1.
Newton, Kansas
–
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
–
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.
2003 invasion of Iraq
–
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
4.
Prisoner of war
–
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
5.
Commendation Medal
–
The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. The Commendation Medal was originally only a ribbon and was first awarded by the U. S. Navy. An Army Commendation Ribbon followed in 1945, and in 1949, the Navy, Coast Guard, by 1960, the Commendation Ribbons had been authorized as full medals and were subsequently referred to as Commendation Medals. Additional awards of the Army and Air Force Commendation Medals are denoted by bronze, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Coast Guard Commendation Medal are authorized gold and silver 5/16 inch stars to denote additional awards. The Operational Distinguishing Device is authorized for wear on the Coast Guard Commendation Medal upon approval of the awarding authority, order of Precedence is following the Bronze Star Medal but before the Prisoner of War Medal and all campaign medals. Each of the services also awards separate Achievement Medals which are below the Commendation Medals in precedence. This award is intended for service on a joint military staff and is senior in precedence to service-specific Commendation Medals. As such, it is worn above the service Commendation Medals on a military uniform. S, Army after December 6,1941, distinguished themselves by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service. Approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel or higher, the medallion of the Army Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagon, 1 3⁄8 inches wide. On the medallion is an American bald eagle with wings spread horizontally, on its breast is a shield paly of thirteen pieces and a chief. The reverse bears a panel for naming between the words FOR MILITARY above and MERIT below, all placed above a laurel sprig, the ribbon is 1 3⁄8 inches wide primarily of myrtle green. It is edged in white and in the center are five thin white stripes spaced equally apart, devices Oak leaf cluster and V Device The U. S. Air Force began issuing its own Air Force Commendation Medal in 1958 with additional awards denoted by oak leaf clusters. Prior to this time, USAF recipients received the Army Commendation Medal and it was not until 1996 that the V device was authorized on the Air Force Commendation Medal, prior to 1996, there was not a valor distinction in effect for the Air Force Commendation Medal. For USAF enlisted personnel, the Air Force Commendation Medal is worth three points under the Air Force enlisted promotion system, approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel or higher. The Air Force Commendation Medal is a bronze hexagonal medallion, on the medallion is a shield surmounted by an eagle superimposed over clouds. On the shield bears a pair of wings and a vertical baton with an eagles claw at either end, behind the shield are eight lightning bolts. The design on the shield is derived from the Seal of the Department of the Air Force, the ribbon of the Air Force Commendation Medal is golden yellow with blue edges. In the center are three bands of blue, the stripes are thin with the center stripe being wider
6.
Wichita, Kansas
–
Wichita is the largest city in the state of Kansas and the 48th-largest city in the United States. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County, as of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 382,368, as of 2014, it was estimated to have increased to 389,965. In 2015, the population of the Wichita metropolitan area was 644,610. The city began as a trading post on the Chisholm Trail in the 1860s and it subsequently became a key destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to access railroads, earning it the nickname Cowtown. In the 1920s and 1930s, businessmen and aeronautical engineers established a number of aircraft manufacturing companies in Wichita including Beechcraft, Cessna. The city transformed into a hub of U. S. aircraft production, in 1937, the city of Wichita established their official flag. As an industrial hub and the largest city in the state, Wichita is a center of culture, media. It hosts several museums, theatres, parks, and entertainment venues. Several universities are located in the city including Wichita State University, the citys daily newspaper, The Wichita Eagle, has the highest circulation of any newspaper in Kansas, and the Wichita broadcast television market includes the western two-thirds of the state. Wichita is also home to the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center and Kansass largest airport, archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, the site of present-day Wichita, as early as 3000 B. C. In 1541, a Spanish expedition led by explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado found the area populated by the Quivira, or Wichita, conflict with the Osage in the 1750s drove the Wichita further south. Prior to American settlement of the region, the site was located in the territory of the Kiowa, the Wichita returned in 1864 due to the American Civil War and established a settlement on the banks of the Little Arkansas. During this period, trader Jesse Chisholm established a trading post at the site, after the war, the Wichita permanently relocated south to Indian Territory. In 1868, trader James R. Mead established another trading post at the site, and surveyor Darius Munger built a house for use as a hotel, community center, Business opportunities attracted area hunters and traders, and a new settlement began to form. That summer, Mead and others organized the Wichita Town Company, in 1870, Munger and German immigrant William Dutch Bill Greiffenstein filed plats laying out the citys first streets. Wichita formally incorporated as a city on July 21,1870, Wichitas position on the Chisholm Trail made it a destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to access railroads which led to markets in eastern U. S. cities. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached the city in 1872, as a result, Wichita became a railhead for the cattle drives, earning it the nickname Cowtown. Across the Arkansas River, the town of Delano became an entertainment destination for cattlemen thanks to its saloons, brothels
7.
Welding
–
In addition to melting the base metal, a filler material is typically added to the joint to form a pool of molten material that cools to form a joint that is usually stronger than the base material. Pressure may also be used in conjunction with heat, or by itself, although less common, there are also solid state welding processes such as friction welding or shielded active gas welding in which metal does not melt. Some of the best known welding methods include, Oxy-fuel welding - also known as oxyacetylene welding or oxy welding, uses fuel gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals. Shielded metal arc welding – also known as stick welding or electric welding, the electrode holder holds the electrode as it slowly melts away. Slag protects the weld puddle from atmospheric contamination, gas tungsten arc welding – also known as TIG, uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area is protected from contamination by an inert shielding gas such as argon or helium. Flux-cored arc welding – almost identical to MIG welding except it uses a special tubular wire filled with flux, it can be used with or without shielding gas, submerged arc welding – uses an automatically fed consumable electrode and a blanket of granular fusible flux. The molten weld and the arc zone are protected from contamination by being submerged under the flux blanket. Electroslag welding – a highly productive, single pass welding process for thicker materials between 1 inch and 12 inches in a vertical or close to vertical position. Electric resistance welding - a welding process that produces coalescence of laying surfaces where heat to form the weld is generated by the resistance of the material. In general, an efficient method, but limited to relatively thin material, many different energy sources can be used for welding, including a gas flame, an electric arc, a laser, an electron beam, friction, and ultrasound. While often a process, welding may be performed in many different environments, including in open air, under water. Welding is an undertaking and precautions are required to avoid burns, electric shock, vision damage, inhalation of poisonous gases and fumes. Until the end of the 19th century, the welding process was forge welding. Arc welding and oxyfuel welding were among the first processes to develop late in the century, Welding technology advanced quickly during the early 20th century as the world wars drove the demand for reliable and inexpensive joining methods. Developments continued with the invention of laser welding, electron beam welding, magnetic pulse welding. Today, the continues to advance. Robot welding is commonplace in industrial settings, and researchers continue to develop new welding methods, the history of joining metals goes back several millennia
8.
Nasiriyah
–
Nasiriyah is a city in Iraq. It is situated along the banks of the Euphrates River, about 225 miles southeast of Baghdad and it is the capital of the Dhi Qar Governorate. Its population 2003 was about 560,000, making it the fourth largest city in Iraq and it had a religiously diverse population of Muslims, Mandaeans and Jews in the early 20th century, but today its inhabitants are predominantly Shia Muslims. Nasiriyah was founded by the Muntafiq tribe in the late 19th century during the Ottoman era and it has since become a major hub for transportation. Nasiriyah is the center of a date-growing area, the citys cottage industries include boat-building, carpentry and silver working. The city museum has a collection of Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian. The ruins of the ancient cities of Ur and Larsa are located nearby, Nasiriyah was founded in 1872 by Nasir al-Saadun Pasha, the sheikh of the Muntafiq tribal confederation, after whom the city was named. During that same year, it became the center of the Muntafiq sanjak. Nasir Pasha was the head of the Sunni Muslim al-Saadun clan, at the time of Nasiriyahs founding, Muntafiq power in the Basra Vilayet had increasingly given way to Ottoman centralization. However, Nasir Pasha was appointed by the Ottomans as the head of the vilayet, in the early 20th century, Nasiriyah had a population of roughly 10,000. It was a center of trade in Ottoman Iraq and imported foreign goods via commerce with Baghdad. The chief commodities Nasiriyah produced included leather, grain and ghee, the town contained about 600 well-built stone houses, but most buildings and homes were constructed from mud brick. There were about 350 shops in Nasiriyah as well as five khans, the area surrounding the town was abundant in date palms and grain fields. The town was not protected by a wall like other major administrative centers, during World War I, the British conquered the city, controlled at the time by the Ottoman Empire, in July 1915. Some 400 British and Indian and up to 2,000 Turkish soldiers were killed in the battle for Nasiriyah on 24 July 1915, in 1920, Nasiriyah had 6,523 inhabitants. The Iraqi Communist Partys first cell was founded in Nasiriyah by Yusuf Salman Yusuf in the 1930s and it was also the birthplace of Fuad al-Rikabi, who founded the Iraqi Baath Party in the 1950s. At the time, the Iraqi Baath consisted mostly of people from Nasiriyah, in March 1991, following the American withdrawal at the wars end, the Shia population of Nasiriyah took part in the revolt against the rule of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The revolt was subdued by the Iraqi military with heavy loss of life
9.
Euphrates
–
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia, originating in eastern Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf. The Ancient Greek form Euphrátēs was borrowed from Old Persian Ufrātu, the Elamite name is ultimately derived from the Sumerian Buranuna, possibly through the Akkadian name. In Akkadian the river was similarly called Purattu, which has been perpetuated in Semitic languages, the Elamite, Akkadian, and possibly Sumerian forms are suggested to be from an unrecorded substrate language. The earliest references to the Euphrates come from texts found in Shuruppak and pre-Sargonic Nippur in southern Iraq. In these texts, written in Sumerian, the Euphrates is called Buranuna, the name could also be written KIB. NUN. or dKIB. NUN, with the prefix d indicating that the river was a divinity. In Sumerian, the name of the city of Sippar in modern-day Iraq was also a written UD. KIB. NUN, the Euphrates is the longest river of Western Asia. It emerges from the confluence of the Kara Su or Western Euphrates, the same figures are given by Isaev and Mikhailova. The length of the Shatt al-Arab, which connects the Euphrates, both the Kara Su and the Murat Su rise northwest from Lake Van at elevations of 3,290 metres and 3,520 metres amsl, respectively. At the location of the Keban Dam, the two rivers, now combined into the Euphrates, have dropped to an elevation of 693 metres amsl, from Keban to the Syrian–Turkish border, the river drops another 368 metres over a distance of less than 600 kilometres. The Euphrates receives most of its water in the form of rainfall and melting snow, discharge in these two months accounts for 36 percent of the total annual discharge of the Euphrates, or even 60–70 percent according to one source, while low runoff occurs in summer and autumn. The discharge regime of the Euphrates has changed dramatically since the construction of the first dams in the 1970s, data on Euphrates discharge collected after 1990 show the impact of the construction of the numerous dams in the Euphrates and of the increased withdrawal of water for irrigation. Average discharge at Hīt after 1990 has dropped to 356 cubic metres per second, the seasonal variability has equally changed. The pre-1990 peak volume recorded at Hīt was 7,510 cubic metres per second, the minimum volume at Hīt remained relatively unchanged, rising from 55 cubic metres per second before 1990 to 58 cubic metres per second afterward. In Syria, three rivers add their water to the Euphrates, the Sajur, the Balikh and the Khabur and these rivers rise in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains along the Syro–Turkish border and add comparatively little water to the Euphrates. The Sajur is the smallest of these tributaries, emerging from two streams near Gaziantep and draining the plain around Manbij before emptying into the reservoir of the Tishrin Dam. The Balikh receives most of its water from a spring near Ayn al-Arus. In terms of length, drainage basin and discharge, the Khabur is the largest of these three and its main karstic springs are located around Ras al-Ayn, from where the Khabur flows southeast past Al-Hasakah, where the river turns south and drains into the Euphrates near Busayrah
10.
Jessica Lynch
–
Jessica Dawn Lynch is a former United States Army soldier who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U. S. and allied forces. On March 23,2003, Private First Class Lynch was serving as a unit supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company when her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi forces during the Battle of Nasiriyah. Special Operations Forces on April 1,2003 received considerable coverage and was the first successful rescue of an American prisoner of war since Vietnam. Initial official reports on Lynchs capture and rescue in Iraq were incorrect, on April 24,2007, she testified in front of Congress that she had never fired her weapon, and that she had been knocked unconscious when her vehicle crashed. Lynch has been outspoken in her criticism of the stories reported regarding her combat experience. When asked about her status, she stated That wasnt me. Im not about to take credit for something I didnt do, in 2014, Lynch made her film debut as Specialist Summer L. Gabriel in Virtuous. Her role was based on her own experiences in the Iraq War. Lynch was born in Palestine, West Virginia, the child and first daughter to Deidre Lynch and Gregory Lynch. Her family could not afford to send her to college, her brother had to drop out due to financial reasons. Searching for a way to pay for the childrens educations, the Lynch family met with a recruiter in the summer of 2000 when Lynch was seventeen. He did not lie to the kids, her mother said, but at that time it was before September 11, and there was no terrorism, Lynch recalls, so we were like, that would never happen to me. On September 19,2001, Lynch entered basic training at Fort Jackson and she later completed Advanced Individual Training for her Military Occupational Specialty as a unit supply specialist in the Quartermaster Corps at Fort Lee, Virginia. The convoy was supposed to detour around the town and instead turned directly into it, the ambush was unlikely to have been set up in advance, because the Iraqis did not know which course the convoy would take. Although some vehicles had GPS receivers, military GPS systems, unlike civilian equivalents, provide only grid references, maps of the area lack the detail required to properly navigate through tight city streets. Apparently, the convoy took more than one wrong turn, the convoy came under attack by enemy fire. The Humvee in which Lynch was riding was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, Lynch, then a supply clerk with the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas, was wounded and captured by Iraqi forces. She was initially listed as missing in action, eleven other soldiers in the company were killed in the ambush
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