1.
Newton, Kansas
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Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 19,132, Newton is located 25 miles north of Wichita. The city of North Newton is located north, existing as a separate political entity. For millennia, the now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. In 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase, in 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U. S. state. In 1872, Harvey County was founded, in 1871, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway extended a main line from Emporia westward to Newton by July 1871. The town soon became an important railroad shipping point of Texas cattle, the city was founded in 1871 and named after Newton, Massachusetts, home of some of the Santa Fe stockholders. In August 1871, there was a Gunfight at Hide Park, the incident began with an argument between two local lawmen, Billy Bailey and Mike McCluskie. Because of this incident, Newton became known as bloody and lawless—the wickedest city in the west, in 1872, the western terminal for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the railhead for the Chisholm Trail were established here. Shortly after incorporation of the city in 1872, the Newton city council passed an ordinance prohibiting the running at large of buffalo and other wild animals. During World War II, the Newton airport was taken over by the US Navy as a secondary Naval Air Station, and the main runway was extended to over 7,000 feet. Newton served as the Middle Division dispatching headquarters for the Santa Fe until the mid-1980s, in 1995, the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad, and is now known as the BNSF Railway. The BNSF continues to be a large industrial taxpayer although its impact as an employer has decreased in the past decade, most locals still refer to this railroad as the Santa Fe. The shooter, identified as Excel employee Cedric Larry Ford, was killed by responding police officers. Newton is located at 38°2′39″N 97°20′51″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.60 square miles, all of it land. The city is in the portion of the continental United States. U. S. Highway 81, also known as the Meridian Highway, stretches from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico through Central and it passes through Newton, Kansas and is known as Main Street. U. S. Highway 50 runs past the White House in Washington, DC through Newton, Kansas and continues on to Sacramento, the climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters
2.
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
3.
Sergeant first class
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Sergeant First Class is a military rank in some militaries and other uniformed organizations around the world, typically that of a senior non-commissioned officer. In a combat role, a sergeant first class is typically in charge of from 18 soldiers. A sergeant first class primary responsibilities are tactical logistics, tactical casualty evacuations, Sergeant first class replaced the rank of technical sergeant in 1948. If a sergeant first class is appointed to fill the role of first sergeant, Sergeant first class is the first enlisted rank in the U. S. Army to be selected by the centralized promotion system. As such, it is more difficult to achieve than the previous ranks. For example, a sergeant first class cannot be demoted by standard non-judicial punishment, to demote a senior non-commissioned officer requires a court martial, or congressional approval, and normally only for offenses that carry heavy punishments. The Army restored the rank of SFC in 1948 when it replaced technical sergeant, rav samal or rasal, sergeant first class, is the lowest non-commissioned officer rank in the Israel Defense Forces, above samal rishon, סמל ראשון, staff sergeant. Because the IDF is a force, it has a unique rank structure. IDF ranks are the same in all services, the ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed to protect the Yishuv during the British Mandate of Palestine. This origin is reflected in the slightly-compacted IDF rank structure
4.
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
5.
2003 invasion of Iraq
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The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 20 March to 1 May 2003 and signalled the start of the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States. 160,000 troops were sent by the Coalition into Iraq, during the invasion phase. About 130,000 were sent from the USA alone, with about 28,000 British soldiers, Australia,36 other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion,100,000 U. S. troops were assembled in Kuwait by 18 February, the coalition forces also received support from Kurdish irregulars in Iraqi Kurdistan. Others place a greater emphasis on the impact of the September 11 attacks, and the role this played in changing U. S. strategic calculations. The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long-standing U. S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there was no evidence of weapons of destruction in Iraq. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003,36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war. The invasion was preceded by an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003, the following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Province from their massing point close to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the army into chaos. The main body of forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq. Most of the Iraqi military was defeated and Baghdad was occupied on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of the Iraqi army, including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May, an end of combat operations was declared, ending the invasion period. Hostilities of the 1991 Gulf War were suspended on 28 February 1991 and it was revealed that a biological weapons program in Iraq had begun in the early 1980s with help from the U. S. and Europe in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972. The investigation concluded there was no evidence the program had continued after the war. The U. S. and its allies then maintained a policy of containment towards Iraq, Iraqi military helicopters and planes regularly contested the no-fly zones. In October 1998, removing the Saddam regime became official U. S. foreign policy with enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act
6.
Prisoner of war
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A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
7.
Combat Action Badge
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The Combat Action Badge is a military badge worn by U. S. Army soldiers. The emblem features both an M9 bayonet and M67 grenade, the CAB may be awarded to any branch of service or military occupational specialty including infantrymen except when serving in a role where they would be eligible for the CIB. A silver badge 2 inches in width consisting of an oak wreath supporting a rectangle bearing a bayonet surmounting a grenade. Stars are added at the top to indicate subsequent awards, one star for the second award, however, only one can be awarded per qualifying period, as defined in AR 600-8-22, the only qualifying period for the CAB is the Global War on Terrorism. Thus, only one CAB can be awarded to any soldier at this time, in comparison to the CIB, the CAB has a silver rectangle backing rather than blue, and the CAB is 1 inch shorter in length than the CIB. Throughout the Vietnam War and afterward, troops serving in combat engineer, despite numerous staff studies and recommendations, the request never gained the support of senior army leadership. However, as soldiers from across the spectrum of military occupational specialties engaged in contact with enemy forces in the Global War on Terror. Patton in World War One and other vignettes from World War Two, Korean War, Vietnam. However, after reading the article by CPT Shawn Monien, “Reinstating the Combat Tanker Badge, ” in the September-October 2003 issue of ARMOR, I decided to put my oar in the water. In the January-February 1988 issue of ARMOR, Commander’s Hatch, I stated we were developing a Scout’s “rite of passage. ”The Scout Badge proposed to be similar to the Expert Infantry Badge, I also asked for your input. We designed the badge, similar to the EIB, except it had a saber instead of a rifle and was red and white. The requirements for the SCB were considered more difficult than those for the Combat Infantry Badge, as we did not want it to be considered, under any circumstances, the design and requirements were sent through channels to the U. S. We fought the fight and lost, saluted, and moved on. My personal focus was with leaders and members of my team spent much of their time with troops. One thing that was very apparent was the disparity in awarding combat badges, for instance, the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry did not have enough 19Ds to man their tracks. They were given 11Ms and 11Bs as substitutes for the scouts, after the war, the infantrymen were given CIBs and scouts serving on the same track were given handshakes. When he stated it was not General Marshall’s intent to give awards of this type to tankers, he was reminded that during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam it took 30 days of combat to receive a CIB. I also stated that I doubted General Marshall intended for infantrymen who rode around in Bradley Fighting Vehicles, mortar tracks, I am not trying to disparage our great infantry soldiers, but in my opinion, there are many others who fight and deserve equal recognition
8.
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
9.
Purple Heart
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The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after April 5,1917, with the U. S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, the Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers by Gen. George Washington himself. General Washington authorized his subordinate officers to issue Badges of Merit as appropriate, from then on, as its legend grew, so did its appearance. Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially until after World War I, on October 10,1927, Army Chief of Staff General Charles Pelot Summerall directed that a draft bill be sent to Congress to revive the Badge of Military Merit. The bill was withdrawn and action on the case ceased January 3,1928, a number of private interests sought to have the medal re-instituted in the Army, this included the board of directors of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum in Ticonderoga, New York. On January 7,1931, Summerall’s successor, General Douglas MacArthur, confidentially reopened work on a new design, involving the Washington Commission of Fine Arts. Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General, was named to redesign the newly revived medal, using general specifications provided to her, Will created the design sketch for the present medal of the Purple Heart. The new design, which exhibits a bust and profile of George Washington, was issued on the bicentennial of Washingtons birth, wills obituary, in the edition of February 8,1975 of The Washington Post newspaper, reflects her many contributions to military heraldry. The Commission of Fine Arts solicited plaster models from three leading sculptors for the medal, selecting that of John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint in May 1931, the first Purple Heart was awarded to MacArthur. During the early period of American involvement in World War II, with the establishment of the Legion of Merit, by an Act of Congress, the practice of awarding the Purple Heart for meritorious service was discontinued. By Executive Order 9277, dated December 3,1942, the decoration was applied to all services and this executive order also authorized the award only for wounds received. Subject to approval of the Secretary of Defense, Executive Order 10409, dated February 12,1952, dated April 25,1962, Executive Order 11016, included provisions for posthumous award of the Purple Heart. Dated February 23,1984, Executive Order 12464, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist attacks, or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force, public Law 99-145 authorized the award for wounds received as a result of friendly fire. Public Law 104-106 expanded the eligibility date, authorizing award of the Purple Heart to a prisoner of war who was wounded after April 25,1962. This change was effective May 18,1998, during World War II, nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the estimated casualties resulting from the planned Allied invasion of Japan. To the present date, total combined American military casualties of the seventy years following the end of World War II—including the Korean, in 2003, there remained 120,000 Purple Heart medals in stock. The existing surplus allowed combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep Purple Hearts on-hand for immediate award to soldiers wounded in the field, the History section of the November 2009 edition of National Geographic estimated the number of Purple Hearts given. Above the estimates, the reads, Any tally of Purple Hearts is an estimate
United States of America
United States Army
Sergeant first class
Combat Action Badge
Silver Star
Purple Heart
Army Commendation Medal
Army Achievement Medal
Prisoner of War Medal