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.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
3.
Aberdeen Proving Ground
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Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Maryland. Part of the facility is a place, which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census. APG is the U. S. Armys oldest active proving ground, established on October 20,1917 and its location allowed design and testing of ordnance materiel to take place near contemporary industrial and shipping centers. The proving ground was created as a successor to the Sandy Hook Proving Ground, at the peak of World War II, APG had billeting space for 2,348 officers and 24,189 enlisted personnel. These poison gas manufacturing facilities came to be known as Edgewood Arsenal, Edgewood Arsenal included plants to manufacture mustard gas, chloropicrin and phosgene, and separate facilities to fill artillery shells with these chemicals. Production began in 1918, reached 2,756 tons per month, some of this gas was shipped overseas for use in French and British artillery shells. The Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground is approximately 13,000 acres, the Edgewood area was used for the development and testing of chemical agent munitions. From 1917 to the present, the Edgewood area conducted chemical research programs, manufactured chemical agents, and tested, stored, from 1955 to 1975, the U. S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified medical studies at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of chemical warfare agents on military personnel and to test protective clothing. About 7,000 soldiers took part in experiments that involved exposures to more than 250 different chemicals. Some of the volunteers exhibited symptoms at the time of exposure to these agents, the Gunpowder Meetinghouse and Presbury Meetinghouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other parts of APG not attached to the installation include the Churchville Test Area in Harford County. The eastern half Carroll Island was used as a location for open air static testing of chemical weapons since the 1950s. Simulant agents, incendiaries, decontaminating compounds, signaling and screening smokes, mustard, the test sites consisted of spray grids, a wind tunnel, test grids, and small buildings. Edgewood Chemical Activity is a depot located at APG. Elimination of the chemicals held here was put on an accelerated schedule after the September 11,2001, attacks, Fort Hoyle was established on October 7,1922, and was created from a portion of the Edgewood Arsenal. Named for Brigadier General Eli D, Fort Hoyle was officially disestablished as a separate military post when it was reabsorbed by Edgewood Arsenal on September 10,1940. The U. S. Army Ordnance Corps Museum previously located at APG, was moved to Fort Lee, Virginia as a result of the 2005 Base Relocation, APG is located at 39°28′24″N 76°8′27″W and occupies a land area of 293 square kilometres
4.
Maryland
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The states largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, the state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the colonial grant. Maryland was the state to ratify the United States Constitution. Maryland is one of the smallest U. S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles and is comparable in overall area with Belgium. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D. C. which sits on land that was part of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties and including the town of Georgetown. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. Close to the town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the states distance from seismic/earthquake zones. The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland, buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily. The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Marylands natural lakes, laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City and adjacent to Russett. Chews Lake is a natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro. There are numerous lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake. Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible, as is typical of states on the East Coast, Marylands plant life is abundant and healthy. Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay, moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state
5.
Major general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general, a major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps, some of these slots are reserved or finitely set by statute. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank and this list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for review before it can be sent to the President, through the Secretary of Defense for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the secretary, and if applicable. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, the Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once confirmed, the nominee is promoted to rank on assuming a position of office that requires an officer to hold the rank. For positions of office that are reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position, since the grade of major general is permanent, the rank does not expire when the officer vacates a two-star position. Tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, and/or when the officer receives a new assignment or a promotion, in the case of the Air National Guard, they may also serve as The Adjutant General for their state, commonwealth or territory. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement of general officers, all major generals must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer. Otherwise, all officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense may defer a general officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, because there are a finite number of General Officer positions, one officer must retire before another can be promoted. As a result, general officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. The rank of general was abolished in the U. S. Army by the Act of March 16,1802. Major general has been a rank in the U. S. Army ever since, to address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976. The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to three stars according to General Order No.6 of March 13,1861
6.
Distinctive unit insignia
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A distinctive unit insignia is a metallic heraldic badge or device worn by soldiers in the United States Army. The DUI design is derived from the coat of arms authorized for a unit, DUIs may also be called distinctive insignia, a crest or a unit crest by soldiers or collectors. The term crest however, in addition to being incorrect, may be misleading, the term crest properly refers to the portion of an achievement of arms which stands atop the helmet over the shield of arms. The U. S. Army Institute of Heraldry is responsible for the design, development, Distinctive ornamentation of a design desired by the organization was authorized for wear on the Mess Jacket uniform by designated organizations per General Order 132 dated December 31,1902. The distinctive ornamentation was described later as coats of arms, pins, the authority continued until omitted in the Army uniform regulation dated December 26,1911. Various organizations which carry colors or standards have generally submitted coats of arms having certain historical significance, as fast as approved these coats of arms will for the basis for regimental colors or standards which will eventually replace the present regimental colors or standards when these wear out. The use of coats of arms as collar ornaments in lieu of the insignia of corps, departments. The first unit to wear this insignia was the 51st Artillery which received approval for wear on March 18,1922 and it was designed by Master Gunner and Master Sergeant Edward C. Kuhn, the artist responsible for creating all authorized coats of arms, up until 1965, only regiments and separate battalions were authorized a coat of arms and distinctive units insignia. Now all major commands, field hospitals, corps, logistics commands and certain other units – groups, the unit commanding officer requests approval of a distinctive unit insignia. A check is made by the Institute of Heraldry to determine the availability of a current copy of the lineage, if such is not available, one is requested from the United States Army Center of Military History. The units history is reviewed to determine if the unit may inherit a previously approved distinctive unit insignia or if a new design should be made, if a new design is to be made, careful study is made of the history and battle honors of the unit. The most important decorations, honors, combat service and missions are represented in the design of the insignia, sometimes two centuries of history are condensed into symbolism for distinctive unit insignia. A proposed design is created and sent to the officer for review. Upon concurrence by the commander an official letter of approval of the distinctive unit insignia is sent to the unit. Manufacturing drawings and specifications are sent to a manufacturer which provides samples of the finished distinctive unit insignia to the Institute of Heraldry for approval. Once approved the manufacturer may produce this insignia, each manufacturer has an identifying hallmark assigned by the Institute of Heraldry which is applied to the back of the insignia. The shield shape design is used to identify color bearing organizations, other design patterns will be used for non-color bearing units
7.
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
8.
Alaska
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Alaska is a U. S. state located in the northwest extremity of North America. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas–the southern parts of the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 3rd least populous, approximately half of Alaskas residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaskas economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy. The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30,1867, the area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11,1912. It was admitted as the 49th state of the U. S. on January 3,1959, the name Alaska was introduced in the Russian colonial period when it was used to refer to the peninsula. It was derived from an Aleut, or Unangam idiom, which refers to the mainland of Alaska. Literally, it means object to which the action of the sea is directed, Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States and has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U. S. state on continental North America and it is technically part of the continental U. S. but is sometimes not included in colloquial use, Alaska is not part of the contiguous U. S. often called the Lower 48. The capital city, Juneau, is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. Alaskas territorial waters touch Russias territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian Big Diomede Island, Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other U. S. states combined. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by total area at 663,268 square miles, over twice the size of Texas, Alaska is larger than all but 18 sovereign countries. Counting territorial waters, Alaska is larger than the area of the next three largest states, Texas, California, and Montana. It is also larger than the area of the 22 smallest U. S. states. Also referred to as the Panhandle or Inside Passage, this is the region of Alaska closest to the rest of the United States, as such, this was where most of the initial non-indigenous settlement occurred in the years following the Alaska Purchase. The region is dominated by the Alexander Archipelago as well as the Tongass National Forest and it contains the state capital Juneau, the former capital Sitka, and Ketchikan, at one time Alaskas largest city. The Alaska Marine Highway provides a vital transportation link throughout the area. The Interior is the largest region of Alaska, much of it is uninhabited wilderness, Fairbanks is the only large city in the region
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Hawaii
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Hawaii is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States of America, having received statehood on August 21,1959. Hawaii is the only U. S. state located in Oceania and it is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only U. S. state not located in the Americas, the state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles. At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest to southeast, Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest island in the group, it is called the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania, Hawaii has over a million permanent residents, along with many visitors and U. S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii is the 8th-smallest and the 11th-least populous, but the 13th-most densely populated of the fifty U. S. states. It is the state with an Asian plurality. The states coastline is about 750 miles long, the fourth longest in the U. S. after the coastlines of Alaska, Florida, the state of Hawaii derives its name from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi. A common Hawaiian explanation of the name of Hawaiʻi is that was named for Hawaiʻiloa and he is said to have discovered the islands when they were first settled. The Hawaiian language word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-Polynesian *Sawaiki, cognates of Hawaiʻi are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori, Rarotongan and Samoan. According to linguists Pukui and Elbert, lsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiʻi or a cognate is the name of the underworld or of the home, but in Hawaii. A somewhat divisive political issue arose in 1978 when the Constitution of the State of Hawaii added Hawaiian as an official state language. The title of the constitution is The Constitution of the State of Hawaii. Article XV, Section 1 of the Constitution uses The State of Hawaii, diacritics were not used because the document, drafted in 1949, predates the use of the okina and the kahakō in modern Hawaiian orthography. The exact spelling of the name in the Hawaiian language is Hawaiʻi. In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the government recognized Hawaii as the official state name. Official government publications, department and office titles, and the Seal of Hawaii use the spelling with no symbols for glottal stops or vowel length
10.
Brigade Modernization Command
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The U. S. Army Joint Modernization Command, or JMC, was formerly the Brigade Modernization Command. The BMC was previously the Future Force Integration Directorate and it is subordinate to The U. S. Armys Training and Doctrine Command and is part of the Army Capabilities Integration Center. FFID was organized as a directorate of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, the first FFID operations began at Fort Bliss on June 15,2006. In December 2006, FFID was officially designated to exercise authority over the AETF. The AETF was officially activated on December 16,2006 as the 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, in March 2007, ARCIC approved additional personnel for a general officer staff organization, which replicated a division headquarters. Brig. Gen. James L. Terry, FFIDs first director, was welcomed in a ceremony on April 6,2007. The establishment phase was scheduled to continue through June 2007, on October 1,2007, FFID attained initial operational capability and assumed responsibility of FCS from the Unit of Action Maneuver Battle Laboratory based at Fort Knox, Ky. Distinguished visitors included the Secretary of Defense, Chief of Staff of the Army, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and other notable politicians, in April 2009, after the Secretary of Defense terminated the FCS program, FFID assumed responsibility for integrating BCT modernization for the Army. This included accelerated delivery of promising capabilities to the operating force and these Spin Out systems were bundled into capability packages, which would be evaluated and delivered incrementally in two year periods. In late 2010, the Army Vice Chief of Staff directed that FFID, along with Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range, today, BMC is focused on integrating test and evaluation events, including the Integrated Network Baseline Evaluation. The 2/1 AD conducts training and certification events to ensure individual, while the network is central to Army brigade modernization efforts, 2/1 AD soldiers provide critical feedback that allows the U. S. Army to make decisions on which capabilities to acquire. The Network Integration Evaluation is a series of semi-annual evaluations designed to establish a Network Baseline and then rapidly build, success will be based on what can be learned when the capabilities are put in the hands of Soldiers in the field. The Network Integration Evaluation will provide a means to evaluate relevant capabilities in parallel and make incremental improvements based upon a disciplined, the effort will facilitate rapid evaluation of commercial and government network solutions to establish a Network Baseline and then rapidly build from it. In addition to programs of record under test this June and July, the NIE events will help the Army achieve an agile process to optimize the BCT network. The 2012 Integrated Network Test will be the event that solidifies the 2013-2014 Network Capability Set. The capabilities are defined at the levels od the Secretary of the Army, there are currently 20 challenges for the Army to meet. In 2010, the U. S. Army attached 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division to the BMC, assigning it the mission previously held by the 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division. The 2/1 AD has been given the mission of validating the operational relevancy of solutions and it is an HBCT tasked organized that is equipped to replicate heavy, light and Stryker formations
United States
United States Army
