1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
South Dakota
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South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, South Dakota is the 17th most expansive, but the 5th least populous and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Once the southern portion of the Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2,1889, Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 171,000, is South Dakotas largest city. South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, the state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as East River and West River. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the states population, West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are located in West River, the Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are located in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is located there, South Dakota experiences a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The ecology of the state features species typical of a North American grassland biome, humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a rush in the Black Hills. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in areas to attract and retain residents. South Dakotas history and rural character still strongly influence the culture of the state, South Dakota is situated in the north-central United States, and is considered a part of the Midwest by the U. S. Census Bureau, it is also part of the Great Plains region. The culture, economy, and geography of western South Dakota have more in common with the West than the Midwest, South Dakota has a total area of 77,116 square miles, making the state the 17th largest in the Union. Black Elk Peak, formerly named Harney Peak, with an elevation of 7,242 ft, is the states highest point, while the shoreline of Big Stone Lake is the lowest, with an elevation of 966 ft. South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, the geographical center of the U. S. is 17 miles west of Castle Rock in Butte County. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located between Allen and Kyle,1,024 mi from the nearest coastline, the Missouri River is the largest and longest river in the state. Other major South Dakota rivers include the Cheyenne, James, Big Sioux, Eastern South Dakota has many natural lakes, mostly created by periods of glaciation. Additionally, dams on the Missouri River create four large reservoirs, Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, South Dakota can generally be divided into three regions, eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. The Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic, social, at times the Black Hills are combined with the rest of western South Dakota, and people often refer to the resulting two regions divided by the Missouri River as West River and East River
3.
Air National Guard
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When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the state governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States and they are jointly administered by the states and the National Guard Bureau, a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force that oversees the National Guard of the United States. The ANG of the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands have no aircraft assigned, ANG units typically operate under Title 32 USC. However, when operating under Title 10 USC all ANG units are operationally-gained by an active duty USAF major command. ANG units of the Combat Air Forces based in the Continental United States, conversely, CONUS-based ANG units in the Mobility Air Forces, plus the Puerto Rico ANGs airlift wing and the Virgin Islands ANGs civil engineering squadron are gained by the Air Mobility Command. The vast majority of ANG units fall under either ACC or AMC, established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U. S. S. When not in a status, the Air National Guard operates under their respective state. The exception to rule is the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Because both state Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States relatively go hand-in-hand, Air National Guard of the United States units or members may be called up for federal active duty in times of Congressionally sanctioned war or national emergency. The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service, even traditional part-time air guardsmen, especially pilots, navigators/combat systems officers, air battle managers and enlisted aircrew, often serve 100 or more man-days annually. As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only one weekend a month, the Georgia Air National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard previously flew the B-1B Lancer prior to converting to the E-8 Joint STARS and KC-135R Stratotanker, respectively. In addition, the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard transitioned from flying the F-15C/D Eagle at St and these proposals were eventually overruled and cancelled by the U. S. Congress. As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command and they are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force, the state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a major command of the USAF if federalized. Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the moral and physical standards as their full-time active duty Air Force. The same ranks and insignia of the U. S. Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, the Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service members home state or equivalent. The creation of the regiments was caused by the perceived need to defend the Bay Colony against American Indians. This organization formed the basis of subsequent colonial and, post-independence, state and this distinction accounts for why there are no National Guard components in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps or U. S. Coast Guard
4.
United States National Guard Bureau
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It was created by the Militia Act of 1903. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, elevated the National Guard to a joint function of the Department of Defense. This act also elevated the Chief of the National Guard Bureau from Lieutenant General to General with the appointment of General Craig R. McKinley, the National Guard Bureau holds a unique status as both a staff and operation agency. United States Secretary of War Elihu Root militated for reform of the guard, in annual reports of 1901 of 1903. The Militia Act of 1792 was obsolete, the resulting Militia Act of 1903 became law. It gave federal status to the militia and required the militia of the States to conform to Regular Army organization. It dramatically increased funding of the militia, between 1903 and 1916, the federal government spent $53 million on the Guard, more than the total of the previous hundred years. The 1903 act authorized the creation of a section responsible for National Guard affairs. The Division remained a part of the Office of the Secretary of War until July 25,1910 when the Chief was directed to report directly to the Army Chief of Staff. The Division continued to perform under the jurisdiction of the Chief of Staff until the passage of the National Defense Act of June 3,1916. Then the Division of Militia Affairs became the Militia Bureau of the War Department, the National Defense Act of 1916 is the most important piece of legislation in the history of the National Guard. It transformed the militia from individual state forces into a Reserve Component of the U. S. Army—and made the term National Guard mandatory. The act stated that all units would have to be recognized. It increased the number of training days to 15, increased the number of yearly drills to 48. The 1916 act transformed the Division of Militia Affairs into a separate Militia Bureau, increasing its autonomy, eight new civilian positions were authorized, something which the various Chiefs had been requesting for years, the number of military assigned to the Bureau had grown to 13. The National Defense Act also authorized the President to assign two National Guard officers to duty with the Militia Bureau, the inclusion of National Guard officers in the Militia Bureau was an important step towards creating a centralized planning organization for the National Guard headed by its own officers. The first National Guard officer assigned to the Bureau was Major Louis C. Wilson of Texas in 1916, thus the National Guard Bureau was charged with the responsibility of maintaining high standards in the National Guard. Prior to 1910 the Chief of the Militia Bureau was a Regular Army officer and this situation changed on June 4,1920, when Congress passed an amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916
5.
Donald Trump
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Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States. Prior to entering politics he was a businessman and television personality, Trump was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He then took charge of The Trump Organization, the estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother, which he ran for four. During his real career, Trump has built, renovated, and managed numerous office towers, hotels, casinos. Besides real estate, he started several ventures and has lent the use of his name for the branding of various products. He owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he hosted The Apprentice, as of 2017, Forbes listed him as the 544th wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $3.5 billion. Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for office in 1987. He won two Reform Party presidential primaries in 2000, but withdrew his candidacy early on, in June 2015, he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and quickly emerged as the front-runner among 17 candidates in the Republican primaries. His final opponents suspended their campaigns in May 2016, and in July he was nominated at the Republican National Convention along with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate. His campaign received unprecedented media coverage and international attention, many of the statements he made at rallies, in interviews, or on social media were controversial or false. Trump won the election on November 8,2016, in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. His political positions have been described by scholars and commentators as populist, protectionist, Trump was born on June 14,1946 at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Queens, New York City. He was the fourth of five born to Frederick Christ Fred Trump. His siblings are Maryanne, Fred Jr. Elizabeth, and Robert, Trumps ancestors originated from the village of Kallstadt, Palatinate, Germany on his fathers side, and from the Outer Hebrides isles of Scotland on his mothers side. All his grandparents, and his mother, were born in Europe and his mothers grandfather was also christened Donald. On a visit to his village, he met Elisabeth Christ. He died from the flu pandemic of 1918 and Elizabeth incorporated the family real estate business, Elizabeth Trump and Son, which would later become The Trump Organization. Trumps father Fred was born in the Bronx, and worked with his mother since he was 15 as a real estate developer, primarily in the New York boroughs of Queens and he eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks and apartments
6.
Heather Wilson
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Heather Ann Wilson is President of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota. She is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing New Mexicos 1st congressional district from 1998 to 2009 and she was the first female military veteran elected to a full term in Congress. While in Congress, Wilson focused on security issues, serving on the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She also focused on care, energy, manufacturing and trade. In April 2013 she was selected to be President of the South Dakota School of Mines and she is the eighteenth president, and first female president, of SD Mines. On January 23,2017, President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Wilson as Secretary of the Air Force, Wilson grew up around aviation and hoped to become a pilot like her father and grandfather before her. Her paternal grandparents were born in Scotland and her grandfather, George Gordon Scotty Wilson, flew for the Royal Flying Corps in World War I and emigrated to America in 1922 where he was a barnstormer and airport operator in the 1920s and 1930s. He served as a pilot during World War II and started the New Hampshire Civil Air Patrol where he was a Wing Commander. Her father started flying at age 13 and enlisted in the United States Air Force after high school, the United States Air Force Academy began admitting women during her junior year at Keene High School, and Wilson applied and was appointed to the Academy. At the Academy, she was the first woman to command basic training and she graduated in 1982 as a Distinguished Graduate. Phil. and D. Phil. in international relations by 1985. The Paul Reuter Prize is awarded for a work in the sphere of international humanitarian law. Wilson won the second Reuter prize ever awarded, since its inception under President Truman, the Councils function has been to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policies. The Council also serves as the Presidents principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government agencies and she worked for Republican President George H. W. Bush. After leaving government in 1991, Wilson founded Keystone International, Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico to promote development in the United States. The company specialized in working with senior executives in large American defense and scientific corporations with business development and program planning work in the United States, under her leadership, the department opened a juvenile work camp and a secure facility for young, violent offenders. It eliminated the wait for state-subsidized child care, revamped the foster care program and she also was an architect and the chief lobbyist for the governors education agenda, including a law allowing charter schools, annual testing, and more budget authority for local school boards. 1998 special election Five-term Republican Congressman Steven Schiff declared he would not run for re-election in February 1998 because of his battle with Squamous-cell carcinoma, Wilson resigned her cabinet post to enter the Republican primary. She won the support of Schiff and U. S, Domenici called Wilson the most brilliantly qualified House candidate anywhere in the country
7.
Governor of South Dakota
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The Governor of South Dakota is the head of the executive branch of the government of South Dakota. They are elected to a term on even years when there is no Presidential election. The current governor is Dennis Daugaard, a Republican elected in 2010, the governor is actively involved in the legislative process, he may introduce legislation, and has the power to veto bills passed by the legislature. The governor oversees the executive branch, and appoints the members of his cabinet, the governor also appoints the members of a wide array of state boards and commissions. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the South Dakota National Guard, the governor may grant pardons to those convicted of criminal offenses under state law. The governor fills vacancies that occur in the legislature, the state judiciary. The governor also fills vacancies in U. S. Senate seats from South Dakota, the governor is the titular head of his political party. From 1889 until 1974, the governor served a two-year term, until the 1940s, the governor was allowed to serve unlimited terms, since that time, governors have been limited to two consecutive terms. Beginning in 1974, the governor is elected to a four-year term, the governor is elected on a ticket with the Lieutenant Governor. The first governor of South Dakota was Arthur C, mellette, who was also the last governor of the Dakota Territory. Two of South Dakotas governors have left office before their term expired, in 1978, Richard F. Kneip resigned office six months before the expiration of his term to accept an appointment as United States Ambassador to Singapore. On April 19,1993, George S. Mickelson was killed in a crash near Dubuque, Iowa. Mickelson and his father, George T. Mickelson, are the only duo to serve as governor. South Dakotas longest-serving governor was Bill Janklow, Janklow was the first governor to complete two four-year terms, and he did it twice, serving from 1979 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 2003. Janklow is also the person to serve non-consecutive terms as governor. Several governors have gone on to serve in high offices. Crawford, Peter Norbeck, William H. McMaster, William J. Bulow, Bill Janklow served briefly in the United States House of Representatives following his second stint as governor. Of the 50 states, South Dakota currently holds the longest non-interrupted party control of the governorship, the Republican Party has controlled the South Dakota governorship since January 1,1979
8.
Dennis Daugaard
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Dennis Martin Daugaard /ˈduːˌɡɑːrd/ is an American attorney and politician who has been the 32nd Governor of South Dakota since January 2011. He is the first governor of South Dakota or any state in the United States to be the child of deaf parents, Dennis Martin Daugaard was born in 1953 and raised on a family farm near Garretson, South Dakota, the son of Florence Margaret and Raymond Victor Daugaard. He was a child of deaf parents and his fathers family descends from immigrants from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. While Dennis Daugaard was growing up, his family used American sign language as the language of their home. Daugaard went to a local country school as a child. For high school, he had to go to the city of Dell Rapids, Daugaard attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion where he was advised by William O. Farber. Daugaard graduated USD in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Government and went on to attend Northwestern University School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor in 1978. Daugaard worked to pay his way through law school, serving as an ASL interpreter, driving a bus through the downtown Loop, Daugaard settled in Chicago, Illinois, working as an attorney from 1978 to 1981, before returning to South Dakota. He married Linda that year and they have three children, Laura, who is married to Jay Mitchell, Sara, who is married to Tony Venhuizen, and Christopher, Daugaard took a job as an executive banker in Sioux Falls, South Dakota from 1981 to 1990. He left the bank to become the Development Director for the Childrens Home Society of South Dakota and he became Executive Director, serving from 2002 to 2009. Daugaard was supportive of the Republican Party and his first entry into electoral politics came in 1996, when he was elected as a South Dakota State Senator. In 2003, Daugaard was elected as the 37th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, Daugaard served as a member of the South Dakota State Senate from 1997 to 2003. While serving in the legislature, Daugaard said that his priorities were helping children. He was elected in 2002 on a ticket with Governor Mike Rounds, as a lieutenant governor under the South Dakota Constitution, Daugaard served as the President of the South Dakota Senate. In addition, he served as the chair of the Workers Compensation Advisory Council which reviews, while serving as lieutenant governor, Daugaard also fulfilled other duties as assigned by the governor and delegated by the state constitution. Daugaard has promoted the Honor Flight program, which honors World War II veterans, after serving two consecutive terms as lieutenant governor in the administration of South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds, Daugaard stepped forward as a Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2010. He won the election against several other candidates. Daugaard chose Matt Michels to join his campaign as the lieutenant governor candidate, the Daugaard and Michels gubernatorial ticket beat Democratic rivals Scott Heidepriem and Ben Arndt by 61. 5% to 38. 5% in the November 2010 general election
9.
Major general
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Major general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the rank of sergeant major general. In the Commonwealth, major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral. In some countries, including much of Eastern Europe, major general is the lowest of the officer ranks. In the old Austro-Hungarian Army, the general was called a Generalmajor. Todays Austrian Federal Army still uses the same term, see also Rank insignias of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces General de Brigade is the lowest rank amongst general officers in the Brazilian Army. AGeneral de Brigada wears two-stars as this is the level for general officers in the Brazilian Army. In tha Brazilian Air Force, the two-star, three-star and four-star rank are known as Brigadeiro, Major-Brigadeiro, see Military ranks of Brazil and Brigadier for more information. In the Canadian Armed Forces, the rank of major-general is both a Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force rank equivalent to the Royal Canadian Navys rank of rear-admiral, a major-general is a general officer, the equivalent of a naval flag officer. The major-general rank is senior to the ranks of brigadier-general and commodore, prior to 1968, the Air Force used the rank of air vice-marshal, instead. In the Canadian Army, the insignia is a wide braid on the cuff. It is worn on the straps of the service dress tunic. On the visor of the cap are two rows of gold oak leaves. Major-generals are initially addressed as general and name, as are all general officers, major-generals are normally entitled to staff cars. In the Estonian military, the general rank is called kindralmajor. The Finnish military equivalent is kenraalimajuri in Finnish, and generalmajor in Swedish and Danish, the French equivalent to the rank of major general is général de division. In the French military, major général is not a rank but an appointment conferred on some generals, usually of général de corps darmée rank, the position of major général can be considered the equivalent of a deputy chief of staff. In the French Army, Major General is a position and the general is normally of the rank of corps general
10.
Fighter aircraft
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A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat against other aircraft, as opposed to bombers and attack aircraft, whose main mission is to attack ground targets. The hallmarks of a fighter are its speed, maneuverability, many fighters have secondary ground-attack capabilities, and some are designed as dual-purpose fighter-bombers, often aircraft that do not fulfill the standard definition are called fighters. This may be for political or national security reasons, for advertising purposes, a fighters main purpose is to establish air superiority over a battlefield. Since World War I, achieving and maintaining air superiority has been considered essential for victory in conventional warfare, the word fighter did not become the official English-language term for such aircraft until after World War I. In the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force these aircraft were referred to as scouts into the early 1920s, the U. S. Army called their fighters pursuit aircraft from 1916 until the late 1940s. In most languages a fighter aircraft is known as a hunter, exceptions include Russian, where a fighter is an истребитель, meaning exterminator, and Hebrew where it is matose krav. As a part of nomenclature, a letter is often assigned to various types of aircraft to indicate their use. In Russia I was used, while the French continue to use C and this has always been the case, for instance the Sopwith Camel and other fighting scouts of World War I performed a great deal of ground-attack work. Several aircraft, such as the F-111 and F-117, have received fighter designations but had no fighter capability due to political or other reasons, the F-111B variant was originally intended for a fighter role with the U. S. Navy, but it was cancelled. This blurring follows the use of fighters from their earliest days for attack or strike operations against ground targets by means of strafing or dropping small bombs, versatile multirole fighter-bombers such as the F/A-18 Hornet are a less expensive option than having a range of specialized aircraft types. An interceptor is generally an aircraft intended to target bombers and so often trades maneuverability for climb rate, fighters were developed in World War I to deny enemy aircraft and dirigibles the ability to gather information by reconnaissance. Early fighters were very small and lightly armed by later standards, and most were built with a wooden frame, covered with fabric. As control of the airspace over armies became increasingly important all of the major powers developed fighters to support their military operations, between the wars, wood was largely replaced by steel tubing, then aluminium tubing, and finally aluminium stressed skin structures began to predominate. By World War II, most fighters were all-metal monoplanes armed with batteries of guns or cannons. By the end of the war, turbojet engines were replacing piston engines as the means of propulsion, further increasing aircraft speed. Since the weight of the engine was so less than on piston engined fighters. This in turn required the development of ejection seats so the pilot could escape, in the 1950s, radar was fitted to day fighters, since pilots could no longer see far enough ahead to prepare for any opposition. Since then, radar capabilities have grown enormously and are now the method of target acquisition
United States
South Dakota
Air National Guard
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
