1.
General (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force, General is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other uniformed services. 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,198 for the Air Force, and 162 for the Navy. No more than about 25% of an active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service. This is set at 7 four-star Army generals,9 four-star Air Force generals,2 four-star Marine Generals, several of these slots are reserved by statute. For example, the two highest-ranking members of service are designated as four-star generals. In addition, for the National Guard, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a general under active duty in the Army or Air Force. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions e. g. the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the President may add four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the Presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency and their active rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. For some positions, statute allows the President to waive those requirements for a nominee deemed to serve national interests, the nominee must be confirmed by the United States Senate before the appointee can take office and assume the rank. Four-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, service vice chiefs serve for a nominal four years, but are commonly reassigned after one or two years. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps serves for two years, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau serves a nominal four years. Some statutory limits can be waived in times of emergency or war. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement, a four-star general must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to serve longer. Otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday, however, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officers 68th birthday. General officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. Since only a number of four-star slots are available to each service
2.
Paul J. Selva
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Paul Joseph Selva is a United States Air Force General who is the 10th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, he is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the nations second highest-ranking military officer, and he assumed his current assignment on July 31,2015. Selva is Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, prior to his current assignment General Selva was the U. S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill. where he was responsible for managing all global air, land and he has held numerous staff positions and has commanded at the squadron, group, wing and headquarters levels. He is also a graduate of Abilene Christian University, the Air Command and Staff College, Selva is a command pilot with more than 3,100 hours in the C-5, C-17A, C-141B, C-37, KC-10, KC-135A and T-37. He has served in a number of positions including as Commander of the 9th Air Refueling Squadron, 60th Operations Group, 62nd Airlift Wing. He was promoted to rank in November 2012 and assumed command of Air Mobility Command. Selva was mooted as President Barack Obamas nominee for Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in news reports the day before the nomination was to be made, on May 5,2015. The report also named General Joseph Dunford, USMC, who was at the serving as Commandant of the Marine Corps. June 1980 - July 1981, student, undergraduate pilot training, Reese AFB, July 1981 - December 1984, co-pilot and aircraft commander, 917th Air Refueling Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas 3. January 1984 - December 1988, co-pilot, aircraft commander, instructor pilot, August 1991 - July 1992, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.6. July 1992 - June 1994, instructor pilot and flight commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, later, Commander, 722d Operations Support Squadron, March AFB, Calif. June 1994 - June 1995, Commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, later, Deputy Commander, 60th Operations Group, Travis AFB, July 1995 - June 1996, National Defense Fellow, Secretary of Defense Strategic Studies Group, Rosslyn, Va.9. July 1996 - August 1998, assistant to the Director, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Net Assessment, August 1998 - July 2000, Commander, 60th Operations Group, Travis AFB, Calif. July 2000 - June 2002, Commander, 62d Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, June 2002 - June 2003, Vice Commander, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, Ill.13. June 2003 - November 2004, Commander, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, December 2004 - August 2006, Director of Operations, U. S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.15, August 2006 - June 2007, Director, Air Force Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U. S. Air Force, Washington, D. C.16. October 2008 - October 2011, Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, October 2011 - November 2012, Vice Commander, Pacific Air Forces, Joint-Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii 19
3.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
4.
United States Department of Defense
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The Department is the largest employer in the world, with nearly 1.3 million active duty servicemen and women as of 2016. Adding to its employees are over 801,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists from the four services and it is headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D. C. The Department of Defense is headed by the Secretary of Defense, Military operations are managed by nine regional or functional Unified Combatant Commands. The Department of Defense also operates several joint services schools, including the National Defense University, the history of the defense of the United States started with the Continental Congress in 1775. The creation of the United States Army was enacted on 14 June 1775 and this coincides with the American holiday Flag Day. The Second Continental Congress would charter the United States Navy, on 13 October 1775, today, both the Navy and the Marine Corps are separate military services subordinate to the Department of the Navy. The Preamble of the United States Constitution gave the authority to federal government, to defend its citizens and this first Congress had a huge agenda, that of creating legislation to build a government for the ages. Legislation to create a military defense force stagnated, two separate times, President George Washington went to Congress to remind them of their duty to establish a military. In a special message to Congress on 19 December 1945, the President cited both wasteful military spending and inter-departmental conflicts, deliberations in Congress went on for months focusing heavily on the role of the military in society and the threat of granting too much military power to the executive. The act placed the National Military Establishment under the control of a single Secretary of Defense, the National Military Establishment formally began operations on 18 September, the day after the Senate confirmed James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense on 10 August 1949, under the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958, channels of authority within the department were streamlined, while still maintaining the authority of the Military Departments. Also provided in this legislation was a centralized authority, the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Act moved decision-making authority from the Military Departments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and it also strengthened the command channel of the military over U. S. forces from the President to the Secretary of Defense. Written and promoted by the Eisenhower administration, it was signed into law 6 August 1958, because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, the statutory authority of the Secretary of Defense is derived from their constitutional authorities. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the relationships within the Department. The latest version, signed by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in December 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987, the Office of the Secretary of Defense is the Secretary and Deputy Secretarys civilian staff. S. Government departments and agencies, foreign governments, and international organizations, OSD also performs oversight and management of the Defense Agencies and Department of Defense Field Activities. OSD also supervises the following Defense Agencies, Several defense agencies are members of the United States Intelligence Community and these are national-level intelligence services that operate under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense but simultaneously fall under the authorities of the Director of National Intelligence
5.
Joint Chiefs of Staff
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After the 1986 reorganization of the military undertaken by the Goldwater-Nichols Act, the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not have operational command of U. S. military forces. Today, their responsibility is to ensure the personnel readiness, policy. The Joint Chiefs of Staff also act in an advisory capacity for the President of the United States. However, the Coast Guard is always a service and may operate under the Department of the Navy during wartime. The commandant of the Coast Guard is however, occasionally invited by the chairman to attend meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As the military of the United States grew in size following the American Civil War, the Army and Navy were unsupportive of each other at either the planning or operational level and were constrained by disagreements during the Spanish–American War in the Caribbean campaigns. The Joint Board acting as a committee was created to plan joint operations. Yet, the Joint Board accomplished little as its charter gave it no authority to enforce its decisions, the Joint Board also lacked the ability to originate its own opinions and was thus limited to commenting only on the problems submitted to it by the Secretaries of War and Navy. As a result, the Joint Board had little to no impact on the manner the United States conducted World War I, after World War I, in 1919 the two Secretaries agreed to reestablish and revitalize the Joint Board. The mission of the General staff was to develop plans for mobilization for the next war, the US was always designated Blue and potential enemies were assigned various other colors. This time, the Joint Boards membership would include the Chiefs of Staff, their deputies, under the Joint Board would be a staff called the Joint Planning Committee to serve the Board. Along with new membership, the Joint Board could initiate recommendations on its own initiative, however, the Joint Board still did not possess the legal authority to enforce its decisions. President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill established the Combined Chiefs of Staff during the 1942 Arcadia Conference, the CCS would serve as the supreme military body for strategic direction of the combined US-British Empire war effort. The UK portion of the CCS would be composed of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Joint Board had little influence during the war and was ultimately disbanded in 1947. Modeled on the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, the JCS first formal meeting was held on 9 February 1942, to coordinate U. S. military operations between War and Navy Departments. On 20 July 1942, Admiral Leahy became the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, with the chiefs of staff of the services serving under his leadership. The first members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were, As the table indicates, by the end of the war, however, each had been promoted, Leahy and King to Fleet Admiral, Marshall and Arnold to General of the Army. Arnold was later appointed to the grade of General of the Air Force, one of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs committees was the Joint Strategic Survey Committee
6.
Joint Requirements Oversight Council
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For Acquisition Category ID and IAM programs, the JROC makes recommendations to the Defense Acquisition Board or Information Technology Acquisition Board, based on such reviews. The JROC is chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, moreover, the JROC charters Functional Capabilities Boards. These boards are chaired by a JROC-designated chair and, for appropriate topics, the JROC, at its discretion, may review any Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System issues which may have joint interest or impact. The JROC also validates key performance parameters
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.
United States Secretary of Defense
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The Secretary of Defense is the leader and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense, an Executive Department of the Government of the United States of America. The Secretary of Defenses power over the United States military is only to that of the President. This position corresponds to what is known as a Defense Minister in many other countries. The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, Secretary of Defense is a statutory office, and the general provision in 10 U. S. C. This is also extended to the United States Coast Guard during any period of time in which its command, only the Secretary of Defense can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three Military Departments and the nine Combatant Commands. The current Secretary of Defense is retired United States Marine Corps general James Mattis, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established in 1775, in concurrence with the American Revolution. Based on the experiences of World War II, proposals were made on how to more effectively manage the large combined military establishment. The Army generally favored centralization while the Navy had institutional preferences for decentralization, the resulting National Security Act of 1947 was largely a compromise between these divergent viewpoints. The Act merged the Department of War with the Department of the Navy to form the National Military Establishment, the Act also separated the Army Air Forces from the Department of the Army to become its own branch of service, the Department of the Air Force. At first, each of the service secretaries maintained quasi-cabinet status, the position of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the number two position in the department, was also created at this time. The last major revision of the framework concerning the position was done in the Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. In particular, it elevated the status of joint service for commissioned officers, making it in practice a requirement before appointments to general officer and flag officer grades could be made. Because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, as the head of DoD, all officials, employees and service members are under the Secretary of Defense. All of these positions, civil and military, require Senate confirmation. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the relationships within the Department. The latest version, signed by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in December 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987, the name of the principally military staff organization, organized under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the Joint Staff. In addition, there is the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, which is the ribbon and unit award issued to joint DoD activities. While the approval authority for DSSM, DMSM, JSCM, JSAM and JMUA is delegated to inferior DoD officials, Permanent Representative to NATO in recognition of U. S
9.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
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The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is, by U. S. The post of a statutory and permanent Joint Chiefs of Staff chair was created by the 1949 amendments to the National Security Act of 1947, the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act elevated the Chairman from the first among equals to becoming the principal military advisor to the President and Secretary of Defense. The National Military Command Center is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate, the Goldwater-Nichols Act places the chain of command from the President to the Secretary of Defense directly to the commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands. However the services chiefs do have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources, the Chairman may also transmit communications to the combatant commanders from the President and Secretary of Defense as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary. He also performs all other functions prescribed under 10 U. S. C. §153 or allocates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in the joint staff under his name. The principal deputy to the Chairman is the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, another 4-star general or admiral, who among many duties chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is assisted by the Joint Staff, led by the Director of the Joint Staff, the National Military Command Center is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, served as the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief from July 20,1942 to March 21,1949. He presided over meetings of what was called the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chairman is nominated by the President for appointment and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. The Chairman and Vice Chairman may not be members of the armed force service branch. However, the President may waive that restriction for a period of time in order to provide for the orderly transition of officers appointed to serve in those positions. However, in a time of war or national emergency, there is no limit to how many times an officer can be reappointed to serve as Chairman, historically, the Chairman has served two terms. By statute, the Chairman is appointed as a general or admiral while holding office. All pay for officers, however, is limited by Level II of the Executive Schedule which is $15,125.10.1, Functions of the Department of Defense. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 Functions of the Department of Defense, office of the Secretary Defense, Director of Administration and Management, Directorate for Organizational & Management Planning. Official Joint Chiefs of Staff site
10.
The Pentagon
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The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D. C. As a symbol of the U. S. military, The Pentagon is often used metonymically to refer to the U. S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon was designed by American architect George Bergstrom, and built by general contractor John McShain of Philadelphia. Ground was broken for construction on September 11,1941, General Brehon Somervell provided the major motive power behind the project, Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U. S. Army. The Pentagon is one of the worlds largest office buildings, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi of corridors. It was the first significant foreign attack on Washingtons governmental facilities since the city was burned by the British, when World War II broke out in Europe, the War Department rapidly expanded in anticipation that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation unacceptable, with the Munitions Building overcrowded, Stimson told U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941 that the War Department needed additional space. On July 17,1941, a hearing took place, organized by Virginia congressman Clifton Woodrum. Reybold agreed to back to the congressman within five days. The War Department called upon its construction chief, General Brehon Somervell, Government officials agreed that the War Department building, officially designated Federal Office Building No 1, should be constructed across the Potomac River, in Arlington County, Virginia. Requirements for the new building were that it be no more than four stories tall, the requirements meant that, instead of rising vertically, the building would be sprawling over a large area. Possible sites for the building included the Department of Agricultures Arlington Experimental Farm, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, the site originally chosen was Arlington Farms which had a roughly pentagonal shape, so the building was planned accordingly as an irregular pentagon. Concerned that the new building could obstruct the view of Washington, D. C. from Arlington Cemetery, the building retained its pentagonal layout because a major redesign at that stage would have been costly, and Roosevelt liked the design. Freed of the constraints of the asymmetric Arlington Farms site, it was modified into a pentagon which resembled the star forts of the gunpowder age. While the project went through the process in late July 1941, Somervell selected the contractors, including John McShain, Inc. and Doyle and Russell. In addition to the Hoover Airport site and other government-owned land, construction of the Pentagon required an additional 287 acres, which were acquired at a cost of $2.2 million. The Hells Bottom neighborhood, a slum with numerous pawnshops, factories, approximately 150 homes, Later 300 acres of land were transferred to Arlington National Cemetery and to Fort Myer, leaving 280 acres for the Pentagon. Contracts totaling $31,100,000 were finalized with McShain and the contractors on September 11
11.
Arlington County, Virginia
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Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is coterminous with the U. S. Census Bureau-census-designated place of Arlington, as a result, the county is often referred to in the region simply as Arlington or Arlington, Virginia. In 2015, the population was estimated at 229,164. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal district of Columbia. In 1846, Congress returned the land southwest of the Potomac River donated by Virginia due to issues involving Congressional representation, the General Assembly of Virginia changed the countys name to Arlington in 1920 to avoid confusion with the adjacent City of Alexandria. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington. Arlington is also bordered by Fairfax County and City of Falls Church to the northwest, west and southwest, as of the 2010 census, the population was 207,627. Due to the proximity to downtown Washington, D. C. It is also home to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the many federal agencies, government contractors, and service industries contribute to Arlingtons stable economy. It is the county in the United States by median family income. According to a 2016 study by Bankrate. com, Arlington is the best place to retire, the area that now constitutes Arlington County was originally part of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia. Land grants from the British monarch were awarded to prominent Englishmen in exchange for political favors, one of the grantees was Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who lends his name to both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, the estate was eventually passed down to Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of General Robert E. Lee. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery during the American Civil War, the area that now contains Arlington County was ceded to the new United States federal government by the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the passage of the Residence Act in 1790, Congress approved a new permanent capital to be located on the Potomac River, the Residence Act originally only allowed the President to select a location within Maryland as far east as what is now the Anacostia River. However, President Washington shifted the federal territorys borders to the southeast in order to include the city of Alexandria at the Districts southern tip. In 1791, Congress amended the Residence Act to approve the new site, however, this amendment to the Residence Act specifically prohibited the erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the River Potomac. As permitted by the U. S. Constitution, the shape of the federal district was a square, measuring 10 miles on each side
12.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
13.
United States Senate
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The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. S. From 1789 until 1913, Senators were appointed by the legislatures of the states represented, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The Senate chamber is located in the wing of the Capitol, in Washington. It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House, in the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers. This idea of having one chamber represent people equally, while the other gives equal representation to states regardless of population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise, there was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal check on each other. One was intended to be a Peoples House directly elected by the people, the other was intended to represent the states to such extent as they retained their sovereignty except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. The Senate was thus not designed to serve the people of the United States equally, the Constitution provides that the approval of both chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation. First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate, the name is derived from the senatus, Latin for council of elders. James Madison made the comment about the Senate, In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people. An agrarian law would take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation, landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority, the senate, therefore, ought to be this body, and to answer these purposes, the people ought to have permanency and stability. The Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that states consent, the District of Columbia and all other territories are not entitled to representation in either House of the Congress. The District of Columbia elects two senators, but they are officials of the D. C. city government. The United States has had 50 states since 1959, thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959. In 1787, Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming and this means some citizens are effectively two orders of magnitude better represented in the Senate than those in other states. Seats in the House of Representatives are approximately proportionate to the population of each state, before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, Senators were elected by the individual state legislatures
14.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
15.
Robert T. Herres
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Robert Tralles Herres was the first Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Herres was born on December 1,1932, in Denver and he was active in the Boy Scouts of America and earned its highest rank, Eagle Scout. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1954 and he completed Air Command and Staff College in 1965 and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1971. After graduating from the U. S. Naval Academy, he chose a commission in the Air Force because he saw a chance at flying duty. After pilot training, Herres early assignments were in fighter-interceptors, first as a pilot and then as an air electronics maintenance officer. Upon graduation from the U. S. Air Force Institute of Technology in 1960 he transferred to Europe, after program cancellation in 1969, he returned to the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, where he served as deputy chief of staff for plans and requirements. He left Edwards in August 1970 to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Herres became vice commander of the 449th Bombardment Wing at Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan, in June 1971 and commander the following year. In April 1973 he was assigned to Southeast Asia for duty as commander of the 310th Strategic Wing, U-Tapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield and he returned to Kincheloe AFB in September 1973 to resume command of the 449th Bombardment Wing. S. Herres became commander of Air Force Communications Command at Scott Air Force Base and he was promoted to full general on August 1,1984, and became the first commander in chief of the United States Space Command upon activation of the unified command in September 1985. Herres was selected as the first Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in February 1987, Herres later served as Chairman of USAA Group, a Fortune 200 company. He was USAAs Chairman and CEO from 1993 to 2000 and continued as Chairman until May 10,2002, under his leadership USAA enhanced its financial management discipline, project management discipline, and began its focus on a one company image. General Herres left the financially stronger, more efficient. General Herres served as a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America and was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout award, spacefacts biography of Robert T. Herres USAA Remembers General Herres Appearances on C-SPAN
16.
Director of the Joint Staff
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The Director assists the Chairman, a four-star officer whom leads the Joint Staff, with the management and organization of the staffs members. As with all three- and four-star positions, the Directors appointment is subject to Senate confirmation, many of these have been promoted to four-star rank within a year of leaving the position of Director of the Joint Staff. The current Director of the Joint Staff is Lieutenant General William C and this is a complete list of the Directors of the Joint Staff. An asterisk indicates an acting Director
17.
United States Armed Forces
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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
18.
Unified combatant command
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A unified combatant command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide command and control of U. S. military forces, regardless of branch of service, in peace. They are organized either on a basis or on a functional basis, such as special operations, power projection. UCCs are joint commands with specific badges denoting their affiliation, the creation and organization of the unified combatant commands is legally mandated in Title 10, U. S. Code Sections 161–168. The Unified Command Plan is updated annually in conjunction with the DoD fiscal year, as of September 2011, there are nine unified combatant commands as specified in Title 10 and the latest annual UCP. Six have regional responsibilities, and three have functional responsibilities, each time the Unified Command Plan is updated, the organization of the combatant commands is reviewed for military efficiency and effectiveness, as well as alignment with national policy. Each unified command is led by a combatant commander, who is a general or admiral. The chain of command for operational purposes goes from the President through the Secretary of Defense to the combatant commanders, in the European Theater, Allied military forces fell under the command of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. After SHAEF was dissolved at the end of the war, the American forces were unified under a single command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff continued to advocate in favor of establishing permanent unified commands, and President Harry S. Truman approved the first plan on 14 December 1946. Known as the Outline Command Plan, it would become the first in a series of Unified Command Plans, the original Outline Command Plan of 1946 established seven unified commands, Far East Command, Pacific Command, Alaskan Command, Northeast Command, the U. S. Atlantic Fleet, Caribbean Command, and European Command, however, on 5 August 1947, the CNO recommended instead that CINCLANTFLT be established as a fully unified commander under the broader title of Commander in Chief, Atlantic. The Army and Air Force objected, and CINCLANTFLT was activated as a command on 1 November 1947. A few days later, the CNO renewed his suggestion for the establishment of a unified Atlantic Command and this time his colleagues withdrew their objections, and on 1 December 1947, the U. S. Atlantic Command was created under the Commander in Chief, Atlantic, under the original plan, each of the unified commands operated with one of the service chiefs serving as an executive agent representing the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This arrangement was formalized on 21 April 1948 as part of a paper titled the Function of the Armed Forces. Northeast Command were disestablished under the Unified Command Plan of 1956–57, CONAD itself was disestablished in 1975. Although not part of the plan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff also created specified commands that had broad. Examples include the U. S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, like the unified commands, the specified commands reported directly to the JCS instead of their respective service chiefs
19.
Four-star rank
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A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the services, having ranks such as admiral, general. This designation is used by some armed forces that are not North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members. In times of conflict, the highest ranks are the five-star ranks, admiral of the fleet, field marshal. General de exército Almirante de esquadra Tenente brigadeiro The four-star rank is reserved in Brazil for the highest post in the military career, the officers in this position take part of the high command of their corporations. The commanders of army, navy and air force are also four-star generals, admiral/amiral General/général General/Admiral is the highest rank within the Canadian Armed Forces as defined within the National Defence Act. Usually, only one officer, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, is Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. However, in line with the Letters Patent,1947, the duties, the Minister of National Defence, since not a member of the Canadian forces nor within the military chain-of-command, has no rank. Prince Philip holds the rank of admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy in an honorary capacity as of 2011. Before unification in 1968, the rank of air marshal was the four-star equivalent for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Upon their formation, the Russian armed forces discontinued the ranks of marshal, ranks and insignia of NATO General officer Five-star rank Three-star rank
20.
Admiral (United States)
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Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below fleet admiral in the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service do not have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the uniformed services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps has never had a hold the grade of admiral. However,37 U. S. C. §201 of the U. S. Code established the grade for the NOAA Corps in the case a position is created that merits the four-star grade. The United States Navy did not have any admirals until 1862 because many felt the title too reminiscent of royalty, such as the British Royal Navy. Others saw the need for ranks above captain, among them John Paul Jones and he also felt there must be ranks above captain to avoid disputes among senior captains. Two years later Congress authorized the appointment of an admiral from among the nine rear admirals. Another bill allowed the President of the United States to appoint Farragut to admiral on July 25,1866, when Farragut died in 1870, Porter became admiral and Stephen C. Rowan was promoted to vice admiral, there was one admiral in the interim, however. In 1899, Congress recognized George Deweys accomplishments during the Spanish–American War by authorizing the President to appoint him Admiral of the Navy and he held that rank until he died in 1917. Nobody has since held that title, in 1944, Congress approved the five-star grade of fleet admiral. The first to hold it were William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King, the Senate confirmed their appointments December 15,1944. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey got his star in December 1945. The rear admiral got his two-inch stripe and one half-inch stripe in 1866, the sleeve stripes had been more elaborate. When the rear admiral rank started in 1862 the sleeve arrangement was three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace alternating with three stripes of quarter-inch lace and it was some ten inches from top to bottom. The vice admiral, of course, had even more stripes, on their dress uniforms the admirals wore bands of gold embroidery of live oak leaves and acorns. The admirals of the 1860s wore the number of stars on their shoulders as admirals of corresponding grades do today. During the 20th century, the ranks of the modern U. S. admiralty were firmly established, an oddity that did exist was that the navy did not have a one-star rank except briefly during World War II when Congress established a temporary war rank of commodore
21.
David E. Jeremiah
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David Elmer Jeremiah was a United States Navy admiral who served as Vice Chairman and also acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After his retirement from the Navy in February 1994, he worked in the field of investment banking, during his military career Jeremiah earned a reputation as an authority on strategic planning, financial management and the policy implications of advanced technology. Jeremiah served four years as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Generals Colin L. Powell and he was a key player for both Chairmen in the transition to a post-Cold War military. Jeremiah was also the Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet from 1987 to 1991 and he commanded a task force, battle group and destroyer squadron in earlier tours in the Mediterranean. In October 1985 he directed the attempt to capture the hijackers of the MS Achille Lauro and he served as commanding officer of the USS Preble from 1974–1976. Ashore, Jeremiah served as Director, Navy Program Planning and in financial planning positions on the staffs of the Secretary of Defense, Jeremiah received numerous U. S. and foreign decorations and awards, including the Presidential Citizens Medal presented by George H. W. Jeremiah was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wackenhut Services, Jeremiah earned a bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon and a masters degree in Financial Management from George Washington University. He completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard University, Jeremiah died on October 7,2013 at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, aged 79. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery
22.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
23.
William Owens (admiral)
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William A. Bill Owens was an admiral in the United States Navy and later Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since leaving the military in 1996, he served as an executive or as a member of the board of directors of various companies, Owens was raised in North Dakota and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1962 with a bachelors degree in mathematics. On a Rhodes Scholarship, he earned bachelors and masters degrees in politics, philosophy and he later earned a masters degree in management from George Washington University, again graduating with honors. Owens was appointed to chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. Previously, Owens has served as Commander of the U. S, sixth Fleet from 1990 to 1992, which includes Operation Desert Storm. He also served as the deputy chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments, Owens was a senior military assistant to Secretaries of Defense Frank Carlucci and Dick Cheney, and director of the Office of Program Appraisal for the Secretary of the Navy. Owens began his career as a nuclear submariner and he served on four strategic nuclear-powered submarines and three nuclear attack submarines, including tours as commanding officer aboard the USS Sam Houston and USS City of Corpus Christi. Owens spent a total of 4,000 days aboard submarines, in April 2000, Owens co-authored Lifting the Fog of War with Edward Offley. After leaving the military, Owens served as president, chief operating officer, in August 1999, Owens served as vice chairman and co-chief executive officer of Teledesic LLC, a satellite communications company. In June 2003, he became the chairman and chief executive officer, on April 28,2004, Owens became the chief executive officer of Nortel, where he had previously served on the board of directors since February 2002. Owens stepped in to replace Frank Dunn, who was fired following an investigation into financial reporting, Owens served until November 15,2005, when he was succeeded by Mike Zafirovski. On April 1,2006, Owens became the Chairman and CEO of AEA Holdings Asia overseeing all Private Equity, admiral Owens is also a chairman of privately held Intelius, an information commerce company based in Bellevue, Washington. Owens serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Polycom Inc, daimler Chrysler AG, Embarq, Intelius, and Force 10. Since July 1,2006, Owens has also served as a director of an Indian global information services company called Wipro. In July 2009, Owens assumed the post of non-executive Chairman of US telecommunications company, Huawei Technologies provided considerable guarantees concerning security concerns, included offering to convey its code to security officials. But security concerns prevailed and may help explain Sprints decision not to work with Huawei
24.
Joseph Ralston
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General Joseph W. Ralston is currently the United States Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party and holds senior positions in various defense related corporations. He previously served as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Europe, Ralston has served in the military since 1965. He has served in command at squadron, wing, numbered air force and major command, as well as various staff. Ralston became Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1996 and he was favorite to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997, however following revelations of a secret affair he remained Vice Chairman until May 2000. He then became Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Europe until January 2003, in September 2006, he was assigned as Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party by the President of the United States George W. Bush. The PKK is a Kurdish separatist group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey, Ralston was one of at least three retired four-star generals asked by Bush administration to oversee both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ralston and the two generals, however, all declined this position. He is director of the Timken Company and the URS Corporation, is on the Board of Directors of Lockheed Martin and has been Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group and he also sits on the advisory board of the American Turkish Council, an American-Turkish lobby group. In 1997, at the retirement of John M. Shalikashvili, a scandal erupted when it became public that he had an adulterous affair with a CIA employee during the 1980s. Ralston claimed this was while he and his wife Linda were separated, there were allegations of double standards, as 1st Lt Kelly Flinn was forced out of the Air Force following after being charged with adultery a month prior. S. In this capacity, he was the officer in NATO. He retired on March 1,2003, Ralston holds various senior positions in defense and security-related corporations, simultaneously with his diplomatic role as anti PKK coordinator. Critics allege Ralston is using his influence as special envoy to secure large governmental weapons contracts for the corporations he has directorship over, the Boston Globe described him as an arms merchant in diplomats clothing. Since the PKK insurgency began in 1983,30,000 people have died and over 3,000 Kurdish villages have been destroyed, critics are concerned that hard line anti-PKK policies influenced by conflicting interests would compromise the prospects for longterm solution to the Kurdish-Turkish issue. Of course, we take it seriously. ”Speaking before the Eurasian Strategic Research Center in Istanbul, Ralston mirrored the Turkish governments rhetoric, “I want to be clear on this point. We will not ask Turkey to negotiate with the PKK, and I pledge to you that I will never meet with the PKK. S. December 1991 - July 1992, Director of Operational Requirements, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U. S. Air Force, Washington, D. C. S. June 1995 - February 1996, Commander, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia March 1996 - April 2000, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, may 2000 -2003, Commander, U. S
25.
Richard Myers
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Richard Bowman Myers is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force and served as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As Chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United States military forces, General Myers became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on October 1,2001. On September 30,2005, he retired and was succeeded by General Peter Pace and his Air Force career included operational command and leadership positions in a variety of Air Force and Joint assignments. He began serving as the interim President of Kansas State University in late April,2016, Myers was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1960 and he graduated from Kansas State University with a B. S. in mechanical engineering in 1965 where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He was commissioned by Detachment 270 of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at KSU and he graduated from Auburn University Montgomery with a M. B. A. in 1977. General Myers entered the Air Force in 1965 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program and he received pilot training from 1965 to 1966 at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Myers is a pilot with more than 4,100 flying hours in the T-33 Shooting Star, C-37, C-21, F-4, F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Prior to becoming Chairman, he served as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from March 2000 to September 2001, in addition, he acted for the Chairman in all aspects of the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System including participation in the Defense Resources Board. From August 1998 to February 2000, General Myers was Commander in Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Space Command, Commander of the Air Force Space Command, and Department of Defense manager of the space transportation system contingency support at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. As commander, General Myers was responsible for defending America through space, prior to assuming that position, he was Commander, Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, from July 1997 to July 1998. From July 1996 to July 1997 he served as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, Forces Japan and 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan. He was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the September 11th,2001. However, at the time the Pentagon was attacked, he was on Capitol Hill and he did leave Capitol Hill and spent the remainder of the day in the Pentagon. His office was not damaged during the attack and he officially took position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1,2001. Since 1999, General Myers is an Air Force Gray Eagle and he also received the Badge of the Commander of the Military Forces. On 27 September 2005, only three days before leaving his post as Chairman, Myers said of the war in Iraq that, the outcome and consequences of defeat are greater than World War II. His rise to and stint as Chairman are chronicled in Washington Post reporter Bob Woodwards book, State of Denial, on September 30,2005, he retired and was succeeded by General Peter Pace
26.
Peter Pace
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Peter Pace is a former United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. S. Southern Command from September 8,2000, to September 30,2001, appointed chairman by President George W. Bush, Pace succeeded U. S. Air Force General Richard Myers on September 30,2005. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced on June 8,2007, Pace retired from the Marine Corps and stepped down as chairman on October 1,2007. He was replaced by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Mullen, Pace was born on November 5,1945, in New York Citys Brooklyn to Italian American parents and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating from Teaneck High School in 1963. He received his commission in June 1967, following graduation from the United States Naval Academy and he also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University. Pace currently resides in McLean, Virginia, he was married to Lynne Pace and they have a son, also named Peter, and a daughter. Returning from overseas in March 1969, he reported to Marine Barracks, Washington and he was promoted to captain in April 1971. In September 1971, Pace attended the Infantry Officers Advanced Course at Fort Benning, in October 1973, he was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D. C. for duty as the assistant majors monitor. He was promoted to major on November 1,1977, in August 1979, he reported to the Marine Corps Command and Staff College as a student. Upon completion of school in June 1980, he was assigned duty as commanding officer, Marine Corps Recruiting Station, Buffalo, while in this assignment, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in October 1982. Reassigned to the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Pace served from June 1983 until June 1985 as commanding officer, 2nd Battalion, in June 1985, he was selected to attend the National War College in Washington, D. C. After graduation the following June, he was assigned to the Combined/Joint Staff in Seoul, Pace returned to Marine Barracks in Washington, D. C. in August 1988 for duty as commanding officer. He was promoted to colonel in October 1988, in August 1991, Pace was assigned duty as chief of staff, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune. During February 1992, he was assigned duty as assistant division commander, Pace was advanced to major general on June 21,1994, and was assigned as the deputy commander/chief of staff, U. S. Forces, Japan. He was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as the director for operations, Joint Staff, Washington, Pace served as the commander, U. S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic/Europe/South from November 23,1997, to September 8,2000. On August 12,2005, he was succeeded as chairman by Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani. On April 22,2005, at a White House press conference, the previous chairman, Richard Myers, retired from the position on September 30,2005. On his nomination, Pace said, This is a moment for me
27.
United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
28.
Edmund Giambastiani
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Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr. is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the seventh Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2005 to 2007. He retired in 2007, after 37 years of service, Giambastiani was born on May 4,1948 in Canastota, New York. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with leadership distinction in 1970 and he has been awarded numerous decorations. Giambastianis operational assignments have included several in which he was responsible for both demanding at-sea operations and the development of new technologies and experimental processes, early sea assignments included USS Puffer and the USS Francis Scott Key s blue crew. While assigned to USS Puffer, he was a 1973 winner of the Fleet Commander’s Junior Officer Submarine Shiphandling Competition and he commanded the NR-1 Deep Submergence Craft, the Navys only nuclear powered deep diving ocean engineering and research submarine and USS Richard B. Russell, where the crew was awarded three consecutive Battle Efficiency “E”s, three Navy Unit Commendations, and two Fleet Commander Silver Anchors for excellence in enlisted retention. Giambastiani also led Submarine Development Squadron Twelve, a submarine squadron that also serves as the Navys Warfare Center of Excellence for submarine doctrine. Established in 1949, Submarine Development Squadron Twelve is the oldest experimental unit of its kind in the U. S. military, giambastianis other shore and staff assignments include duties as an enlisted program manager at the Navy Recruiting Command Headquarters, Washington, D. C. As a flag officer, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments for the Commander, in 2003, in his capacity as Commander, United States Joint Forces Command Admiral Giambastiani published a lessons learned report. While generally praising U. S. performance it highlighted numerous incidents of friendly fire, on August 12,2005, Admiral Giambastiani was sworn in as the seventh Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, becoming the third naval officer to hold that position. He went to the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial on the outskirts of Tunis to pay his respects to fallen U. S. soldiers who had died there during the Tunisia campaign of World War II. On June 1,2007, Giambastiani announced his retirement from the military to more time with his family. He retired on July 27,2007, giambastianis personal interests include amateur radio, for which he uses the call sign N4OC. He also currently serves as a coalition member of the Project on National Security Reform. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Lincoln Laboratory, on October 8,2009, Airplane maker Boeing Co. announced that Giambastiani had been elected to its board of directors, effective immediately. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29, governor General announces awarding of Meritorious Service Decorations
29.
James Cartwright
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James Edward Hoss Cartwright is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who last served as the eighth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31,2007, to August 3,2011. He previously served as the Commander, U. S. Strategic Command, from September 1,2004, to August 10,2007 and he retired from the Marine Corps on August 3,2011, after nearly 40 years of service. President Obama pardoned Cartwright on January 17,2017, Cartwright was born on September 22,1949, in Rockford, Illinois, and attended West High School before going on to the University of Iowa. While there he was a swimmer for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Cartwright was commissioned a lieutenant in the U. S. Marine Corps in November 1971. He attended Naval Flight Officer training and graduated in April 1973 and he attended Naval Aviator training and graduated in January 1977. He has operational assignments as an Naval Flight Officer in the F-4, and as a pilot in the F-4, OA-4, and F/A-18. His callsign comes from the fictional character Eric Hoss Cartwright, the brother on the classic 1960s TV show Bonanza. Marine Corps, Assistant Program Manager for Engineering, F/A-18 Naval Air Systems Command, Cartwright was named the Outstanding Carrier Aviator by the Association of Naval Aviation in 1983. In 2008, he was honored with Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award and he was selected for and completed a fellowship with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. On September 1,2004, Cartwright was sworn in as Commander and he was promoted to full general on the same day. Cartwrights nomination was confirmed by the full Senate on August 3,2007, due to the retirement of Admiral Giambastiani on July 27,2007, Cartwright assumed the position immediately upon confirmation. He was sworn in on August 31,2007, as the 8th Vice Chairman, on March 18,2009, Secretary of Defense Gates announced that Cartwright had been nominated for a second term as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 31,2009, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, however, reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient to warrant corrective action for even the lesser offenses. He stated, “I do not agree with the conclusion that General Cartwright maintained an ‘unduly familiar relationship’ with his aide, nor do I agree that General Cartwright’s execution of his leadership responsibilities vis-à-vis his aide or any other member of his staff was inconsistent with the leadership requirements”. Uestions about how he oversaw his staff, however, were mentioned as a reason Cartwright had fallen out as favored candidate of President Obama for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2011, Army chief Gen. Martin Dempsey was named to the post. Quietly criticized Gen. Cartwright, calling him Obamas general, one report at the time also said, Cartwright held his retirement ceremony on August 3,2011. During the ceremony, Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III presented Cartwright his fourth Defense Distinguished Service Medal and he also will receive the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard distinguished service medals
30.
James A. Winnefeld Jr.
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James Alexander Sandy Winnefeld Jr. is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the ninth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 4,2011 to July 31,2015. He previously served as the fourth Commander, U. S, northern Command and the 21st Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command from May 19,2010 to August 3,2011. Prior to that, Winnefeld served as Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, The Joint Staff which he served as the Senior Member. His other operational commands include serving as the Commander, U. S, sixth Fleet and Commander, Allied Joint Command Lisbon. As the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Winnefeld was the second highest-ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces, in 2015, he retired from the Navy after over 37 years of service. Winnefeld graduated from Georgia Tech in 1978 with high honors in Aerospace Engineering, while at Georgia Tech, Winnefield was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. After designation as an aviator, he served with two fighter squadrons and as an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School. While an instructor at TOPGUN, he worked with crew from Paramount Pictures on the production of the movie Top Gun, Winnefeld went on to graduate with the highest distinction from the U. S. Naval War College off-campus program. His command tours include Fighter Squadron 211, USS Cleveland and as the 17th commanding officer of the USS Enterprise and he led Enterprise through her 18th deployment, which included combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom immediately after the terrorist acts of September 11,2001. He most recently served concurrently as Commander, U. S, sixth Fleet, Commander, Allied Joint Command Lisbon, Commander, Striking and Support Forces NATO, Deputy Commander, U. S. Naval Forces Europe, and Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander, Europe. Winnefeld is now a Distinguished Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech and he is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School. Winnefeld was the officer of the USS Enterprise during the September 11 attacks. The USS Enterprise was headed to Cape Town, South Africa, the crew was watching television at sea on September 11 and watched the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 airliner strike the south tower of the World Trade Center. Acting without authorization from the National Command Authority, then-Captain Winnefeld gave the order to put the rudder over to take station in the Arabian Sea. The carriers aircraft were within range of Afghanistan the next morning, for over three weeks, aircraft from USS Enterprise flew nearly 700 missions and dropped large amounts of ordnance over Afghanistan. The Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vern Clark praised Winnefeld and he is also a recipient of the William J. Crowe, William W. Behrens Jr. awards and the 2012 recipient of the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award
31.
Bald eagle
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The bald eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States and it is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. The bald eagle is a feeder which subsists mainly on fish. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any species, up to 4 m deep,2.5 m wide. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years, Bald eagles are not actually bald, the name derives from an older meaning of the word, white headed. The adult is brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males, the beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown, the bald eagle is both the national bird and national animal of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its seal, in the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered and the species was removed from the U. S. governments list of endangered species on July 12,1995 and it was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States on June 28,2007. The plumage of an bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head. The tail is long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow, the legs are feather-free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere, the adult bald eagle is unmistakable in its native range. The closely related African fish eagle also has a body, white head and tail
32.
Caspar Weinberger
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Caspar Willard Cap Weinberger was an American politician and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state, most notably he was Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987. Weinberger was born in San Francisco, California and he served in the 41st Infantry Division in the Pacific theater of World War II. An accomplished private sector businessman, he became vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation. His tenure as Secretary of Defense is the third longest in U. S. history and he is also known for his key role in the administrations Strategic Defense Initiative and for being indicted in the Iran–Contra affair. He was awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1987 and an honorary British knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, Weinberger was born in San Francisco, California, the younger of two sons of Herman Weinberger, a Colorado-born lawyer. His mother, the former Cerise Carpenter Hampson, was an accomplished violinist and his father was of Jewish Bohemian descent, while his maternal grandparents were immigrants from England. Weinberger had stated that his mothers Episcopal religion was an enormous influence, Weinberger was named Caspar for a friend of his mothers, his father began calling him Cap, a nickname that stuck into adulthood. Weinberger was a first cousin of the nationally-broadcast radio personality Don McNeill of Don McNeills Breakfast Club, Caspar Weinbergers father Herman was the younger brother of Luella Weinberger McNeill, mother of Don McNeill. The 1910 Census shows Herman and Luella living in the household of Nathan Weinberger, Weinbergers paternal grandparents had left Judaism because of a dispute at a Bohemian synagogue. He was reared in a home with no ties, though with a general Christian orientation. Weinberger would later become an active Episcopalian and often expressed his faith in God, although Weinberger was a sickly child and required close nurturing from his mother, he attended San Francisco Polytechnic High School. He was academically gifted and gained admission to Harvard University, when he enrolled at Harvard College, Mrs. Weinberger rented an apartment nearby for the first semester that Weinberger and his older brother, Peter, attended Harvard. She then returned to her husband in San Francisco, Weinberger received his Bachelor of Arts in government, magna cum laude, in 1938 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1941, both from Harvard. And another with Alabama-born actress Tallulah Bankhead, prior to his attending Harvard Law School, Weinberger had been offered a scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge. At the end of the war he was a captain on General Douglas MacArthurs intelligence staff. Early in life, he developed an interest in politics and history, and, during the war years, an admiration for Winston Churchill. From 1945–1947, Weinberger worked as a law clerk for a judge before joining a San Francisco law firm
33.
United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
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The Deputy Secretary of Defense is a statutory office and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Deputy Secretary is the civilian deputy to the Secretary of Defense. The Deputy Secretary of Defense position is held by Robert O. Work. Former Assistant to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stephen Early, public Law 92-596, October 27,1972, established a Second Deputy Secretary of Defense position, with both deputies performing duties as prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The second deputy position was not filled until December 1975, Robert F. Ellsworth, serving from December 23,1975 until 10 January 1977, was the only one to ever hold that office. Public Law 95-140,21 October 1977, the law establishing two Under Secretaries of Defense, abolished the second deputy position, the Deputy Secretary is first in the line of succession to the office of Secretary of Defense. Traditionally, the Deputy Secretary has been the civilian official guiding the process of the Quadrennial Defense Review.1, Functions of the Department of Defense, Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015. Washington DC, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Historical Office, Deputy Secretary of Defense position profile at Prunes Online defense. gov
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