingham was further south near Boulevard Park, founded in 1853, while Fairhaven was a large commercial district with its own harbor, also founded in 1853. In 1890, Fairhaven developers bought Bellingham, Whatcom and Sehome had adjacent borders and both towns wanted to merge, thus they formed New Whatcom. Later, on October 27,1903, the word New was dropped from the name, because the Washington State Legislature outlawed the use of the new in city. At first, attempts to combine Fairhaven and Whatcom failed, Whatcom citizens wouldnt support a city named Fairhaven, and Fairhaven residents would not support a city named Whatcom. They eventually settled on the name Bellingham, which remains today, voting a second time for a final merger of the four towns into a single city, the resolution passed by 2163 votes for and 596 against. In the early 1890s, three railroad lines arrived, connecting the bay cities to a market of builders. The foothills around Bellingham were clearcut after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to provide the lumber for the rebuilding of San Francisco. In time, lumber and shingle mills sprang up all over the county to accommodate the byproduct of their work, in 1889, Pierre Cornwall and an association of investors formed the Bellingham Bay Improvement Company
2.
Fort Myer
–
Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U. S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D. C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Whipple, the post merged in 2005 with the neighboring Marine Corps installation, Henderson Hall, Fort Myer was established as Fort Whipple, after Brevet Major General Amiel Weeks Whipple, who died in May 1863, during the Civil War. Whipple Field was named in his honor and it had a perimeter of 658 yards, and places for 43 guns. On Feb.4,1881, the post was renamed for Brigadier General Albert J. Myer, the National Weather Service was originated there by General Albert J. Myer in 1870. Fort Myer was the site of the first flight of an aircraft at a military installation, several exhibition flights by Orville Wright took place there in 1908 and 1909. Selfridge suffered a concussion in the crash and later died, the first person to die in powered fixed-wing aircraft, Orville was badly injured, suffering broken ribs and a leg. It has been the home of every succeeding Chief of Staff, the first radio telecommunications NAA was at Fort Myer in 1913. The US Navy built The Three Sisters which were three towers that established the first communication across the sea to Paris, France in 1915. During World War I, Fort Myer was an area for a large number of engineering, artillery. The area of Fort Myer now occupied by Andrew Rader Health Clinic, General George S. Patton Jr. who was posted at Fort Myer four different times, started the charitable Society Circus after World War I. He ultimately was Post Commander and commanded the 3rd Cavalry Regiment that was stationed at Fort Myer from the 1920s to 1942 when the regiment was sent to Georgia to get mechanized. In late 2001, troops, deployed in response to the September 11th attacks, were bivouacked at Fort Myer and these troops were under Operation Noble Eagle. These included both active and National Guard Military Police units from around the nation, in 2005 the last remaining deployed responders were demobilized. These installations and departments serve over 150,000 active duty, DoD civilian, the fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972, for its well-preserved concentration of cavalry facilities and officers quarters, and for its importance in military aviation history. On September 1,1970, the United States Postal Service issued its first day cover of a postcard celebrating the 100th anniversary of Weather Services at Fort Myer
3.
Arlington National Cemetery
–
The United States Department of the Army, a component of the United States Department of Defense, controls the cemetery. The national cemetery was established during the Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, like nearly all federal installations in Arlington County, it has a Washington, D. C. mailing address. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington, acquired the land now is Arlington National Cemetery in 1802. The estate passed to Custis daughter, Mary Anna, who had married United States Army officer Robert E. Lee. Custis will gave an inheritance to Mary Lee, allowing her to live at and run Arlington Estate for the rest of her life. Upon her death, the Arlington estate passed to her eldest son, on May 7, troops of the Virginia militia occupied Arlington and Arlington House. With Confederate forces occupying Arlingtons high ground, the capital of the Union was left in a military position. Although unwilling to leave Arlington House, Mary Lee believed her estate would soon be infested with federal soldiers, so she buried many of her family treasures on the grounds and left for her sisters estate at Ravensworth in Fairfax County, Virginia, on May 14. On May 3, General Winfield Scott ordered Brigadier General Irvin McDowell to clear Arlington, McDowell occupied Arlington without opposition on May 24. In May 1864, Union forces suffered large numbers of dead in the Battle of the Wilderness, Meigs ordered that an examination of eligible sites be made for the establishment for a large new national military cemetery. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate was the most suitable property in the area, the property was high and free from floods, it had a view of the District of Columbia, and it was aesthetically pleasing. It was also the home of the leader of the forces of the Confederate States of America. The first military burial at Arlington, for William Henry Christman, was made on May 13,1864, however, Meigs did not formally authorize establishment of burials until June 15,1864. Arlington did not desegregate its burial practices until President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 on July 26,1948, the government acquired Arlington at a tax sale in 1864 for $26,800, equal to $410,000 today. Mrs. Lee had not appeared in person but rather had sent an agent, the government turned away her agent, refusing to accept the tendered payment. In 1874, Custis Lee, heir under his grandfathers will passing the estate in trust to his mother, sued the United States claiming ownership of Arlington. In December,1882, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Lees favor in United States v. Lee, deciding that Arlington had been confiscated without due process. After that decision, Congress returned the estate to him, and on March 3,1883, the land then became a military reservation
4.
Arlington County, Virginia
–
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is coterminous with the U. S. Census Bureau-census-designated place of Arlington, as a result, the county is often referred to in the region simply as Arlington or Arlington, Virginia. In 2015, the population was estimated at 229,164. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal district of Columbia. In 1846, Congress returned the land southwest of the Potomac River donated by Virginia due to issues involving Congressional representation, the General Assembly of Virginia changed the countys name to Arlington in 1920 to avoid confusion with the adjacent City of Alexandria. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington. Arlington is also bordered by Fairfax County and City of Falls Church to the northwest, west and southwest, as of the 2010 census, the population was 207,627. Due to the proximity to downtown Washington, D. C. It is also home to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the many federal agencies, government contractors, and service industries contribute to Arlingtons stable economy. It is the county in the United States by median family income. According to a 2016 study by Bankrate. com, Arlington is the best place to retire, the area that now constitutes Arlington County was originally part of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia. Land grants from the British monarch were awarded to prominent Englishmen in exchange for political favors, one of the grantees was Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who lends his name to both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, the estate was eventually passed down to Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of General Robert E. Lee. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery during the American Civil War, the area that now contains Arlington County was ceded to the new United States federal government by the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the passage of the Residence Act in 1790, Congress approved a new permanent capital to be located on the Potomac River, the Residence Act originally only allowed the President to select a location within Maryland as far east as what is now the Anacostia River. However, President Washington shifted the federal territorys borders to the southeast in order to include the city of Alexandria at the Districts southern tip. In 1791, Congress amended the Residence Act to approve the new site, however, this amendment to the Residence Act specifically prohibited the erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the River Potomac. As permitted by the U. S. Constitution, the shape of the federal district was a square, measuring 10 miles on each side
5.
United States Air Force
–
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
6.
General (United States)
–
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force, General is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other uniformed services. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps,198 for the Air Force, and 162 for the Navy. No more than about 25% of an active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service. This is set at 7 four-star Army generals,9 four-star Air Force generals,2 four-star Marine Generals, several of these slots are reserved by statute. For example, the two highest-ranking members of service are designated as four-star generals. In addition, for the National Guard, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a general under active duty in the Army or Air Force. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions e. g. the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the President may add four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the Presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency and their active rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. For some positions, statute allows the President to waive those requirements for a nominee deemed to serve national interests, the nominee must be confirmed by the United States Senate before the appointee can take office and assume the rank. Four-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, service vice chiefs serve for a nominal four years, but are commonly reassigned after one or two years. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps serves for two years, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau serves a nominal four years. Some statutory limits can be waived in times of emergency or war. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement, a four-star general must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to serve longer. Otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday, however, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officers 68th birthday. General officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. Since only a number of four-star slots are available to each service
7.
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
–
The Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force is the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Air Force. In the event that the Chief of Staff of the Air Force is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCSAF may also perform other duties that the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force or the CSAF assigns to him. The VCSAF is appointed by the President of the United States, by statute, the VCSAF is appointed as a four-star general. The current Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force is General Stephen W. Wilson
8.
Air University (United States Air Force)
–
The Air University is a major component of the United States Air Forces Air Education and Training Command. AU is headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama and is the U. S. Air Forces primary center for military education. Air Force Institute of Technology Carl A. Lemay Center for Doctrine Development & Education Ira C, Spaatz Center for Officer Education unifies the continuum of Air Force officer professional military education. Activated on 29 Apr 2008, the Spaatz Center is named in honor of the Air Forces first Chief of Staff, the Spaatz Center remains committed to being the global leader in officer education by developing leaders, spurring innovation, and nurturing partnerships to advance air power. Squadron Officer College Squadron Officer College was a successor to the previous legacy twelve-week. SOC was a shortened version of the previously conducted twelve-week SOS for 1st Lieutenants. SOCs mission was to develop company grade officers as leaders of integrity, ready, willing, SOC and its successor, the since-reinstated eight-week Squadron Officer School, provided/provides a professional military education experience devoted to junior officer leadership development. SOC was open to all active duty Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Captains, their international counterparts, SOC was disestablished on 28 June 2011 when SOS was reestablished. The goal is 100% opportunity for in-residence attendance by all active duty USAF, AWC prepares students to lead in a joint, interagency and multi-national environment at the strategic level of military operations. It is also available via distance learning as a correspondence course typically requiring 18 to 24 months to complete, the Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education is responsible for the instructional programs and faculty development for all Air Force enlisted professional military education programs. It is located on Maxwell AFBs Gunter Annex, NCO Academies The NCO Academies provide selected noncommissioned officers quality professional military education to develop their skills and responsibilities in the United States Air Force. The objective is for the student to gain an understanding of their positions in the military structure, several NCO Academies operate worldwide on various Air Force installations. The academys vision is to execute a standardized, state-of-the-art program to maximize first sergeants capabilities, the Institute achieves this by featuring artifacts, collections, and pictorial exhibits, written and oral documentation, audiovisuals, equipment, and selected aircraft parts. Additionally, students use the in-house and on-line research capabilities to enhance learning and these are the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at civilian colleges and universities across the United States, and the Air Force Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB. Although they are USAF officer accession and training programs, the United States Air Force Academy, the U. S. Air Force Academy is a Direct Reporting Unit, and the Superintendent of the USAF Academy reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Admission to and administration of the ANG Academy of Military Science is controlled by the Director of the Air National Guard via the National Guard Bureau, through the Holm Center, the Air University also administers two additional programs. Instruction is conducted by retired field grade USAF officers employed by the school systems. The Air University is also the command echelon equivalent to an air force for the Civil Air Patrol
9.
Pancho Villa Expedition
–
The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition but originally referred to as the Punitive Expedition, U. S. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villas attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, the declared objective of the expedition by the Wilson administration was the capture of Villa. The Constitutionalist forces used arms at the town of Parral to resist passage of a U. S. Army column, the U. S. mission was changed to prevent further attacks on it by Mexican troops and to plan for war in the eventuality it broke out. When war was averted diplomatically, the expedition remained in Mexico until February 1917 to encourage Carranzas government to pursue Villa, feeling betrayed, Villa began attacking U. S. nationals and their property in northern Mexico. On November 26,1915, Villa sent a force to attack the city of Nogales and in the course of the ensuing battle, engaged with American forces before withdrawing. On January 11,1916, sixteen American employees of the American Smelting and Refining Company were removed from a train near Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, brigadier General John J. Raids were so commonplace, however, that the rumor was not seen as credible. Ten civilians and eight soldiers were killed in the attack, the raiders burned the town, stole horses and mules, and seized machine guns, ammunition and merchandise, before fleeing back to Mexico. However, Villas soldiers had suffered losses, with at least sixty-seven dead. Many of the casualties were inflicted when the machine gun troop of the 13th Cavalry led by 2nd Lt. John P, about thirteen of Villas wounded later died of their wounds, and five wounded Villistas taken prisoner by the Americans were tried and hanged for murder. Local lore in Columbus holds that the attack may have been caused by a merchant in Columbus who supplied Villa with arms and ammunition. Villa is said to have several thousand dollars in cash for the weapons. The next day, acting on the recommendations of the commanders of his cavalry regiments and this can and will be done in entirely friendly aid to the constituted authorities in Mexico and with scrupulous respect for the sovereignty of that Republic. The 2nd Provisional Cavalry Brigade reached Colonia Dublán after dark on March 17, the entire squadron flew to the advanced camp at Colonia Dublán on March 19–20, losing two aircraft in the process. Pershing immediately sent the 7th Cavalry south just after midnight on March 18 to begin the pursuit, persistent winter weather through early April, particularly bitterly cold nights at high altitude, made both pursuit and logistics more difficult. An additional regiment of cavalry and two of infantry were added to the expedition in late April, bringing its size to 4,800 men. This was the first use of convoys in a U. S. military operation. His headquarters advanced as far as the 1st Aero Squadrons field at Satevó, southeast of Chihuahua City, before falling back at the end of April. Villa had a head start on the pursuit, all but ensuring that his forces would successfully break up into smaller bands
10.
World War I
–
World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
