1.
Shoulder sleeve insignia
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A shoulder sleeve insignia, is an embroidered patch used by major formations of the United States Army. Each formation has a unique formation patch, and the U. S. Army is unique among the U. S, armed Forces in that all soldiers are required to wear the patch of their headquarters as part of their military uniforms. Shoulder sleeve insignia worn on the right shoulders on Army uniforms denote former wartime service. These combat patches are worn on the Army Combat Uniform but are not worn on the Army Service Uniform, instead a 2 inch metal replica is worn on the right breast pocket and is officially known as the Combat Service Identification Badge. Shoulder sleeve insignia were designed with intricate designs including bright colors. However, with the retirement of the Army Green Uniform in 2015, for combat uniforms, subdued versions have been created for wear on the battlefield. Full color SSI were only worn on the green Class A uniform, however, with the ACU, the MP brassard was replaced by a rectangular patch made of fabric or infrared-reflective material, reading MP. The subdued version of the SSI created for the Battle Dress Uniform features patches that are primarily olive, dark brown and black, in general, this version is obsolete because the Army phased out the BDU in favor of the Army Combat Uniform. A few examples remain, as older accessories, such as BDU winter weather jackets and coats are still in use by some units. These jackets still use the subdued BDU SSI, the subdued version created for the Desert Camouflage Uniform is primarily tan and Spice brown, to match the uniforms design. This version is obsolete, as the Army phased out DCUs in favor of ACUs. The subdued version created for the Army Combat Uniform is the widely used in the field today. Since the Army-wide adoption of the ACU, SSI for the ACU have been developed and these SSI are primarily foliage green, light brown, and black, though a few patches also feature red and maroon colors for some details. Unlike previous patches, the ACU SSI are velcro, designed to attach to the velcro pockets on the shoulder of the uniform and this makes them easier to remove and replace. Since the development of the Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern uniform new SSI have been procured where the Foliage green of the ACU SSI is replaced by Bagby green, velcro remains the method for attaching the SSI to the uniform. Well-recognized examples are the shoulder insignia for the 1st Infantry Division. In the U. S. Army, the SSI is worn on the upper arm, just below the uniforms shoulder seam on all. On the Army Combat Uniform the SSI is attached to a backing and is then centered on rectangle of velcro on the arm
2.
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
3.
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
4.
Fort Myer
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Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U. S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D. C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Whipple, the post merged in 2005 with the neighboring Marine Corps installation, Henderson Hall, Fort Myer was established as Fort Whipple, after Brevet Major General Amiel Weeks Whipple, who died in May 1863, during the Civil War. Whipple Field was named in his honor and it had a perimeter of 658 yards, and places for 43 guns. On Feb.4,1881, the post was renamed for Brigadier General Albert J. Myer, the National Weather Service was originated there by General Albert J. Myer in 1870. Fort Myer was the site of the first flight of an aircraft at a military installation, several exhibition flights by Orville Wright took place there in 1908 and 1909. Selfridge suffered a concussion in the crash and later died, the first person to die in powered fixed-wing aircraft, Orville was badly injured, suffering broken ribs and a leg. It has been the home of every succeeding Chief of Staff, the first radio telecommunications NAA was at Fort Myer in 1913. The US Navy built The Three Sisters which were three towers that established the first communication across the sea to Paris, France in 1915. During World War I, Fort Myer was an area for a large number of engineering, artillery. The area of Fort Myer now occupied by Andrew Rader Health Clinic, General George S. Patton Jr. who was posted at Fort Myer four different times, started the charitable Society Circus after World War I. He ultimately was Post Commander and commanded the 3rd Cavalry Regiment that was stationed at Fort Myer from the 1920s to 1942 when the regiment was sent to Georgia to get mechanized. In late 2001, troops, deployed in response to the September 11th attacks, were bivouacked at Fort Myer and these troops were under Operation Noble Eagle. These included both active and National Guard Military Police units from around the nation, in 2005 the last remaining deployed responders were demobilized. These installations and departments serve over 150,000 active duty, DoD civilian, the fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972, for its well-preserved concentration of cavalry facilities and officers quarters, and for its importance in military aviation history. On September 1,1970, the United States Postal Service issued its first day cover of a postcard celebrating the 100th anniversary of Weather Services at Fort Myer
5.
United States military bands
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United States military bands include musical ensembles maintained by the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, and United States Coast Guard. During the colonial period, most British army units posted in the area that would become the United States had bands attached, the first recorded instance of a local American military band was in 1653 in the New Hampshire militia. The oldest extant United States military band is the United States Marine Corps Band, formed in 1798, currently, the U. S. armed forces field eleven premier ensembles, as well as more than 100 smaller, active-duty and reserve bands. Most bands of the U. S. armed forces reconfigure into combat units during wartime during which they have non-musical responsibilities, including guarding prisoners of war, all U. S. military bands are composed of regularly enlisted or commissioned military personnel. One exception to this is the U. S. Coast Guard Pipe Band, for hundreds of years, military forces have used music to signal their troops. According to research by the U. S, armed Forces School of Music, the first complete military band in the American colonies was organized in New Hampshire in 1653 with an instrumentation of 15 oboes and two drums. At the outset of the American Revolution, United States military units primarily relied on fife, I never felt such a sensation before—it seemed to crown our disgrace. In the enabling legislation authorizing the creation of the Marines, Congress authorized the funding of a Drum-Major, Fife Major and 32 musicians. This band, the U. S. Marine Band, as of 2015 remains the oldest extant military music organization in the United States and, indeed, the establishment of regular U. S. armed forces brought with it a standardization of uniforms. The modern bugle was first introduced to American military units around the time of the War of 1812, during that conflict, only the Rifle Regiment was authorized to use the bugle. All other American forces were required to continue using the traditional American fife, gradually, however, bugles became more widely adopted by the United States military. In 1855 United States Marine Band director Francesco Scala adopted the helmet for that bands drum-major in emulation of European trends. At the time of the American Civil War, U. S. Army bands had a strength of 24 musicians for infantry units. The proposal was shelved in the face of opposition from officers and soldiers, however, nonetheless, a survey in October 1861 found that 75-percent of Union regiments had a band and, by December of that year, the Union Army had 28,000 musicians in 618 bands. Bandsmen were also, for the first time, tasked with performing duties in addition to musical performance, frequently as stretcher-bearers. Musicians were often given special privileges, Union general Phillip Sheridan gave his cavalry bands the best horses and special uniforms, believing music has done its share, and more than its share, in winning this war. By the early 1900s military bands were being established in the reaches of the American colonial empire. Most notable among them was the Philippine Constabulary Band under the direction of Walter Loving, the regimental bands of these newly formed units were frequently led by black blues and jazz musicians experienced performing in the clubs of New York and Chicago
6.
Tan Son Nhut Air Base
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Tan Son Nhut Air Base was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force facility. It is located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam, the United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War, stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there. Following the Fall of Saigon, it was taken over as a Vietnam Peoples Air Force facility, Tan Son Nhat International Airport, has been a major Vietnamese civil airport since the 1920s. Flights to and from France, as well as within Southeast Asia were available prior to World War II, during World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army used Tan Son Nhat as a transport base. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, the French Air Force flew a contingent of 150 troops into Tan Son Nhat, after World War II, Tân Sơn Nhất served domestic as well as international flights from Saigon. In 1953, Tan Son Nhut started being used as a air base for the fledgling Vietnamese Armée de lAir. But even before that time, French and Vietnamese military aircraft were in evidence at Tan Son Nhut, on 1 July 1955, the VNAF was established as a separate and distinct military unit. The VNAF consisted of 58 aircraft and about 1,300 personnel, the French had made no effort to expand the SVNAF to a force able to defend South Vietnam. Aircraft consisted primarily of C-47 Skytrains, and Grumman F8F Bearcats, in May 1956, by agreement with the South Vietnamese government, the United States Air Force assumed some training and administrative roles of the VNAF. Teams from Clark Air Force Base began in 1957 to organize the VNAF into a model of the USAF when the French training contracts expired, the build-up of the VNAF caused air units to become very visible on the base. On 4 January 1964, the VNAF 3311th Wing was organized at Tan Son Nhut, by the mid-1960s, Tan Son Nhut Airport was reported as the busiest airport in the world, with a mix of air traffic that approached chaotic proportions. As the headquarters for the South Vietnamese Air Force, Tan Son Nhut was primarily a command base, at Tan Son Nhut, the VNAFs system of command and control was developed over the years with assistance from the USAF. The system handled the flow of aircraft from take-off to target area and this was known as the Tactical Air Control System, and it assured positive control of all areas where significant combat operations were performed. Without this system, it would not have been possible for the VNAF to deploy its forces effectively where needed, the TACS was in close proximity to the headquarters of the VNAF and USAF forces in South Vietnam, and commanders of both Air Forces utilized its facilities. Subordinate to TACS was the Direct Air Support Centers assigned to each of corps areas, dASCs were responsible for the deployment of aircraft located within their sector in support of ground operations. Operating under each DASC were numerous Tactical Air Control Party, manned by one or more VNAF/USAF personnel posted with the South Vietnamese Army ground forces. A communications network inked these three levels of command and control, giving the TACS overall control of the South Vietnamese air situation at all times, additional information was provided by a radar network that covered all of South Vietnam and beyond, monitoring all strike aircraft. Another function of Tan Son Nhut Air Base was a South Vietnamese Air Force recruiting center, the plotters invited loyalist officers to a routine lunch meeting at JGS and captured them in the afternoon of November 1,1963
7.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
8.
General of the Armies
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The General of the Armies of the United States, or more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest possible rank in the United States Armed Forces. The rank is informally equated to that of a six star general and is the highest possible rank of the United States Army. The rank has only held twice in history – once by an active duty officer with a further posthumous promotion to George Washington in 1978. The rank of General of the Armies is senior to General of the Army, General of the Air Force, appointment to the rank or grade of General of the Armies of the United States has a history spanning over two centuries. In the course of its existence the authority and seniority of the rank, the first mention of the rank General of the Armies was in an Act of the United States Congress on March 3,1799. However, only a few months after the Congressional proposal, Washington died on December 14,1799. The United States Army at that time had also reduced in size and there was no practical need for a superior General rank. In 1865, after the close of the American Civil War, the result was the creation of a special rank called General of the Army of the United States, which was held by Ulysses S. Grant. William T. Sherman, and Philip Sheridan would also hold the position, by Sheridans tenure, the insignia had been changed to that of a major general superimposed upon a golden national eagle. This change was made since the United States Army of the 1880s had no rank of lieutenant general, the rank of General of the Army of the United States ceased to exist upon the death of Sheridan in 1888. The next proposal to create a general rank would occur thirty one years later during the First World War. In the interim, the highest possible general officer rank of the United States Army was that of major general. Within the United States Navy, three and four star ranks continued into the 20th century, leading to the creation of the Admiral of the Navy rank in 1903. George Dewey was appointed this rank which, at the time of its creation, was considered a four-star admiral with an honorary title. A comparison between Admiral of the Navy and General of the Armies was first made in 1944, although the rank of Admiral of the Navy was never declared equal in seniority. During World War I, the United States Congress authorized the appointment of three and four lieutenant generals to be granted temporarily for service in the National Army. Bliss and John J. Pershing were promoted to general in October 1917, March was promoted in May 1918. Hunter Liggett and Robert Lee Bullard were both promoted to Army lieutenant general on October 16,1918, in 1919, by Congressional directive, the rank of General of the Armies was formally established and John J. Pershing became the first person to hold the rank
United States of America
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This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Center of Military History document "The United States Army Band Lineage and Honors (16 Aug 2001)".
