Hobson Plan

The Hobson Plan was an organizational structure established by the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1948. Known as the "Wing-Base" plan, it replaced the base plan used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the predecessor organization of the USAF. The plan made the wing the basic combat unit of the USAAF, rather than the group and placed all support elements under the command of the wing commander in addition to combat elements.
Background.
United States Army Air Forces.
As part of the United States Army, the USAAF operated from facilities known as Army Air Fields. They consisted of a ground station, which consisted of streets, buildings, barracks and the support facilities and organizations. The airfield consisted of the runways, taxiways, hangars, and other facilities used to support flight operations at the airfield. The Station Commander commanded the station organizations and was responsible for the facilities. There was a Quartermaster Group; Service Group; Headquarters Group, and a Combat Group. There was no uniformity in unit designations. In an administrative reorganization by HQ Army Air Force, on 1 May 1944 the station units were re-organized into "Army Air Force Base Units" (AAFBU), which gave organization to the units under the Station Commander.
The Combat Group Commander commanded the flying squadrons, his staff and any other squadron associated with the flying activities. During World War II, it was common to have several Combat Groups stationed at the same Army Airfield, especially at training bases in the United States, where Combat Groups would be trained by Training Groups assigned to the station under the Station Commander.
Creation of the United States Air Force.
On September 16, 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate and equal element of the United States armed forces.
Rapid demobilization after September 1945 meant that a new Air Force had to be built with the remnants of the wartime Army Air Forces. Initially, the Army Air Fields retained as permanent bases were assumed by the USAF were renamed as "Air Force Bases", and the Army's organizational structure was carried over into the new service with "Air Force Base Units" replacing the AAFBU. This resulted, however, into an awkward circumstance where the Combat Group commander was reporting to a Base Commander who may or may not have had flying experience. Once the United States Air Force became operational as a separate department, Carl Andrew Spaatz, the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force established a policy where, "No tactical commander should be subordinate to the station commander."
Spaatz's policy meant that a new solution would have to be found. Major General Charles Born proposed the creation of the Provisional Wing Plan, which basically reversed the USAAF organization and placed the wing commander over the base commander, although this idea was eventually discarded as it was viewed to be too complex.
The Wing-Base plan.
Under the "Wing-Base" plan, the operational combat squadrons were assigned to a Combat Group. The support squadrons on the station were assigned to a Maintenance and Supply Group, an Airdrome Support Group, and a Medical Group. The four Groups were assigned to a Wing, a new level of Command which unified all of the components, flying and support. The Group Commanders were subordinate to the Wing Commander who was an experienced combat flying leader. The Wing would assume the historical numerical designation of the assigned Combat Group. A Base Commander was established to handle the administrative duties of the Wing Commander and to coordinate with the various Group commanders. In this plan, known as the Hobson Plan the support Groups and the operational flying Combat Group and the wing became one unit. Colonel Kenneth B. Hobson, the chief of the AAF Organizational Division, was the special project chairman and briefer. The Wing-Base organization was formalized in Air Force Regulation (AFR) 20-15, "Organization Principles and Policies for the US Air Force".
Organizations known as "Wings" had existed in the Air Force since 1918, and new wings were created in the 1920s and 1930s. During World War II numerous wings existed; some provided training in the United States, others controlled combat groups and support organizations overseas. However, the USAF Wings established in 1947 were new organizations and shared no lineage or honors with the Wings formed under the Army. In 1948 and afterward, some AAF wings were re-designated as Air Divisions, and placed immediately above the USAF Wings and below the Numbered Air Forces in the USAF organizational pyramid.
Another major change implemented by the Hobson Plan was the standardization of designations. For example, the 1st Fighter Wing, Established at March Air Force Base would consist of the 1st Fighter Group (its Combat Group); the 1st Maintenance and Supply Group, the 1st Combat Support Group (to operate base facilities and services), and the 1st Medical Group. Subordinate to the groups were the 1st Field Maintenance Squadron, 1st Supply Squadron, 1st Engine Squadron, 1st Security Police Squadron, and so on. Operational flying Squadrons retained their historical designations and were assigned to the Combat Group. Units assigned to the base as tenant units, under the command of other Wings, would also retain their designations.
1947 Service Test.
The service test of the Hobson Plan in 1947-1948 prompted an important change in the field structure and organization of the Air Force. The Army Air Force (and previous Army Air Corps) Wing organizations supervised a mixture of combat groups and support organizations. None of the subordinate organizations were permanently affiliated with the wings, or possessed similar numerical designations or standard functions.
The USAF Wings organized for the service test of the Hobson Plan featured standard functions. Each wing had its support squadrons organized into the four prescribed Groups, all with identical numerical designations.
The temporary service test Combat Wings were:
Additional Combat Wings Organized Under the Permanent Plan.
In the spring of 1948, the Hobson Plan was judged to be successful, and additional Combat Wings were re-organized and established and the Hobson Plan was made permanent.
The wings organized under the permanent wing-base plan were:
Major subsequent changes.
Over the years, the Hobson Plan has changed and evolved, but its basic concept has remained the same in terms of organization of USAF combat units.
Dual Deputy Organization.
Strategic Air Command (SAC)’s mobilization for the Korean War highlighted that SAC's wing commanders focused on running their bases and not on overseeing actual combat preparations. To improve wing commanders' ability to focus on combat operations, the air base group commander became responsible for managing the base housekeeping functions. SAC began to experiment with its organizations in February 1951 and decided on a final organization that was implemented in June 1952. In this model, the wing commander focused primarily on the combat units and the maintenance necessary to support combat aircraft by having the combat and maintenance squadrons report directly to the wing and eliminating the intermediate combat and maintenance & supply group structures.
The new organization was referred to as the "Dual Deputy" organization. The Commander of the combat group was replaced bu a wing Deputy Commander for Operations and the commander of the Maintenance & Supply Group was replaced by a wing Deputy Commander for Maintenance. There were only two deputy commanders. The Air Base Group and medical group remained, although on SAC bases with two wings, they were assigned to an air division headquarters. Between 1956 and 1958, the Air Force's other combat commands adopted this structure as well, although the organization of maintenance squadrons varied.
This arrangement, however raised honors and lineage issues, as the Combat Groups, all veterans of World War II combat operations, held collectively many honors, while the postwar wings possessed few if any honors. Both SAC and ADC wanted the history and honors of the Combat Groups retained. In 1954, after review by Headquarters USAF, it was decided to bestow the history and the campaign credits and decorations that had been earned by the group during World War II. In "bestowing" group history and honors on wings, USAF directives did not specify any conditions or limitations except to advise, in letters authorizing such bestowals, that these bestowals were temporary.
During the Vietnam War, Tactical Air Command transferred flightline maintenance personnel to the deploying squadrons to Southeast Asia. Squadrons transferred to Pacific Air Forces retained this arrangement, however in 1972 driven by budgetary considerations and the Vietnam drawdown, HQ USAF withdrew its approval for TAC’s structural deviation and forced TAC to revert to the consolidated maintenance concept.
Tri-Deputy organization.
In the mid-1970s, the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) tested a tri-deputy wing organization that added a Deputy Commander for Resources (DCR—later, resource management or RM) to the Dual-Deputy structure. The DCR was responsible for Supply, Transportation, Contracting, and Accounting and Finance squadrons. The DCM was responsible for the Maintenance Staff, Organizational Maintenance Squadron (OMS), Avionics Maintenance Squadron (AMS), Field Maintenance Squadron (FMS), and Munitions Maintenance Squadron (MMS). Viewed as giving the Wing Commander more direct control over the mission as well as focusing more attention on resource management during a period of serious budget constraints, HQ USAF approved the Tri-Deputy system for all major commands in 1975.
While maintenance remained consolidated under the DCM in the official Tri-Deputy structure, Tactical Air Command (TAC) reorganized the DCM internally into the Production Oriented Maintenance Organization (POMO) in 1978. Under POMO, an Aircraft Generation Squadron (AGS) under the DCM was responsible for all flightline maintenance, with a specific Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU) assigned to each fighter squadron. Each AMU trained and deployed with its fighter squadron but reported to the AGS commander. Intermediate level maintenance was divided between a Component Repair Squadron (CRS) and an Equipment Maintenance Squadron (EMS), both of which also reported to the DCM.
POMO was eventually renamed COMO (Combat Oriented Maintenance Organization). This was the basic structure of the tactical air forces (TAC, USAFE, and PACAF). SAC and Military Airlift Command (MAC) kept their aircraft maintenance in the previous structure with flightline maintenance consolidated in an Organizational Maintenance Squadron (OMS). This was an efficient structure for them since they operated primarily from home station or relied on en route maintenance teams at established overseas locations when their aircraft were overseas. Squadron deployments were not routine, so the additional cost of separate AMUs was not worthwhile.
Objective Wing Organization.
In the early 1990s with the declared end of the Cold War and the continued decline in military budgets, the Air Force restructured to meet changes in strategic requirements, decreasing personnel, and a smaller infrastructure. This major reorganization stressed elimination of unnecessary layers of authority, decentralization of decision-making, and consolidation of functions.
The USAF restored a wing organizational structure, called the "objective wing," similar to the original Hobson wing-base plan. The inactivated Combat Group was re-designated as the "Operations Group" (OG) and was re-activated. The support squadrons were realigned into a Maintenance Group (MXG), Mission Support Group (MSG), and Medical Group (MDG). With their reactivation, the history and lineage of the Wing Combat Group inactivated in the 1950s was transferred from the Wing to the Operations Group.
In addition to the realignment of support and operational squadrons, the "Tactical", "Strategic" and other descriptors of unit designations were discontinued. For example, the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing became the 354th Fighter Wing; the 24th Composite Wing became the 24th Wing; 356th Tactical Fighter Squadron became the 356th Fighter Squadron, and so on. This returned the unit designations back to their 1947 names.
In 2002, the Objective Organization was modified to address the changes in the Air Force with the development of Air Expeditionary Units. The Combat Wing Organization is very similar to the POMO/COMO maintenance organization that was in place between 1978 and 1991.


3rd Maintenance Battalion

The 3rd Maintenance Battalion is a battalion of the United States Marine Corps that provides intermediate-level maintenance for the III Marine Expeditionary Force's tactical ordnance, engineer, motor transport, communications electronics and general support ground equipment. The unit falls under the command of Combat Logistics Regiment 35 and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, and is based at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, with the exception of Engineer and Ordnance Maintenance Companies, which are located at nearby Camp Foster and Camp Hansen, respectively.
Mission.
To provide direct and general support, intermediate (second through fourth echelon)
maintenance support for Marine Corps furnished tactical ordnance, engineer, motor,
communications-electronics and general support equipment of III MEF. To provide
reparable support to include stock, store and fiscal accounting for normal accounting for
normal and low-density reparables.
History.
1958–1961
1962–1972
1973–1998
1999 – present


Mariveles Naval Section Base


List of equipment of the Nigerian Army

This is a list of some equipment used by the Nigerian Army. Due to how large and secretive the Nigerian army is it is currently impossible to calculate all weaponry in the army.
Logistics.
the Nigerian army maintain a large logistics network it's is simply not possible to keep track of all of them.


ANC Today

ANC Today is a weekly web-based newsletter published by the African National Congress (ANC). It consists mainly of updates on current programmes and initiatives of the ANC.
In 2001, the ANC launched an online party newspaper "ANC Today – Online Voice of the African National Congress" to offset the alleged bias of the white-controlled press.


Leon C. Covell

Leon Claude Covell (December 2, 1877 – November 20, 1960) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Coast Guard who served as the 2nd Vice Commandant from 1931 to 1941.
Covell was promoted to first lieutenant on January 28, 1909. During World War I, he briefly commanded in November 1917 before commanding USS "Mackinac" from November 25, 1917 to January 7, 1918.
Covell was promoted to lieutenant commander on July 1, 1920 and assigned as the commanding officer of USCGC "Gresham" on November 24, 1920.
Covell was promoted to commander on April 21, 1924 and assigned as the commanding officer of USCGC "Bear" on November 1, 1924. He was assigned as the first commanding officer of on November 8, 1928.
Covell was promoted to captain on July 1, 1929 and assigned as the first commanding officer of on December 15, 1930. Having participated in the Bering Sea Patrol since 1925, he was given command of the patrol force during the summer of 1931. Covell was appointed assistant commandant on December 19, 1931 and promoted to rear admiral on May 24, 1939.
Covell retired effective January 1, 1942 after Lloyd T. Chalker was appointed to succeed him on October 9, 1941. He was recalled to active duty in June 1943 to head the Coast Guard Training Station at Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn. Covell was later awarded the Legion of Merit for his World War II service.
Covell retired as a rear admiral but was advanced to vice admiral on the retired list several years later.
Personal.
His younger brother William E. R. Covell attended the U.S. Military Academy, graduating first out of 164 cadets in the class the stars fell on and retiring from the U.S. Army as a major general. His son Leon Claude Covell Jr. (November 30, 1914 – September 30, 1995) was a supply officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve who served during both World War II and the Korean War, retiring as a commander.


Army Reserve (United Kingdom)

The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1921, the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921 to 1967, the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 to 1979, and again the Territorial Army (TA) from 1979 to 2014.
The Army Reserve was created as the Territorial Force in 1908 by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane, when the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 combined the previously civilian-administered Volunteer Force, with the mounted Yeomanry (at the same time the Militia was renamed the Special Reserve). Most Volunteer infantry units had unique identities, but lost these in the reorganisation, becoming Territorial battalions of Regular Army infantry regiments. Only one infantry unit, the London Regiment, has maintained a separate identity.
Haldane planned a volunteer "Territorial Force", to provide a second line for the six divisions of the Expeditionary Force which he was establishing as the centerpiece of the Regular Army. The Territorial Force was to be composed of fourteen divisions of infantry and fourteen brigades of cavalry, together with all the supporting arms and services needed for overseas war, including artillery, engineers commissariat and medical support. The new Special Reserve was to take over the depots of the militia, as an expanded reserve for the Regular Army. Under multiple political pressures, Haldane altered the public purpose of the Territorial Force in his Territorial and Reserve Forces Act to home defence, at the last moment.
Nevertheless, the structure remained as planned and was used to great effect in the early part of the First World War, with six divisions deployed by April 1915, along with many detached units. the commander of the British expeditionary force, Sir John French remarked ‘Without the assistance which the Territorials afforded between October 1914 and June 1915, it would have been impossible to hold the line in France and Belgium.’ The Secretary for War, Field Marshal Kitchener decided, however, to set up a parallel organisation of General Service (or ‘Kitchener’) units who were given priority for equipment and operated in parallel with regular and territorial ones, across all the major theatres of war.
Between the wars the Territorial Army (as it was now called) was re-established to be the sole means of expansion in future wars, but it was smaller than before and poorly resourced. The prospect of the Second World War saw a hurried attempt to double its size, accompanied by the first stages of conscription. Three reserve divisions and many individual units were deployed before the fall of France but much of the newly expanded structure lacked cohesion, as was demonstrated in the Narvik Campaign. During the war many territorial units served with great distinction, including the Queen Victoria Rifles at Calais and the 4th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment at Kohima.
After the Second World War, the TA was reconstituted with ten divisions, but then successively cut until rebuilding began in 1970, with numbers peaking at nearly 73,000. It was then run down again despite a major role in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations, bottoming at an estimated 14,000. From 2011 that trend was reversed and a new target of 30,000 trained manpower set with resourcing for training, equipment and the emphasis restored to roles for formed units and sub-units.
During periods of total war, the Army Reserve is incorporated by the Royal Prerogative into Regular Service under one code of Military Law for the duration of hostilities or until de-activation is decided upon. After the Second World War, for example, the Territorial Army, as it was known then, was not demobilised until 1947. Army Reservists normally have a full-time civilian job or career, which in some cases provides skills and expertise that are directly transferable to a specialist military role, such as NHS employees serving in Reservist Army Medical Services units. All Army Reserve personnel have their civilian jobs protected to a limited extent by law should they be compulsorily mobilised. There is, however, no legal protection against discrimination in employment for membership of the Army Reserve in the normal course of events (i.e. when not mobilised).
History.
Origins.
Before the creation of the Territorial force, there were three "auxiliary forces"—the Militia, the Yeomanry, and the Volunteers. All militiamen over 19 could join the Militia Reserve, accepting the liability to serve overseas with the Regular Army in case of war if called on to do so. The second element of the auxiliary forces was the Yeomanry, 38 regiments of volunteer cavalry which had historically been used as a form of internal security police. The third arm was the Volunteers, There were 213 rifle corps and 66 corps of artillery, though the latter were mostly coastal artillery or static "position batteries" and they did not constitute an organised field force. There were some engineer and medical units, but no service corps.
Reservists in the past had also served as constables or bailiffs, even holding positions of civic duty as overseer of their parish. The more modern Yeomen of the 18th century were cavalry-based units, which were often used to suppress riots (see the Peterloo Massacre). Several units that are now part of the Army Reserve bear the title "militia".
South African War, the Need for Reform and Formation of the Territorial Force.
In 1899, with the outbreak of the South African War, the British Army was committed to its first large-scale overseas deployment since the 1850s. The Cardwell Reforms of 1868–1872 had reformed the system of enlistment for the Regular Army so that recruits now served for six years with the colours and then a further six years liable for reserve service, with the Regular Reserve. The administrative structure of the Army had been further reinforced by the creation of regimental districts, where regular infantry regiments were paired together to share a depot and linked to the local militia and volunteer units.
The reforms had ensured that a sizable force of regular troops was based in the United Kingdom for service as an expeditionary force, over and above the troops already stationed overseas. However, once the decision was taken to send a corps-size field force to fight in the South African War, the system began to show a strain. By the end of January 1900, seven regular divisions, roughly half of their manpower from the Regular and Militia Reserves, had been dispatched leaving the country virtually empty of regular troops.
This was the end of the planned mobilisation; no thought had been given pre-war to mobilising the Militia, Yeomanry or Volunteers as formed units for foreign service.
On 16 December, the first request was sent from South Africa for auxiliary troops, and a commitment was made to send a "considerable force of militia and picked yeomanry and volunteers".
The first Volunteer unit to be sent out was a 1,300 man composite battalion group, composed of infantry recruited from across London units and a field battery from the Honourable Artillery Company, the City Imperial Volunteers, which was raised in early January 1900; it was sent into combat after six weeks of training in South Africa, where Lord Roberts described it as "quite excellent", and was returned home in October.
At the same time, a number of service companies were raised from volunteer units, employed as integral companies of their sister regular battalions, and were well regarded in the field. The decision was taken in late December to form a new force, the Imperial Yeomanry, to consist of mounted infantry. Whilst the Yeomanry provided many of the officers and NCOs, only a small number of the junior ranks came from existing Yeomanry regiments, with some more from Volunteer corps. The units performed well, but recruiting proceeded in fits and starts—recruitment stopped in May, and was only resumed in early 1901—and so an adequate supply of manpower was not always available. Sixty militia battalions, around 46,000 men, also volunteered and were eventually sent to South Africa. They were employed mainly on lines of communication, and regarded as second-line troops of low quality; this was unsurprising, as they were strongly deficient in officers, heavily composed of men of 18 and 19, who were regarded as too young by the Regular Army, with many of their best and most experienced men already deployed with regular units as members of the Militia Reserve.
The dominions and colonies provided 57 contingents, overwhelmingly of volunteer forces as none had a substantial full-time force; those from Canada alone numbered some 7,400 Altogether, Britain and her empire deployed some half a million soldiers.
After the South African War, the Conservative government embarked on a series of reorganisations which had a negative impact on all the auxiliary forces. The Militia was heavily understrength and disorganised, whilst the number of recruits for the Volunteers was falling off and it was becoming apparent that many Volunteer Corps were headed towards financial collapse unless some action was taken.
The Territorial Force was created by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane, following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force with the Yeomanry. As part of the same process, the remaining units of militia were converted to the Special Reserve. The TF was formed on 1 April 1908 and contained fourteen infantry divisions, and fourteen mounted yeomanry brigades. It had an overall strength of approximately 269,000. Haldane designed it to provide a much larger second line for the six divisions of the Expeditionary Force which he was establishing as the centerpiece of the Regular Army. Under multiple political pressures, Haldane altered the public purpose of the Territorial Force in his Territorial and Reserve Forces Act to home defence, at the last moment.
First World War.
Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. The next day, General - later Field Marshal - Haig, who had been central to Haldane’s reforms and was then commanding First Corps, recorded in his diary that Field Marshal Kitchener did ‘not appreciate the progress made by the Territorial Force towards efficiency’, The subsequent day, the 6th, Kitchener took up his post as Secretary of State for War announcing that morning ‘He could take no account of anything but regular soldiers’. He went on to denounce the Territorial Force as ‘a few hundred thousand young men, officered by middle-aged professional men who were allowed to put on uniform and play at soldiers.’
Nevertheless, by the 9th August, the Army Council, under Kitchener's direction, agreed that TF units volunteering en bloc for overseas service should be sent to France, while Kitchener set in hand the machinery for the recruiting of an entirely separate ‘New Army’ of what came to be known as Kitchener units, in parallel with the expansion of the Territorial Force. These New Army units were given priority for equipment, recruits and training over the Territorials for the bulk of the war. Kitchener justified this, during the first few months of the war, on the grounds that the Territorial Force should focus mostly on home defence.
In the first few days after the call for overseas service on August 9, the result in many TF units was hesitant, with some units only recording around 50% volunteering, partly because men with families were reluctant to leave well-paid jobs especially while there was talk of a German invasion of the homeland, but the pace rapidly accelerated and, within a fortnight, 70 infantry battalions and many other units had collectively volunteered for France. initially TF units were either fed into regular brigades or used for secondary tasks, such as guarding lines of communication but, by the end of April 1915, six full Territorial divisions had been deployed into the fight.
The (Regular) Expeditionary Force of six divisions had been rapidly sent to the Continent, where, facing overwhelming odds, they secured the left flank of the French Army. Of the 90,000 members of the original BEF deployed in August, four-fifths were dead or wounded by Christmas. So the arrival of the Territorials, first as reinforcements and then in whole divisions came at a critical juncture, while the New Army was still forming and training. Many of the Territorial units suffered immediate heavy casualties and on the night of 20 April 1915 Second Lieutenant Geoffrey Woolley of the Queen Victoria Rifles, secured the first of the 71 Victoria Crosses won by Territorials in the First World War.
General Sir John French, General Officer Commanding the BEF, later wrote ‘Without the assistance which the Territorials afforded between October 1914 and June 1915, it would have been impossible to hold the line in France and Belgium.
Other Territorial formations were dispatched to Egypt and British India and other imperial garrisons, such as Gibraltar, thereby releasing regular units for service in France and enabling the formation of an additional five regular army divisions by early 1915. Territorial divisions went on to fight in all the major battles of the war in France and Belgium and several campaigns further afield including Gallipoli. (See main article Territorial Force).
From 1916, as the war progressed, and casualties mounted, the distinctive character of territorial units was diluted by the inclusion of conscript and New Army drafts. Following the Armistice all units of the Territorial Force were gradually disbanded.
Interwar re-establishment and mobilisation in 1939.
The Territorial Force (TF) was officially reconstituted in 1921 by the Territorial Army and Militia Act 1921 and renamed in October as the Territorial Army (TA). The First-Line divisions (that were created in 1907 or 1908) were reconstituted in that year. The TA's intended role was to be the sole method of expanding the size of the British Armed Forces, when compared to the varied methods used during the First World War including the creation of Kitchener's Army. All TA recruits were required to take the general service obligation: if the British Government decided, territorial soldiers could be deployed overseas for combat that avoided the complications of the TF, whose members were not required to leave Britain unless they volunteered for overseas service.
The composition of the divisions was altered, with a reduction in the number of infantry battalions required. There was also a reduced need for cavalry, and of the 55 yeomanry regiments, only the 14 most senior retained their horses. The remaining yeomanry was converted to artillery or armored car units or disbanded. The amalgamation of 40 pairs of infantry battalions was announced in October 1921. As part of the post-war "Geddes Axe" financial cuts, the TA was further reduced in size in 1922: artillery batteries lost two of their six guns, the established size of infantry battalions was cut and ancillary medical, veterinary, signals and Royal Army Service Corps units were either reduced in size or abolished. The bounty was also reduced to £3 for trained men and £2.10s 0d for recruits, which resulted in finding £1,175,000 of the total savings required from the army as a whole. An innovation in 1922 was the creation of two Air Defence Brigades to provide anti-aircraft defence for London. It appears that these two brigade relatively quickly became 26th and 27th Air Defence Brigades.
During the 1930s, tensions increased between Germany and the United Kingdom and its allies. In late 1937 and throughout 1938, German demands for the annexation of Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia led to an international crisis. To avoid war, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler in September and brokered the Munich Agreement. The agreement averted a war and allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland. Although Chamberlain had intended the agreement to lead to a further peaceful resolution of issues, relations between both countries soon deteriorated. On 15 March 1939, Germany breached the terms of the agreement by invading and occupying the remnants of the Czech state.
On 29 March, Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha announced plans to increase the TA from 130,000 to 340,000 men and double the number of TA divisions. The plan was for existing TA units to recruit over their establishments (aided by an increase in pay for Territorials, the removal of restrictions on promotion which had hindered recruiting, construction of better-quality barracks and an increase in supper rations) and then form second-line divisions from cadres that could be increased. The total strength of the TA was to be 440,000: the field force of the Territorial Army was to rise from 130,000 to 340,000, organized in 26 divisions, while an additional 100,000 all ranks would form the anti-aircraft section. The forming Second Line formations were given liberty to be numbered and named as they saw fit, with some using related names and numbers from the First World War e.g. 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division formed in 1939.
The immediate response to this announcement was a vast surge in recruiting with 88,000 men enlisted by the end of April. The London Rifle Brigade raised a second battalion in 24 hours. On 26 April, limited conscription was introduced. .This resulted in 34,500 twenty-year-old militiamen being conscripted into the regular army, initially to be trained for six months before deployment to the forming second-line units. In parallel, recruits continued to surge into the Territorial Army but there were grave shortages of instructors and equipment It was envisioned that the duplicating process and recruiting the required numbers of men would take no more than six months. In practice, existing TA units found themselves stripped of regular training staffs and often many of their own officers and NCOs to form and train the new units, long before their own units were fully trained. As a result, some TA divisions had made little progress by the time the Second World War began; others, who had started from a stronger position, were able to complete this work within a matter of weeks.
The Second World War.
The TA's war deployment plan envisioned the divisions being deployed, as equipment became available, in waves to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) that had already been dispatched to Europe. The TA would join regular army divisions when they had completed their training, with the final divisions of the entire force deployed one year after the war began.
The first three divisions arrived to take their places in the front line by early 1940, the 48th (South Midland) Division, 50th (Northumbrian) Division and 51st (Highland) Division. The 48th took part in the stand on the River Escaut, the 50th held part of the perimeter at Dunkirk, while a London TA battalion, the Queen Victoria's Rifles deployed at Calais and fought off German reconnaissance forces before the arrival of the two regular sister battalions with whom they held the town for two crucial days shielding the Dunkirk evacuation.
The 51st fought in a rearguard action with the (separate) largely French forces along the Somme. At the same time, a small TA unit, the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers, carried out the first major commando-style operations of the war the XD Operations, destroying 2 million tons of crude and refined oil, along the coastline of France and the low countries
Meanwhile, units with little training and cohesion were also fed into the fight; the TA units which formed a majority of those which took part in the Narvik operation were untrained and had been subject to such turbulence, through expansion and reorganisation that many lacked cohesion. The failures of command, coordination and execution in that campaign led to a debate on its conduct with a no-confidence vote in the government. Partially as a result of lessons from Narvik, the Territorial Army was ordered to form 10 elite Independent Companies, forerunners of the Commandos. under the command of (then) Lt Colonel Colin Gubbins.
As the war developed Territorial units fought in every major theatre. The first reinforcing unit into Kohima, where the Japanese suffered their first major defeat in mainland Asia, was a TA unit, 4th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment who went on to hold the Tennis Court in some of the hardest fighting of the battle. Later the commander of the 14th Army, of which they were part, Field Marshal Slim, himself a pre-First World War Territorial became Chief of the Imperial General Staff and a strong promoter of the TA, coining the expression still in use today that Territorials are 'twice a citizen'. One pre-war Guards reservist, (then) Major David Stirling set up the Special Air Service, in North Africa, which fathered several other special forces units, including the Special Boat Service.
After VJ Day in August 1945, the Territorial Army was reduced and re-stuctured.
Postwar and Cold War.
In 1947, the TA was restructured and expanded through the reactivation of some of the 1st Line divisions that were initially disbanded after the war, keeping its former role of supplying complete divisions to the regular Army until 1967. For the first time, TA units were formed in Northern Ireland. The maneuver divisions established or re-established in 1947 were:
The 16th Airborne Division, a totally TA formation, was also raised at this time, under the command of Major-General Robert E. "Roy" Urquhart. 52nd (Lowland) Division was re-established as a tenth, 'mixed' division in March 1950.
The territorials also provided much of the anti-aircraft cover for the United Kingdom until 1956. In that year, Anti-Aircraft Command and 15 anti-aircraft regiments of the Royal Artillery were disbanded, with nine others passing into "suspended animation" as new English Electric Thunderbird Surface to Air Missile units replaced them. On 20 December 1955, the Secretary of State for War informed the House of Commons that the armoured divisions and the 'mixed' division were to be converted to infantry, and the 16th Airborne Division reduced to a parachute brigade group. Only two divisions (43rd and 53rd), two armoured brigades, and a parachute brigade were to remain allocated for NATO and the defence of Western Europe; the other eight divisions were placed on a lower establishment for home defence only. The territorial units of the Royal Armoured Corps were also reduced in number to nine armoured regiments and eleven reconnaissance regiments. This was effected by the amalgamation of pairs of regiments, and the conversion of four RAC units to an infantry role. The new parachute brigade group become the 44th Independent Parachute Brigade Group.
British forces contracted dramatically as the end of conscription in 1960 came in sight as announced in the 1957 Defence White Paper. On 20 July 1960, a reorganisation of the TA was announced in the House of Commons. The territorials were to be reduced from 266 fighting units to 195. There was to be a reduction of 46 regiments of the Royal Artillery, 18 battalions of infantry, 12 regiments of the Royal Engineers and two regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals. The reductions were carried out in 1961, mainly by amalgamating units. Thus, on 1 May 1961, the TA divisional headquarters were merged with regular army districts, which were matched with Civil Defence Regions to aid mobilisation for war.
The Army Reserve Act of April 1962 made provision for a new TA Emergency Reserve (TAER), within existing TA units, who could be called out without Royal Proclamation as individuals to reinforce regular units around the world, for up to six months in every twelve. With opposition from employers and individuals to such a large peacetime liability, the target of 15,000 volunteers proved over-ambitious and the force peaked at 4,262 in October 1963, then dropping to around 2,400 by 1968. Nevertheless, the first batch of these so-called 'Ever Readies' was sent to Libya in 1963, followed by 200 to the Far East later that year. In 1965, 175 were called out, the majority deploying to Aden, where one of their officers, Lieutenant Mike Smith, won an MC.
1966 White Paper: major cuts and a new name.
This was followed by a large reduction and complete reorganisation, announced in the 1966 Defence White Paper and implemented from 1 April 1967, when the title Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) was adopted. This abolished the former divisional structure of the TA. The size of the TAVR was to be reduced from 107,000 to under 50,000, with the infantry reduced from 86 to 13 battalions and the yeomanry (armoured units) from 20 to one. Units in the new TAVR were divided into various categories:
o TAVR I - Special Army Volunteer Reserve or 'Ever Readies', echoing the earlier nickname for the TAER, bringing the Regular Army to war establishment and replacing casualties. These were to be given extra training and equipment and could now be called out by Queen’s Order rather than Royal Proclamation in anticipation of war and
o TAVR II - forces called 'The Volunteers', for whom the old call-out arrangements continued. This category was split further split into TAVR IIA (Independent), eg: 51st Highland Volunteers and TAVR IIB (Sponsored), eg: Central Volunteer Headquarters, Royal Artillery.
In addition were various miscellaneous units, such as OTCs and bands eg Northumbria Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
In the face of a considerable Parliamentary battle, and a public outcry led by the County Associations, the government agreed to retain an additional 28,000 men in 87 ‘lightly armed’ infantry units and a few signals units in a category called TAVR III, designed for home defence, but, months later in January 1968, these were all earmarked to be disbanded, with 90 becoming eight-man "cadres". In November that year, the call-out arrangements for TAVR II units were brought in line with TAVR I.
Rebuilding Capability and Exercising Roles.
In 1971, the new government decided to expand the TAVR which led to the formation of twenty infantry battalions based on some of these cadres. In 1979, again, a new government planned further expansion. In the Reserve Forces Act of 1982, the Territorial Army title was restored, and, in the following years, its size was again increased, together with new equipment and extra training, the target being 86,000 by 1990. Some brigades were re-formed which consisted mostly of TA units, including two out of three brigades for a new reserve division for the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). In addition, a new organisation was established, the Home Service Force, with a separate target of 4,500, composed of older ex-regulars and territorials to guard key points.
As the Cold war intensified, the scale and pace of exercises involving the TA in its war roles increased. Two large-scale exercises were mounted testing the Army's ability to reinforce the BAOR, Crusader in 1980 and Lionheart in 1984. The latter involved 131,000 British service personnel, including 35,000 Territorials, together with US, Dutch and German personnel. This was the largest British troop movement exercise by sea and air since 1945, involving 290 flights and 150 ferry sailings. Most UK-based units reached their wartime stations within 48 hours.
In 1985, Exercise Brave Defender tested Britain's home defences, with 65,000 regulars and territorials involved.
1988 to 2011: Reduced again but back on operations.
At the end of the Cold war, the TA had a strength of 72,823, including 3,297 in the Home Service Force (HSF). in the 1991 Gulf War 205 Scottish General Hospital was mobilised as a unit based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a number of TA staff officers and others volunteered and served during the conflict, either in supporting roles in Germany or within 1 (UK) Armoured Division in the Middle East.
In December 1991, as part of the reductions in Options for Change, it was announced that the TA’s establishment was to be reduced to 63,000, while the HSF element was to be disbanded. In July 1994, this was further reduced to 59,000.
The Reserve Forces Act of May 1996 was a landmark reform, making it much easier to call out any element of the Reserves at the behest of the Secretary of State for a range of purposes including ‘protection of life or property’ well short of the criteria for Queen’s Order (eg 'great emergency', 'imminent national danger’). It also provides protection in employment law for members' civilian jobs should they be mobilised. This has led to the Army Reserve increasingly providing routine support for the Regular Army overseas including the delivery of composite units to release regular units from standing liabilities; including Bosnia, Kosovo, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. Some 2,800 TA personnel volunteered for and deployed on Op RESOLUTE from 1995–98, the UK's contribution to the NATO mission to enforce peace in the Former Yugoslavia. These were a mixture of formed units and individuals.
In Tony Blair’s Strategic Defence Review of 1998, the TA's size was reduced to 41,200.
In 2003, 9,500 reservists were mobilised to take part in Operation TELIC, the invasion of Iraq. Reservists were deployed in a mixture of formed bodies and as individuals. For example, a formed sub-unit from 131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers opened up a beach landing point on the Al Faw Peninsula and then two further crossing points on sequential watercourses for tanks in the attack on Basra. The Royal Yeomanry mobilised Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) and two sub-units
to deliver the UK’s Chemical, Radiological, Biological, and Nuclear counter-measures for Operation TELIC. At the peak in 2004, reservists made up 20% of our strength in Iraq.
In Afghanistan too, large numbers of reservists deployed in a mixture of formed units and as individuals, until 2009 when the decision was taken to allow only individuals to deploy as reinforcements for regular units. One example of a formed body was Somme Company of The London regiment of whom Brigadier (later Lieutenant-General Sir) John Lorimer remarked: “Somme Company was an outstanding body of men: well trained, highly motivated and
exceptionally well led.” Approximately 1,200 members of the Army Reserve deployed annually on tours of duty in Iraq, Operation HERRICK in Afghanistan and elsewhere, normally on six-month-long roulements. Medical personnel were routinely deployed as formed units and individual augmentees since the start of operations in Iraq and, since 2003, Reserves provided over 40% of the hospital-based
personnel for operations in Afghanistan and provided the ‘lead unit’ for 50% of the operational tours.
By 2011, across Iraq and Afghanistan, a number of reservists had been decorated and 27 had given their lives.
2011 Rebuilding and named the Army Reserve.
In 2010, the government set up a commission, chaired by General Sir Nicholas (now Lord) Houghton, to review the state of the reserves and to design their future. The commission reported in July 2011. It found that, despite their operational commitments, the reserves had been neglected: some estimates put its trained and active strength as low as 14,000. There had been ‘a failure to resource recruiting and good training, especially collective training; to offer career progression; to update operational roles; to permit deployment in formed sub-units and therefore offer command opportunities’ Its recommendations included that a new target of 30,000 trained strength by 2020 be set.
The government published the report on 18 July with an immediate promise of £1.5 Billion funding over ten years. In October 2012 MoD announced a new name for the Territorial Army, its current name, the Army Reserve. Most of the recommendations of the commission were adopted in the White Paper July 2013 including the critical importance of providing operational and training opportunities for formed units and sub-units.
Some aspects required legislation and were introduced in the Defence Reform Act (2014). These included the name change, reforms in mobilisation arrangements and in employer compensation. They also included giving the Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations the power to produce an annual report to Parliament on the state of the volunteer reserves (the Royal Naval Reserve, The Royal Marines Reserve, the Army Reserve and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force). In January 2021, the Army Reserve trained strength stood at 26,820. (This figure excludes recruits undergoing phase 1 training and various non-deployable categories such as University Officer Training Corps). During 2020, two reserve infantry battalions, 6 and 7 Rifles, provided the framework battalion for peacekeeping in Cyprus and over the winter 20/21 the Royal Yeomanry provided a composite squadron for a six-month tour on armoured reconnaissance as part of Britain’s forward presence in Estonia.
Army Reservists have a minimum commitment to serve 27 training days per annum or 19 days for some national units. This period normally includes a two-week period of continuous training either as an Army Reserve unit, on courses or attached to a Regular unit. Army Reserve soldiers are paid at a similar rate as their regular equivalents while engaged on military activities.
Basic training.
Soldiers.
For Army Reserve soldiers, recruit training is structured into two phases: Phase 1, also known as the Common Military Syllabus (Recruit) (CMS(R)), and Phase 2, specialist training.
Phase 1
In Phase 1, recruits cover the Common Military Syllabus (Reserve)14 (CMS(R)14). Phase 1 A is a series of 4 training weekends at regional Army Training Units (ATUs), or the recruit could attend a consolidated Phase 1 A week long course. Phase 1 training concludes with a 16 day long Phase 1 B training course normally held at the Army Training Centre Pirbright or the Army Training Regiment, Winchester, or Grantham. Recruits to the 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment and the Honourable Artillery Company complete their equivalent of CMS(R) within their own units.
Phase 2
Phase 1 is followed by Phase 2, a further period of specialist training specific to the type of unit the recruit is joining. This is normally conducted by the Arm or Service that the recruit is joining, for example for infantry units, Phase 2 consists of the two-week Combat Infantryman's Course (TA) (CIC (TA)) held at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick.
Officers.
To gain a commission, Potential Officers have to pass the two stages of the Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) and then successfully complete four modules of training, which together form the Army Reserve Commissioning Course. For professionally qualified officers (doctors, vets, lawyers etc), there is only one stage at the AOSB.
Module A consists of basic field training and elementary military skills. This can be completed at either a UOTC over a number of weekends or over 2 weeks at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS).
Module B covers training in Tactics, Leadership, Doctrine and Navigation, both in theory and in practice, with a focus on the section battle drills and the platoon combat estimate. This training can either be spread over 10 weekends at a UOTC, or 2 weeks at the RMAS.
Module C builds on the Tactics, Leadership, Doctrine, and Navigation taught in Module B, with a greater focus on the theory behind these constructs. CBRN training is also added at this point, and Officer Cadets undergo a number of field exercises to test their military and leadership skills. Module C can only be undertaken at the RMAS.
Module D Once the Officer Cadet has completed their ArmyOfficer Selection Board, they can complete this final module, after which they will become commissioned officers in the British Army. Based at the RMAS, this module consists primarily of a prolonged field exercise, followed by drill training in preparation for the passing out parade.
On successful completion of Module D, the Officer Cadets receive their Commission and become Second Lieutenants. Further training that is required prior to them being considered for operational deployment and promotion to Lieutenant includes:
Post Commissioning Training (formerly known as Module 5), again run at an OTC, over 3 weekends.
Special To Arm training is specific to the type of unit the Subaltern is joining and covers a 2-week period. This is increasingly integrated with the tactics phase of a Regular training course. For example, the Platoon Commander's Battle Course held at the Infantry Battle School in Brecon which is integrated within a Regular training course, or the Light Cavalry Commander's Course held at the Reconnaissance & Armoured Tactics Division in Warminster which is run separately to Regular training courses.
See also.
People


Simon Gatwech Dual

Simon Gatwech Dual (also spelled Simon Gatwitch) is a Sudanese rebel who was born in Uror County, Jonglei state, South Sudan.
He joined the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) during the struggle against the Sudanese government, and broke away in 1991 when Riek Machar and Lam Akol formed the SPLA-Nasir faction. Gatwech led the Bor massacre in November 1991 which included many White Army fighters. He joined the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) in 2013 when war broke out in Juba between forces loyal to the president Salva Kiir Mayardit and those loyal to the opposition led by Machar.
Gatwech was appointed as chief of general staff of the SPLA-IO on 21 December 2014 and remains in that position. He returned to Juba following the August 2015 peace agreement between Mayardit and Machar.


Sun Sijing

Sun Sijing (; born December 1951) is a retired general of the People's Liberation Army who served as Political Commissar of the People's Armed Police.
Sun Sijing was born in Qingdao, Shandong province. He joined the People's Liberation Army in 1969, and began work as a political liaison in an artillery force. He rose through the ranks serving in mostly political roles - that is, he presumably did not have much combat experience. In 1999 he became political commissar of the PLA's First Medical University, and by October 2002 became political commissar of the 301 Military Hospital, the top hospital of the PLA and often used as a treatment facility for top civilian leaders as well. In 2005 he became deputy political commissar of the Logistics Department. In December 2010 he became political commissar of the Academy of Military Science. In July 2013 he was promoted to the rank of General, the highest non-wartime rank in the PLA. In December 2014 he became political commissar of the People's Armed Police.
Sun was a member of the 17th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.


Battle of Talavera order of battle

The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) saw an Imperial French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan attack a combined British and Spanish army led by Sir Arthur Wellesley. After several of their assaults were bloodily repulsed on the second day, the French retreated toward Madrid leaving the battlefield to the Anglo-Spanish army. Events soon compelled Wellesley, who was soon appointed Viscount Wellington, to fall back toward his base in Portugal. The following units and commanders fought at the battle, which occurred during the Peninsular War.
Anglo-Spanish Army.
Commander-in-Chief of the Anglo-Spanish Army: Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley
British Army.
Commander-in-Chief: Lieutenant General The Rt Hon Sir Arthur Wellesley KB
Total Anglo-Spanish forces: 52,735, 66 guns
Spanish Army.
Commander-in-Chief: Lieutenant General Don Gregorio Garcia de la Cuesta y Fernández de Celis, Captain-General of Castilla
Spanish cavalry units ending in a number (Nr.) are regular units and so is the Carabineros Reales Regiment. Other cavalry units are probably newly-raised volunteers. Regular units titled Cavalry are heavy cavalry while units titled Cazadores are light cavalry. Units labeled Regiment are probably regular infantry from the old army, though Badajoz, Canarias, Mallorca, Osuna and Salamanca are not in Charles Oman's list. Units labeled Cazadores Regiment are regular light infantry. Infantry units titled Granaderos or Provincial are the standing militia units from the old army. All other infantry units are probably newly-raised volunteers.
French Army of the Centre.
Total French forces: 46,180, 84 guns
I Corps d'Armée.
Marshal of France Claude Perrin Victor, Duke of Belluno
IV Corps d'Armée.
General of Division Horace-Francois-Bastien Sebastiani de La Porta
Reserves.
King Joseph Bonaparte


Heritage-class cutter

The Heritage-class cutter, also known as the Offshore Patrol Cutter and the Maritime Security Cutter, Medium, is
a cutter class of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), developed as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program and built by Eastern Shipbuilding. Construction of the first vessel in the class began in January 2019.
Mission.
The Heritage-class cutters will perform various USCG missions which include but are not limited to PWCS (ports, waterways, and coastal security), defense operations, maritime law enforcement (drug/migrant interdiction and other law enforcement), search and rescue, marine safety, and environment protection. For defense operations the WMSM will meet a range of roles from theater security cooperation to deploying with an expeditionary strike group (ESG) or supporting a combatant commander in various ways. The cutters will also support Arctic operations.
Design.
The Heritage-class cutters are the newest class of cutter in the USCG, bridging the capabilities of the s and the s. The cutters will be classified to American Bureau of Shipping Naval Vessel Rules with USCG addendum and will be built with a mix of military and commercial standards. The cutters will have the ability to install additional equipment (armament) and systems to augment their capabilities if required to conduct operations in higher threat environments in support of national security objectives or other missions. The cutters' construction will provide combat survivability against various threats, including combatant-type compartmentalization, uninterruptible power supply to vital combat and damage control systems and sensors, and ballistic materials over critical areas for protection against small caliber weapons and shrapnel. The cutters have increased interoperability with other USCG and Department of Defense assets, which provides increased communications and similar systems with other combatants such as the Mk 110 and the Mk 38, weapons used in both the United States Navy (USN) and the USCG. This ensures that the Heritage class has the required interoperability to execute naval warfare tasks with the USN. These cutters have space and weight reserved for additional weapons systems which would allow them to carry out wartime missions.
Propulsion.
Rolls-Royce will supply the USCG Heritage-class fleet's controllable-pitch propellers (CPP), shaft lines, and Promas rudders, which offer increased propulsive efficiency and improved maneuverability. The Promas rudder, combined with the water-soluble polyalkylene glycol lubricant used in the CPP system, delivers an efficient and environmentally friendly propulsion solution. Rolls-Royce will also supply bow thrusters, steering gear, fin stabilizers, and MTU marine generator sets.
Combat suite.
The Saab Sea Giraffe AN/SPS-77 multi-mode medium-range naval radar system provides three-dimensional air and surface search functions. The multi-mode naval radar also provides Gun Weapon System cueing and supports the cutter's self-defense and limited air defense capability. The cutters are also equipped with the AN/SLQ-32C(V)6 electronic warfare system, which is a scaled down and lower cost version of the AN/SLQ-32(V)6 SEWIP Block 2 system. The Heritage-class cutters are equipped with the same 220 rpm Bofors 57 mm gun as mounted on the USN's Littoral combat ships and the USCG's Legend-class cutters. The missile defense duties are handled by the MK 53 decoy systems also used on the Legend-class cutters. The Heritage-class cutters weapon and defense systems provide anti-surface capability, limited air-defense capability, and the capability to provide naval gunfire support. The cutter's .50 caliber mounts and Mk 38/Mk 110 combination also give the cutter protection against fast attack craft. The WMSM will have the capability and equipment to escape from a CBRNE and/or TIC contaminated environment.
History.
The cutter was originally proposed to replace aging medium endurance cutters with more capable and technologically advanced cutters as a part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program. By 2010 and 2011 some commentators speculated that the entire program was vulnerable to cancellation on budgetary grounds, because of the long delay in finalizing a preliminary design.
However, a bill passed by the United States Congress on November 15, 2011, imposed conditions on the USCG's capital expenditures, that revolved around the design of the Offshore Patrol Cutter, granting greater certainty to the project.
By December 2011 plans for the cutter started to become more concrete.
Plans to include a stern launching ramp, as on the National Security Cutters and the Fast Response Cutters, had been eliminated on budgetary grounds.
In February 2014, the USCG announced that Bollinger Shipyards, Eastern Shipbuilding, and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works had been awarded design contracts for the OPC. The Government Accountability Office denied contract appeals by VT Halter Marine and Ingalls Shipbuilding.
In September 2016, Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, Florida, was awarded a $110.3 million contract to build the first Offshore Patrol Cutter with an option to purchase eight additional cutters.
 On October 15, 2016 the Coast Guard issued a notice to proceed with the detailed design of the Offshore Patrol Cutter to Eastern Shipbuilding.
The first Offshore Patrol Cutter is expected to be delivered in Fiscal Year 2021. In total, the 25-ship deal could be worth up to $10.5 billion. On July 21, 2017, Eastern Shipbuilding completed its Initial Critical Design Review for the Offshore Patrol Cutter. This leads to the Final Critical Design Review for the Offshore Patrol Cutter.
On August 3, 2017, it was announced that the OPC's will be named "Heritage class" and the first 11 OPCs were named. The Heritage-class OPCs are named after cutters that played a significant role in the Coast Guard's history.
On September 7, 2017, it was announced the USCG exercised a fixed-price option to procure long lead time materials for the first Heritage-class cutter. The total value is $41.68 million, this covers various materials and parts needed for the engines, switchboards and generators, steering and propeller components, and control systems. This also includes meeting Coast Guard requirements, and meeting all American Bureau of Shipping Naval Vessel Rules and is the first US Coast Guard cutter ever constructed to meet these very specific requirements. The construction of the first cutter, USCGC Argus (WMSM-915), was planned to begin in the late summer of 2018, with delivery in August 2021.
On September 28, 2018, the USCG exercised the contract option to begin construction of the lead Offshore Patrol Cutter, along with long-lead materials for OPC #2. The total value of the options exercised is $317.5 million. Delayed by the impact of Hurricane Michael in October 2018, steel cutting for USCGC Argus began on January 7, 2019.
On October 11, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security approved a limited extraordinary relief for the offshore patrol cutter contract as a result of damage to Eastern Shipbuilding facilities caused by Hurricane Michael, and adjusted the offshore patrol cutter detail design and construction contract with Eastern Shipbuilding group for up to the first four hulls. The Coast Guard will release a Request for Information to see industry interest in re-competing the remainder of the offshore patrol cutter program of record.


List of United States Navy installations

List of major active US Navy bases, stations and other facilities.


Incentive flight

An incentive flight is a form of an incentive program offered by the United States Air Force. Flights are often offered to individuals who show exceptional performance in their duties, and usually last around an hour. For fighter wings, the flight involves flying in the cockpit of the jet, while cargo jets involve rides in the cargo bay.


Marine Artillery Scout Observer Course

The Marine Artillery Scout Observer Course (MASOC) is a forward observer training program intended to prepare United States Marines for the MOS #0861 (Fire Support Man). The training is held at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.


Submarines in the United States Navy

There are three major types of submarines in the United States Navy: ballistic missile submarines, attack submarines, and cruise missile submarines. All submarines in the U.S. Navy are nuclear-powered. Ballistic missile submarines have a single strategic mission of carrying nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Attack submarines have several tactical missions, including sinking ships and subs, launching cruise missiles, and gathering intelligence.
The submarine has a long history in the United States, beginning with the "Turtle", the world's first submersible with a documented record of use in combat.
History.
Early history (1775–1914).
The first submarine used in combat was the "USS Turtle", the Turtle was built in 1775 and was made to attach explosive charges to the hulls of the ships. Several attempts were made against British Ships in American harbors in 1776, but none were successful.
Other submersible projects date to the 1800s. "Alligator" was a US Navy submarine that was never commissioned. She was being towed to South Carolina to be used in taking Charleston, but was lost due to bad weather on 2 April 1863 off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. On February 17, 1864, the H. L. Hunley (submarine) became the first submarine to sink a warship.
Real progress began in the late 19th century with the building of the , named after John Philip Holland. The boat was developed at Lewis Nixon's Crescent Shipyard located in Elizabeth, New Jersey. This pioneering craft was in service for 10 years and was a developmental and trials vessel for many systems on other early submarines.
World War I and the inter-war years (1914–1941).
The submarine truly came of age in World War I. The US Navy did not have a large part in this war, with action mainly being confined to escorting convoys later in the war and sending a division of battleships to reinforce the British Grand Fleet. However, there were those in the submarine service who saw what the Germans had done with their U-boats and took careful note.
World War II (1941–1945).
Doctrine in the inter-war years emphasized the submarine as a scout for the battle fleet, and also extreme caution in command. Both these axioms were proven wrong after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The submarine skippers of the fleet boats of World War II waged a very effective campaign against Japanese merchant vessels, eventually repeating and surpassing Germany's initial success during the Battle of the Atlantic against the United Kingdom.
Offensive against Japanese merchant shipping and Japanese war ships.
During the war, submarines of the United States Navy were responsible for 55% of Japan's merchant marine losses; other Allied navies added to the toll. The war against shipping was the single most decisive factor in the collapse of the Japanese economy.
The Navy adopted an official policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, and it appears the policy was executed without the knowledge or prior consent of the government. The London Naval Treaty, to which the U.S. was signatory, required submarines to abide by prize rules (commonly known as "cruiser rules"). It did not prohibit arming merchantmen, but arming them, or having them report contact with submarines (or raiders), made them "de facto" naval auxiliaries and removed the protection of the cruiser rules. This made restrictions on submarines effectively moot. U.S. Navy submarines also conducted reconnaissance patrols, landed special forces and guerrilla troops and performed search and rescue tasks.
In addition to sinking Japanese merchant ships, postwar records compiled by the Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee indicate Japan lost 686 warships of 500 gross tons (GRT) or larger to submarines during 1,600 war patrols. Only 1.6 percent of the total U.S. naval manpower was responsible for America's success on its Pacific high seas; more than half of the total tonnage sunk was credited to U.S. submarines. The tremendous accomplishments of American submarines were achieved at the expense of 52 subs with 374 officers and 3,131 enlisted volunteers lost during combat against Japan; Japan lost 128 submarines during the Second World War in Pacific waters. American casualty counts represent 16 percent of the U.S. operational submarine officer corps and 13 percent of its enlisted force.
Lifeguard League.
In addition to their commerce raiding role, submarines also proved valuable in air-sea rescue. While in command of United States Navy aircraft carrier task force 50.1 Rear Admiral Charles Alan Pownall, proposed to Admiral Charles A. Lockwood (commander of Pacific Fleet Submarine Force) that submarines be stationed near targeted islands during aerial attacks. In what became known as the "Lifeboat League", pilots were informed that they could ditch their damaged planes near these submarines (or bail out nearby) and be rescued by them. Eventually the rescue of downed American pilots became the second most important submarine mission after the destruction of Japanese shipping. Initially, the operation of the rescue submarines met several obstacles, most important of which was the lack of communication between the submarines and aircraft in the area; this led to several Lifeguard League submarines being bombed or strafed, possibly including the sinking of and by American planes.
As fighting in the Pacific theater intensified and broadened in geographic scope, the eventual creation of Standing Operating Procedure (SOP TWO) led to several improvements such as the assignment of nearby submarines before air attacks, and the institution of reference points to allow pilots to report their location in the clear.
After the capture of the Marianas, targets such as Tokyo, about 1,500 mi (2,400 km) north of the Marianas, was brought within range of B-29 attacks and Lifeguard League submarines began rescue operations along their flight paths.
Submarine lifeguards spent a combined 3,272 days on rescue duty and rescued 502 men. Famous examples include the rescue of 22 airmen by the , and the rescue of future U.S. President George H. W. Bush by the .
Cold War (1945–1991).
After WWII, things continued along much the same path until the early 1950s. Then, a revolution that was to forever change the nature of the submarine arm occurred. That revolution was .
Towards the "Nuclear Navy".
The was the first nuclear-powered submarine. "Nautilus" put to sea for the first time on 17 January 1955, transmitting the historic message, "Under way on nuclear power." Up until that point, submarines had been torpedo boats tied to the surface by the need to charge their batteries using diesel engines relatively often. The nuclear power plant of the "Nautilus" meant that the boat could stay underwater for literally months at a time, the only operational limit being the amount of food that the boat could carry. With resupply by mini-subs, even this could be overcome. The final limits would be for replacing equipment that wears out, the fatigue limit of the hull, and crew morale.
Strategic deterrence.
Another revolution in submarine warfare came with . Nuclear-powered, like , "George Washington" added strategic ballistic missiles reaching the nuclear triad. Earlier submarines had carried strategic missiles, but the boats had been diesel powered, and the missiles required the boat to surface in order to fire. The missiles were also cruise missiles, which were vulnerable to the defenses of the day in a way that ballistic missiles were not.
"George Washington"s missiles could be fired while the boat was submerged, meaning that it was far less likely to be detected before firing. The nuclear power of the boat also meant that, like "Nautilus", "George Washington"s patrol length was limited only by the amount of food the boat could carry. Ballistic missile submarines, carrying Polaris missiles, eventually superseded all other strategic nuclear systems in the Navy. Deterrent patrols continue to this day, although now with s and Trident II missiles.
The United States lost two nuclear submarines during the Cold War: due to equipment failure during a test dive while at its operational limit, and due to unknown causes.
Post–Cold War (1991–present).
Given the lack of large scale conventional naval warfare since 1945, with the USN's role being primarily that of power projection, the submarine service did not fire weapons in anger for very many years. The BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) was developed to give naval vessels a long range land attack capability other than direct shore bombardment and strikes by aircraft flying off carriers. Submarines fitted with the Tomahawk could hit targets up to 1,000 miles inland. The mainstay of the Tomahawk equipped vessels in the early days of the missile's deployment were the , and the submarine fleet.
The Tomahawk was first used in combat on 17 January 1991, on the opening night of Operation Desert Storm. On that day, for the first time since the surrender of Japan in 1945, an American submarine fired in combat, when 12 Tomahawks were launched by U.S. boats in the eastern Mediterranean. Since then, the Tomahawk has become a staple of American campaigns, seeing use in three wars. It has also been exported to the United Kingdom, which has also fitted it to submarines. The use of the Tomahawk has seen a change in the design of attack submarines. The Tomahawk can be fired through 21-inch torpedo tubes, but the and s since have been fitted with vertical launch systems to enable them to carry more of the weapons.
In the early 21st century, the USN submarine fleet is made up entirely of nuclear-powered vessels.
Composition of the current force.
Fast attack submarines.
The U.S. currently operates three classes of fast attack submarine: the , , and es. There are 34 "Los Angeles"-class submarines on active duty and 28 retired, making it the most numerous nuclear-powered submarine class in the world. Except for , submarines of this class are named after U.S. cities, breaking a Navy tradition of naming attack submarines after sea creatures. Ships from the USS Virginia afterwards are named after US States, a convention traditionally reserved for battleships and nuclear missile submarines.
The final 23 boats in the "Los Angeles" class, referred to as "688i" boats, are more quiet than their predecessors and incorporate a more advanced combat system. These 688i boats are also designed for under-ice operations: their diving planes are on the bow rather than on the sail, and they have reinforced sails.
Ballistic and guided missile submarines.
The U.S. has 18 "Ohio"-class submarines, of which 14 are Trident II SSBNs (Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear), each capable of carrying 24 SLBMs. The first four which were all equipped with the older Trident I missiles have been converted to SSGN's each capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk guided missiles and have been further equipped to support Special Operations (SEALS). If the maximum of 154 Tomahawk missiles were loaded, one "Ohio"-class SSGN would carry an entire Battle Group's equivalent of cruise missiles. Ballistic missile submarines ("SSBNs" or "boomers" in American slang) carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads for attacking strategic targets such as cities or missile silos anywhere in the world. They are currently universally nuclear-powered to provide the greatest stealth and endurance. They played an important part in Cold War mutual deterrence, as both the United States and the Soviet Union had the credible ability to conduct a retaliatory strike against the other nation in the event of a first strike. This comprised an important part of the strategy of Mutual Assured Destruction.
In order to comply with arms reduction against the START II treaty, the U.S. Navy modified the four oldest "Ohio"-class Trident submarines (, , , and ) to SSGN (Ship, Submersible, Guided, Nuclear) configuration. The conversion was achieved by installing vertical launching systems (VLS) in a configuration dubbed "multiple all-up-round canister (MAC)." This system was installed in 22 of the 24 missile tubes, replacing one large nuclear strategic ballistic missile with 7 smaller Tomahawk cruise missiles. The 2 remaining tubes were converted to lockout chambers (LOC) to be used by special forces personnel who can be carried on board. This gives each converted sub the capability to carry up to 154 Tomahawk missiles. The MAC tubes can also be used to carry and launch UAVs or UUVs which give the ship remote controlled "eyes & ears" allowing the ship to act as a forward-deployed command & control center.
The American "boomers" were named for patriots, and together with the , , , and es, these SSBNs comprised the Cold War-era "41 for Freedom." Later "Ohio"-class submarines were named for states (recognizing the increase in striking power and importance once bestowed upon battleships), with the exception of , which was named for United States Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson (1912–1983) of Washington upon his death while in office (1983). This honor was in recognition of his advocacy on behalf of the nuclear submarine program. He strongly supported the rapid development of nuclear submarines and especially the development of an SSBN program. Senator Jackson also called for the establishment of a Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea Warfare because he believed submarines were "lost in a welter of naval bureaucracy."
Personnel.
U.S. Navy submarines are manned solely by volunteers from within the Navy. Because of the stressful environment aboard submarines, personnel are accepted only after rigorous testing and observation, as a consequence submariners have significantly lower mental hospitalization rates than surface ship personnel. Furthermore, submariners receive submarine duty incentive pay (SUBPAY) in addition to sea pay.
Some 5,000 officers and 55,000 enlisted sailors make up the submarine force. In addition to submarines, they are assigned to submarine tenders, submarine rescue ships, deep-diving submersibles, floating dry docks, shore support facilities, submarine staffs, and senior command staffs.
Until 2014, submariners worked an 18-hour day, as opposed to a standard 24-hour schedule. Sailors spent 6 hours on watch, 6 hours maintenance and training and 6 hours off (3 watches of 6 hours.) In 2014, the Navy began transitioning the fleet to a 24-hour schedule.
The submarine force has always been a small fraction of the active Navy. During World War II all submariners (including the rear echelon) accounted for less than two percent of Navy personnel, but accounted for 55 percent of Japan's merchant marine losses. In 1998 only about seven percent of the Navy's people were submariners, though they operated one-third of the Navy's warships.
Training.
After acceptance into the submarine program, candidates undergo a demanding training schedule, which includes attendance by all Officers and non-nuclear trained enlisted personnel at the Nuclear Power School in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. Naval Submarine School New London, located within the Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton, Connecticut, (NAVSUBSCOL at SUBASENLON) as well as rigorous technical training in different specialty areas.
Besides their academic and technical training, much of which is Classified Secret or Top Secret, all prospective US Naval Submariners, both officers and enlisted personnel, undergo 3 phases of physical training and testing related to the intense pressure differential between the surface and submarine operating depth.
Pressure training.
Pressure training is conducted in a 2-day course including classroom and lab training:
The first test is for the ability to perform the Valsalva maneuver, named for Antonio Maria Valsalva. If a submarine training candidate cannot perform the Valsalva maneuver under doctor's supervision at normal atmospheric pressure, that candidate is not rejected as "unfit for submarine service" but may not continue the high risk pressure training as follows.
In the second phase of testing, called "Pressure Testing", candidates who have successfully performed the Valsalva maneuver will be subjected to increased ambient pressure. This test is performed under the supervision of a diving-certified medical doctor. All testees enter a pressure chamber, accompanied by the doctor, and the 'tank' is sealed. Typically, there is in the chamber a somewhat surprising object: an inflated volleyball, water polo ball or similar inflated ball. Upon sealing the tank, pressure is increased, while the testees equalise their eardrum pressure. (if any testee is unable to 'Valsalva', the test stops, and pressure is slowly released.) Pressure builds within the chamber until the chamber is equal to water pressure at "escape depth". At this point, the chamber feels very warm and dry, and the volleyball has become compressed enough that it has become the shape of a bowl, and appears to have been emptied of air, due to the greatly increased air pressure inside of the tank. Sounds inside the tank at pressure sound as if they are "far away".
During the controlled release of pressure from the tank, the air in the chamber becomes quite chilled and a fog forms in the chamber, often precipitating as a sort of dew. (See adiabatic expansion) Once pressure is fully released, the candidates are examined with an otoscope to check for ruptured eardrums. Candidates with ruptured eardrums are removed from the testing cycle until healed, depending on the severity of the injury.
Escape training.
The third phase of testing for submarine fitness is escape training, utilizing the "Steinke hood submarine escape appliance", or colloquially known as the Steinke hood or, more familiarly, as "Stinky hood". This is a very complex device, but essentially it covers the head and shoulders during ascent from a stranded submarine, allowing air to escape during ascent, which is necessary as the expanding air in the lungs would otherwise cause disastrous injury. Actual training with the Steinke Hood is done in a Submarine Escape Training Tower to simulate a submarine stranded on the floor of the sea bed.
The escape testing proceeds as in the pressure test, except that this time, a hatch in the floor of the pressure chamber is opened. The chamber immediately adjoins a cylindrical tower full of water, tall enough to simulate the depth of a stranded submarine. Because the air pressure inside the chamber is equal to the pressure of the water in the tower, the water does not enter the chamber.
Donning the Steinke hood, the testee enters the water and immediately commences a rapid ascent, due to the buoyancy of the escape device. As they ascend, each testee must allow the air in his lungs to escape, this is facilitated by yelling as loudly as possible. Typically they are told to yell "HO HO HO" repeatedly. If one does not forcefully and continuously expel air from the lungs in this manner, they may be gravely injured or killed. The air exiting the lungs is allowed to exit the hood through a set of two one-way valves, keeping the device inflated but not over-inflated. Upon reaching the top, the testee swims to the side, climbs up, removes his Steinke Hood, deflates it, stands at parade rest, and yells "I FEEL FINE", while a corpsman examines the testee.
Successfully completing the escape training requires two trials, one of them at "double the depth" of the first. On completion of escape training, testees are now considered "bubbleheads".
, the Steinke Hood has been replaced with the Mark 10 Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment (SEIE) suit. The Mark 10 allows submariners to escape from much deeper depths than currently possible with the Steinke Hood.
The Mark 8, its predecessor, was a double layer suit which gave the wearer the appearance of a Michelin Man. One layer was eliminated, and the fabric was used to build a life raft that would fit in the same package that the original suit came in.
Because it is a full body suit, the Mark 10 provides thermal protection once the wearer reaches the surface, and the British Royal Navy has successfully tested it at six hundred foot depths.
The navies of twenty-two nations currently use SEIE units of some type.
Traditions.
Insignia.
Submarine Insignia.
Further training and qualification at sea are required before submariners are awarded the coveted Submarines insignia ("dolphins" or "fish") – the submarine insignia worn by officers (gold) and enlisted personnel (silver) to demonstrate their achievement.
The insignia of the U.S. Navy's Submarine Service is a submarine flanked by two stylized dolphins named Castor and Pollux.
The origin of this insignia dates back to June 1923, when Captain Ernest King, USN, Commander, Submarine Division Three (later Fleet Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations), suggested to the Secretary of the Navy that a device for qualified submariners be adopted. He submitted a pen-and-ink sketch as an example. A Philadelphia firm, Bailey, Banks and Biddle, was requested to design a suitable badge. In 1928, a member of that firm told Ensign William C. Eddy that they were looking for a design. Eddy, using sketches of the 1926 Naval Academy class crest that he had designed, came up with the present submarine insignia.
In 1941 the Uniform Regulations were modified to permit officers and enlisted men to wear the submarine insignia after they had been assigned to other duties in the naval service, unless such right had been revoked. The officer insignia was a bronze gold-plated metal pin, worn centered above the left breast pocket and above the ribbons or medals. Enlisted men wore an embroidered silk insignia on the outside of the right sleeve, midway between the wrist and elbow until 1947 when it was shifted to above the left breast pocket. In 1943 the Uniform Regulations were modified to allow enlisted men, who were qualified for submarine duty then subsequently promoted to commissioned or warrant ranks, to continue wearing the enlisted submarine insignia until they qualified as submarine officers when they were entitled to wear the officers submarine pin. A 1950 change to Uniform Regulations authorized the embroidered insignia for officers (in addition to pin-on insignia) and a bronze, silver-plated, pin-on insignia for enlisted men (in addition to the embroidered device).
Other insignia.
In addition to the Submarine Warfare insignia there are several special insignia. Since 1943 the Submarine Medical insignia has been awarded to medical officers of the Navy Medical Corps qualified in submarine warfare and medical expertise. The Submarine Engineering Duty insignia is issued to Engineering Duty Officers who have been designated as qualified in submarines through a program administered by the Naval Sea Systems Command and was first awarded in 1950. The Submarine Supply Corps insignia has been awarded to members of the Navy Supply Corps who have qualified as Supply Officers on board U.S. submarines since 1963.
Following the tradition of the World War II patrol pin, the silver SSBN Deterrent Patrol insignia is worn by both officer and enlisted members of SSBN crews in recognition of their sacrifice and hard work in completing strategic patrols. The badge depicts a with superimposed Polaris missiles, below which is a scroll with slots for up to six stars. One gold star marks each patrol completed. A silver star marks five patrols. Upon completion of 20 patrols, a gold patrol pin is authorized.
Unofficial insignia.
The person on active duty, officer or enlisted, with the most deterrent patrols is presented with the Neptune Award. That person retains the award until someone else attains more patrols than the current holder or until he retires and it goes to the member with the next highest number of patrols.
Submarine verse of the Navy Hymn.
Two sets of lyrics for the Submarine verse of the Navy Hymn have been written. The Reverend Gale Williamson wrote the following verse, which is generally associated with ballistic missile patrols:
In 1965, David Miller composed the following lyrics, which are used for submariners and divers:


Provisioning of USS Constitution

Provisioning for sea was crucial in the 19th century due to the lack of modern conveniences such as refrigeration, freeze-drying and canning. Most foodstuffs and liquids such as spirits, molasses, vinegar, and water, were shipped in casks, the balance in wooden crates and other suitable packing materials.
It was also commonplace to carry live chickens, both for their eggs and meat, and some small livestock such as sheep, which were butchered when their feed ran out, providing fresh meat before barreled stores such as beef and salt pork were consumed.
The fare for officers and rations for the crew were distinct, as were dining accommodations, with each reflecting their relative stations in society and the navy.
Due to the inability to maintain water fresh for extended periods of time prior to the advent of modern hygiene, shipboard plumbing, and disinfectants, it was common to ship large quantities of beer to provide both hydration and nourishment in times when water aboard fouled. The beer's alcoholic content served as a preservative.
In contrast, grog, a mix of rum and water, was provided and consumed daily (with officers provided their rum straight). The rum allotment per man was retained in the United States Navy until the latter part of the 19th century, and all the way until 1970 in the British Royal Navy.
USS "Constitution".
Ordered on a cruise intended to last at least six months, sailed on 30 December 1813, with 485 men provisioned as follows:
Foodstuffs may well be in the hold for months, perhaps years. Two hundred years ago life ashore was tough and life at sea had the advantage that at least you would get three meals a day, however grim they may have been.
Comparison.
In comparison, on 18 June 1803, Purser James Deblois reported to Commodore Edward Preble that the following provisions would be required for a 400 man crew for a now unknown six months cruise:
Bread 20,000 lbs
Beef 36,000 lbs
Pork 31,200 lbs
Flour 10,400 lbs
Suet 5,200 lbs
Cheese 3,900 lbs
Butter 1,300 lbs
Peas/beans 1,300 gals
Rice 1,300 gals
Molasses 650 gals
Vinegar 650 gals
Wax candles 500 lbs
Tallow candles 500 lbs


Cuban assistance to the Sandinista National Liberation Front

The government of Cuba assisted Nicaragua's Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) both before and after they took power in 1979. This was prompted by their shared Marxist ideologies and resistance to the policies of the United States government.
Pre-revolution.
Beginning in 1967, the Cuban Dirección de Inteligencia (DGI) had begun to establish ties with various Nicaraguan revolutionary organizations. By 1970 the DGI had managed to train hundreds of Sandinista guerrilla leaders and had a strong influence over the organization. In 1969 the DGI had financed and organized an operation to free the jailed Sandinista leader Carlos Fonseca from his prison in Costa Rica. Fonseca was re-captured shortly after the jail break, but after a plane carrying executives from the United Fruit Company was hijacked by the FSLN, he was again freed and allowed to travel to Cuba.
DGI chief Manuel "Redbeard" Piñeiro commented that "of all the countries in Latin America, the most active work being carried out by us is in Nicaragua." After the successful ouster of the right-wing Somoza dictatorship, DGI involvement in the new Sandinista government expanded rapidly. An early indication of the central role that the DGI would play in the Cuban-Nicaraguan relationship was a meeting in Havana on July 27, 1979, at which diplomatic ties between the two countries were re-established after more than 25 years. Julián López Díaz, a prominent DGI agent, was named Cuban Ambassador to Nicaragua. Cuban military and DGI advisors, initially brought in during the Sandinista insurgency, would swell to over 2,500 and operated with all levels of the new Nicaraguan government.
While the Cubans would like to have helped more in the development of Nicaragua towards socialism, it was difficult to counter the United States' power and influence in the rest of Central America and the assistance they gave to the Contras. Following the more overt US invasion of Grenada, countries previously looking for support from Cuba saw that the United States government was likely to take violent action to punish this.
Post-revolution.
The early years of the Nicaraguan Revolution were strongly influenced by Cuba. The Sandinista leaders acknowledged that the FSLN owed a great debt to the communist island. The relationship was made possible because of Cuba's commitment to the strategy of revolutionary guerrilla warfare. Once the Sandinistas assumed power, Cuba gave Nicaragua military advice, as well as aid in education, health care, vocational training and industry building for the impoverished Nicaraguan economy. In return, Nicaragua provided Cuba with grains and other foodstuffs. Once the Sandinistas assumed power, Cuba began sending aid, and it became an essential component of Nicaraguan development strategy. Cuban aid was more beneficial than most countries' because it came in the form of grants and unconditional loans. (Roberto Perez, 1987) During the Somoza period, Nicaragua had been nearly 90% dependent on the US for assistance. In 1980, Cuban-Nicaraguan aid relations became formalized with the formation of the Mixed Commission for Scientific, Economic and Technical Cooperation. This commission is represented on the Cuban side by the State of Committee for Economic Cooperation and on the Nicaraguan side by the Ministry of Economic Cooperation. New aid agreements were negotiated every year within the framework of the commission. In this context the commission provides a vehicle for Nicaragua to present its various needs and for Cuba to evaluate which ones they can fulfill. From 1979 to 1987, the commission oversaw approximately 300 million dollars (US) in aid to Nicaragua, which according to Prevost does not include military aid or the cost of schooling Nicaraguans in Cuba.


USCGC Richard Etheridge

USCGC "Richard Etheridge" is the second of the United States Coast Guard's cutters.
Like most of her sister ships she replaced a . "Richard Etheridge" was launched in August 2011.
The vessel was officially delivered to the Coast Guard on May 26, 2012, at Key West, Florida, and was commissioned into service in Port Everglades, Florida, on August 3, 2012.
"Richard Etheridge", and the first and third vessels in the class, , and , are all based in Miami, Florida.
Like the other ships of her class, "Richard Etheridge" is named after an enlisted member of the Coast Guard.
Operational history.
On March 18, 2014, "Richard Etheridge" landed of illicit drugs captured as part of Operation Martillo.
Namesake.
"Richard Etheridge" is named after Keeper Richard Etheridge of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, the first African-American to command a life-saving station. Etheridge led the Pea Island Lifesaving Station crew of six in a daring rescue operation that saved the entire crew of the schooner "E.S. Newman", which had become grounded in a treacherous storm in 1896.
Design.
The Sentinel-class cutters were designed to replace the shorter Island-class patrol boats. "Richard Etheridge" is with a remote-control 25 mm Bushmaster autocannon and four, crew-served M2HB .50-caliber machine guns. It has a bow thruster for maneuvering in crowded anchorages and channels. It also has small underwater fins for coping with the rolling and pitching caused by large waves. It is equipped with a stern launching ramp, like the and the eight failed expanded Island-class cutters. It has a complement of twenty-two crew members. Like the Marine Protector class, and the cancelled extended Island-class cutters, the Sentinel-class cutters deploy the Short Range Prosecutor rigid-hulled inflatable (SRP or RHIB) in rescues and interceptions. According to "Marine Log", modifications to the Coast Guard vessels from the Stan 4708 design include an increase in speed from , fixed-pitch rather than variable-pitch propellers, stern launch capability, and watertight bulkheads.
"Richard Etheridge" has an overall length of , a beam of , and a displacement of . Its draft is and it has a maximum speed of over . The Sentinel-class cutters have endurances of five days and a range of .