1.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
2.
Mountrail County, North Dakota
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Mountrail County is a county located in the northwestern part of North Dakota, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,673, the county was originally created in 1873, then removed in 1892, annexed by Ward County. It was re-created and organized in 1909, oil production from the Bakken formation in the early 21st century has attracted workers and reversed decades of population decline in the county. From 2010 to 2015, especially, population has markedly increased, Mountrail County was first established in 1873 by the Dakota Territorial Legislature. The boundaries extended from the Missouri River north to the border with Canada, at the November 3,1908, general election, a vote was held in Ward County on whether to recreate Mountrail with different boundaries. The vote was 4,207 to 4,024 in favor of the new county, organization of the new Mountrail County was delayed until the Supreme Court affirmed the vote in January 1909. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,942 square miles. Mountrail County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin, burke County Ward County McLean County Dunn County McKenzie County Williams County U. S. The population density was 4 people per square mile, there were 3,438 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile. 1. 31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,37. 1% were of Norwegian and 15. 4% German ancestry. 28. 50% of all households were made up of individuals and 14. 60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09. In the county, the population was out with 28. 10% under the age of 18,6. 80% from 18 to 24,23. 20% from 25 to 44,24. 20% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males, the median income for a household in the county was $27,098, and the median income for a family was $31,864. Males had an income of $24,750 versus $20,844 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,422, about 14. 00% of families and 19. 30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23. 40% of those under age 18 and 18. 30% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 7,673 people,2,793 households, the population density was 4.2 inhabitants per square mile. There were 4,119 housing units at a density of 2.3 per square mile
3.
Victory ship
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The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. A total of 531 Victory ships were built, one of the first acts of the United States War Shipping Administration upon its formation in February 1942 was to commission the design of what came to be known as the Victory class. The design was an enhancement of the Liberty ship, which had successfully produced in extraordinary numbers. Victory ships were larger than Liberty ships,14 feet longer at 455 feet,6 feet wider at 62 ft. Displacement was up just under 1,000 tons, to 15,200, with a raised forecastle and a more sophisticated hull shape to help achieve the higher speed, they had a quite different appearance from Liberty ships. To make them vulnerable to U-boat attacks, Victory ships made 15 to 17 knots,4 to 6 knots faster than the Libertys. The extra speed was achieved through more modern, efficient engines, most used steam turbines, which had been in short supply earlier in the war and reserved for warships. All were oil-fired, but for a handful of Canadian vessels completed with both coal bunkers and oil tanks, another improvement was electrically powered auxiliary equipment, rather than steam-driven machinery. To prevent the hull fractures that a few Liberty ships developed and these were manned by United States Navy Armed Guard personnel. The VC2-S-AP5 Haskell-class attack transports were armed with the 5-inch stern gun, one quad 40 mm Bofors cannon, four dual 40 mm Bofors cannon, the Haskells were operated and crewed exclusively by U. S. Navy personnel. The Victory ship was noted for good proportion of cubic between holds for a ship of its day. A Victory ships cargo hold one, two and five hatches are a single rigged with a capacity of 70,400,76,700, and 69,500 bale cubic feet respectively. Victory ships hold three and four hatches are double rigged with a capacity of 136,100 and 100,300 bale cubic feet respectively. Victory ship have built in mast, booms and derrick cranes, the first vessel was SS United Victory launched at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation on 12 January 1944 and completed on 28 February 1944, making her maiden voyage a month later. American vessels frequently had a name incorporating the word Victory, the British and Canadians used Fort and Park respectively. Although initial deliveries were slow—only 15 had been delivered by May 1944—by the end of the war 531 had been constructed, because the Atlantic battle had been won by the time that the first of the Victory ships appeared none were sunk by U-boats. Three were sunk by Japanese kamikaze attack in April of 1945, many Victory ships were converted to troopship to bring US soldiers home at the end of World War II as part of Operation Magic Carpet. A total of 97 Victory ships were converted to carry up to 1,600 soldiers
4.
United States Maritime Commission
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It also formed the United States Maritime Service for the training of seagoing ships officers to man the new fleet. The purpose of the Maritime Commission was multifold as described in the Merchant Marine Acts Declaration of Policy. S, Merchant Marine prior to the Act. Another function given to the Commission involved the formation of the U. S. Maritime Service for the training of seagoing ships officers to man the new fleet, the actual licensing of officers and seamen still resided with the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation. President Roosevelt nominated Joseph P. Kennedy first head of the Commission, Kennedy held that position until February 1938 when he left to become US Ambassador to Great Britain. The other four members of the Commission in the years before the beginning of World War II were a mix of retired officers and men from disciplines of law. The man most notable in the group Land brought to the Commission was Commander Howard L. Vickery, USN, as a symbol of the rebirth of the U. S. Upon the U. S. entry into World War II, America was requisitioned by the U. S. Navy and became USS West Point. Most of the C2s and C3s were converted to Navy auxiliaries, notably attack cargo ships, attack transports, the Commission also was tasked with the construction of many hundred military type vessels such as Landing Ship, Tank s and Tacoma-class frigates and large troop transports. By the end of the war, U. S. shipyards working under Maritime Commission contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant, in early 1942 both the training and licensing was transferred to the U. S. S. With the end of World War II, both the Emergency and Long Range shipbuilding programs were terminated as there were far too many merchant vessels now for the Nations peacetime needs. In 1946, the Merchant Ship Sales Act was passed to sell off a portion of the ships previously built during the war to commercial buyers. Although not sold outright to nations that were enemies during the war, for the next 25 years, in ports all around the world one could find dozens of ships which had been built during the war but which now were used in peace. Ships not disposed of through the Ship Sales Act were placed one of eight National Defense Reserve Fleet sites maintained on the Atlantic, Pacific. On several occasions in the postwar years ships in the fleets were activated for both military and humanitarian aid missions. The last major mobilization of the NDRF came during the Vietnam War, since then, a smaller fleet of ships called the Ready Reserve Force has been mobilized to support both humanitarian and military missions. The Maritime Commission was abolished on 24 May 1950, and its functions were divided between the U. S. S. Merchant Marine Academy which had built and opened during World War II. 1936, Merchant Marine Act abolishes Shipping Board and establishes Maritime Commission,1937, Joseph P. S. merchant shipping has been held by many agencies since 1917
5.
Richmond, California
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Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7,1905, under the McLaughlin Administration, Richmond was the largest city in the United States served by a Green Party mayor. As of the 2010 U. S. Census, the population is at 103,710. The largest, Richmond, Virginia, is the namesake of the California city, the Ohlone Indians were the first inhabitants of the Richmond area, settling an estimated 5,000 years ago. The name Richmond appears to predate actual incorporation by more than fifty years, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad had its terminus at Richmond. The first post office opened in 1900, Richmond was founded and incorporated in 1905, carved out of Rancho San Pablo, from which the nearby town of San Pablo inherited its name. Until the enactment of prohibition in 1919, the city had the largest winery in the world, in the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan was active in the city. In 1930 the Ford Motor Company opened a plant called Richmond Assembly Plant which moved to Milpitas in the 1960s. The old Ford plant has been a National Historic Place since 1988, the city was a small town at that time, until the onset of World War II which brought on a rush of migrants and a boom in the industrial sector. Standard Oil set up here in 1901, including a what is now the Chevron Richmond Refinery and tank farm. There is a pier into San Francisco Bay south of Point Molate for oil tankers, the western terminus of the Santa Fe Railroad was established in Richmond with ferry connections at Ferry Point in the Brickyard Cove area of Point Richmond to San Francisco. Many of these lived in specially constructed houses scattered throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Richmond, Berkeley. A specially built rail line, the Shipyard Railway, transported workers to the shipyards, kaisers Richmond shipyards built 747 Victory and Liberty ships for the war effort, more than any other site in the U. S. The city broke many records and even built one Liberty ship in a five days. On average the yards could build a ship in thirty days, the medical system established for the shipyard workers at the Richmond Field Hospital eventually became todays Kaiser Permanente HMO. It remained in operation until 1993 when it was replaced by the modern Richmond Medical Center hospital, Point Richmond was originally the commercial hub of the city, but a new downtown arose in the center of the city. It was populated by many department stores such as Kress, J. C. Penney, Sears, Macys, during the war the population increased dramatically and peaked at around 120,000 by the end of the war. Once the war ended the workers were no longer needed
6.
International Code of Signals
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The International Code of Signals is an international system of signals and codes for use by vessels to communicate important messages regarding safety of navigation and related matters. Signals can be sent by flaghoist, signal lamp, flag semaphore, radiotelegraphy, the International Code is the most recent evolution of a wide variety of maritime flag signalling systems. It has done this by first establishing an alphabet, along with a spoken form of each letter. Combinations of these characters are assigned as codes for various standardized messages. One simply raises the Kilo flag, or sends the Morse Code equivalent by flashing light, one of the elegant aspects of the ICS is that all of the standardized messages come in nine languages. It is immaterial if the sender and receiver are using different languages, the code also covers procedural aspects, how naval ships indicate that they are using the ICS, use in radiotelephony, and various other matters. Prior to 1969, the code was more extensive, covering a wider range of messages. Since 1969, it has reduced to focus on navigation and safety. Signals can be sorted into three groups, Single-letter signals which are very urgent, important, or common, two-letter signals for other messages, sometimes followed with a numerical complement which supplements or modifies the message. Three-letter signals beginning with M, these are the Medical Signal Codes, in some cases, additional characters are added to indicate quantities, bearing, course, distance, date, time, latitude, or longitude. There is also provision for spelling words and for indicating use of other codes, several of the more common single-letter signals are shown at the right. Two-letter signals cover a broad gamut of situations, the reader is urged to download a copy of the Code from the link below. Repeated characters can be a problem in flaghoist, to avoid having to carry multiple sets of signal flags, the Code uses three substitute flags. These repeat the flag at the indicated position, for instance, to signal MAA the Mike, Alfa, and 2nd substitute flags would be flown, the substitute indicating a repeat of the second character. The Medical Signal Code is a means of providing assistance when medical personnel are not present, even where there are no language problems, the Medical Signal Code is useful in providing a standard method of case description and treatment. There is also a standard list of medicaments, keyed to a standard ships medicine chest carried by all merchant ships, the Medical signals all begin with the letter M followed by two more letters, and sometimes with additional numerals or letters. The International Code of Signals was preceded by a variety of signals and private signals, most notably Marryats Code. What is now the International Code of Signals was drafted in 1855 by the British Board of Trade and it came in two parts, the first containing universal and international signals, and the second British signals only
7.
Service star
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The service star may also be referred to as a campaign star or battle star depending on which award is authorized the star and the manner in which the device is used for the award. Service stars, Campaign stars, and Battle stars are worn with one point of the star pointing up on the ribbon of a medal. A silver star is worn instead of five bronze stars, a service star is sometimes mistaken for a Bronze Star or Silver Star. The service star is similar to the gold and silver 5⁄16 Inch Stars which may be authorized to be worn on specific individual decorations of certain services to denote additional decorations. Service stars are authorized for the following United States expeditionary medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Service stars are also authorized for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal effective February 9,2015 retroactive to September,11,2001. Each star represents a deployment in support of an approved GWOT operation, only one GWOT-EM is awarded for each operation. The five GWOT-EM approved operations by inclusive dates are, Enduring Freedom,11,2001 - TBD Iraqi Freedom, Mar.19,2003 - Aug.31, 2010Nomad Shadow, Nov.05,2007 - TBD New Dawn, Sep. 01,2010 - Dec.31,2011 Inherent Resolve, the bronze service star is also authorized for certain unit awards such as the Presidential Unit Citation to denote a second and subsequent award. The service ribbon itself indicates the first award, with a service star being added to indicate the second. If ever applicable, a service star is worn instead of five bronze stars. As a result, at least one star will be worn on the ribbon. However, though authorized for wear, no battle stars have been approved for wear, only a combatant commander can initiate a request for a battle star. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the approving authority, only one award of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and one award of the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal may be authorized for any individual. The specific manner of wear and symbolism of the stars varied from medal to medal, for example, an American Campaign Medal with a bronze service star indicated the service member had participated in an antisubmarine campaign. On other medals, bronze service stars were used on the service ribbon for those recipients of medals in possession of authorized campaign claps for those medals. Similarly, during the Vietnam War and afterwards, the Battle Effectiveness Award took the place of receiving battle stars for superior battle efficiency in place of combat operations. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices 5/16 inch star Oak leaf cluster United States award regulations for World War II
8.
United States Navy reserve fleets
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The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the Mothball Fleet. While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, in some cases, many ships were successfully reactivated at a considerable savings in time and money. The usual fate of ships in the fleet, though, is to become too old and obsolete to be of any use. In November 1976, the organization was the Inactive Ship Division of the Naval Ship Systems Command. Since 2004, the organization is called the Navy Inactive Fleet. As of 2011, the organization actually appears to be the Inactive Ships Management Office of the Program Executive Officer - Ships, Naval Sea Systems Command, Portsmouth. Merchant ships held in reserve are managed as part of the separate National Defense Reserve Fleet within MARAD, several of its sites, such as at Suisun Bay in California, are also used to store regular Navy ships. Ships placed in the fleets are categorized depending on priority, funding. Category B Ships in this category are prioritized over the other categories when it comes to maintenance and they are retained for possible future mobilization and will receive updates and upgrades as funding permits. Category C These are ships that will be maintained as-is, meaning no updates or improvements unless funding becomes available after that assigned for category B ships has been exhausted, category D Temporary state pending planned usage by the Navy, will be maintained as-is. Category X Ships stricken from the Naval Vessel Register awaiting disposal, receives no maintenance except ships on donation hold which undergoes dehumidification and cathodic protection. Category Z This category is for nuclear-powered ships and related support ships pending disposal, around 1912, the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and the Pacific Reserve Fleet were established as reserve units, still operating ships, but on a greatly reduced schedule. For example, USS Brock was underway for Green Cove Springs, Florida, Brock arrived there on 13 April 1945, and joined the Florida Group, 16th Fleet, which later became the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. S. These Liberty Ships were also used as the support vessel for its fleet of warships. It was a race between how fast the U. S. could build ships and how fast the German U-Boats could sink them. Most of these Liberty Ships when deactivated were put into mothball fleets strategically located around the coasts of the U. S and they began to be deactivated and scrapped in the early 1970s. The groups of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet were at Boston, Charleston, Green Cove Springs, Florida, New London, MOTBY/New York Harbor, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Texas. The groups of the Pacific Reserve Fleet were at Alameda, Bremerton, Columbia River, Long Beach, Mare Island, San Diego, San Francisco, Stockton, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington
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United States
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the 
