Patrick Space Force Base

Patrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, USAAC. It is home to Space Launch Delta 45 (DEL 45), known as the 45th Space Wing (45 SW) when it was part of the Air Force. In addition to its "host wing" responsibilities at Patrick SFB, the 45 SW controls and operates Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) and the Eastern Range. It was originally opened and operated from 1940 to 1947 as Naval Air Station Banana River, a U.S. Navy airfield. It was then deactivated as a naval installation in 1947 and placed in caretaker status until it was transferred to the Air Force in late 1948.
Additional tenant activities at Patrick SFB include the 920th Rescue Wing, the Air Force Technical Applications Center and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI). Total employment is 10,400. There are 13,099 military, dependents, civilian employees and contractors on base.
The base is a census-designated place (CDP) and had a resident population of 1,222 at the 2010 census.
The base also administers the Malabar Annex, located in Palm Bay.
The facility was due to be renamed Patrick Space Force Base in February or March 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility was finally renamed by Vice President Mike Pence on December 9, 2020.
History.
Naval use in World War II.
Authorized by the Naval Expansion Act of 1938, Naval Air Station Banana River was commissioned on 1 October 1940 as a subordinate base of the Naval Air Operational Training Command at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. The Navy bought of scrub land south of Cocoa Beach.
With the advent of war with Japan and Germany in December 1941, the Navy began anti-submarine patrols along the Florida coast using PBY Catalina and PBM Mariner seaplanes based at this facility. PBMs returned to training duty in March 1942 when replaced on patrol by OS2U Kingfisher seaplanes. Landing strips were constructed in 1943, thereby allowing for concurrent operation of shore based aircraft. Officers of the Free French Naval Air Service also trained in PBMs at NAS Banana River at this time. Various military related activities took place at NAS Banana River, including maritime patrol aviation operations against German U-Boats, air search and rescue operations, patrol bomber bombardier training, seaplane pilot training, and communications research. Other activities included a blimp squadron detachment, an Aviation Navigation Training School, and an experimental training unit termed Project Baker, a confidential program that developed and tested instrument landing equipment. NAS Banana River hosted a major aircraft repair and maintenance facility. Later in the war, a small detachment of German POWs from Camp Blanding worked at NAS Banana River on cleanup details. At its peak, the base complement included 278 aircraft, 587 civilian employees, and over 2800 officers and enlisted personnel.
Flight 19 probe.
Three months after the end of World War II, on 5 December 1945, NAS Banana River had an ancillary role in the search for Flight 19, five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers which had departed Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a routine over-water training mission. When the flight failed to return to home station, a search and rescue operation was undertaken by multiple air and naval units. After sunset on 5 December, two PBM Mariner seaplanes from NAS Banana River, originally scheduled for their own training flights were diverted to perform square pattern searches in the area west of 29°N 79°W/29, -79. One of these aircraft, a PBM-5, Bureau Number (BuNo) 59225, took off at 19:27 Eastern Time from NAS Banana River, called in a routine radio message at 19:30 Eastern Time, and was never heard from again.
At 19:50 Eastern Time, the tanker SS "Gaines Mills" reported seeing a mid-air explosion, then flames leaping 100 feet (30 m) high and burning on the sea for 10 minutes. The position was 28°35′N 80°15′W / 28.59, −80.25. Captain Shonna Stanley of the SS "Gaines Mills" reported searching for survivors through a pool of oil, but found none. The escort carrier USS "Solomons" reported losing radar contact with an aircraft at the same position and time. No wreckage of PBM-5 BuNo 59225 was ever found.
During investigation by a board of inquiry regarding the entire Flight 19 incident, attention was given to the loss of the NAS Banana River-based PBM. Several witnesses from both NAS Banana River and other PBM Mariner operating locations were questioned concerning occurrences of aviation gasoline (AvGas) fumes collecting in the bilges of PBM series aircraft and associated no smoking regulations, which were reportedly well posted and rigidly enforced aboard all PBMs. Although the board's report is not a verbatim record and no accusations were made, there seems to be enough inference present to cause one to suspect that the board was aware of the PBM's nickname as "the flying gas tank." As such, it is possible that the PBM-5 was destroyed by an explosion resulting from either (a) an aircrewman violating the no smoking regulations in the aircraft or (b) a stray electrical spark in the lower aircraft hull that may have ignited AvGas fumes in the bilges.
Land pollution.
The Navy buried its solid wastes southeast of the base, on private land, from 1942 to 1947. The dump was estimated at up to , of which may be eligible for a federal government funding cleanup. Discarded material probably included munitions and practice bombs.
Contractors bought the land, naming it "South Patrick Shores". The constructed housing on it from 1956 to 1961. Homeowners had no mandatory solid waste removal until 1982.
Residents reported health complaints starting about 1990s, and again in 2018. Responding to these complaints, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers investigated the site to determine whether a cleanup was necessary.
Transition.
NAS Banana River closed in September 1947 after a gradual deactivation and was placed in a caretaker status. In September 1948 the facility was transferred to the U.S. Air Force. Several of NAS Banana River's original structures, including runway segments, certain hangars, support buildings, seaplane parking areas and seaplane ramps into the Banana River remain part of modern-day Patrick Space Force Base.
United States Air Force use.
NAS Banana River was transferred to the United States Air Force on 1 September 1948 and renamed the Joint Long Range Proving Ground on 10 June 1949. The installation was renamed Patrick Air Force Base in August 1950.
From 1966 to 1975, the Space Coast was the second most visited spot by VIPs, after Washington, DC, a result of the Space Program. A protocol officer was assigned to Patrick to coordinate these visits, about 3 weekly consisting of 10 to 150 people.
In 1971, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) was established at Patrick AFB.
Five of the victims of the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996 were home stationed at Patrick AFB as part of the 71st Rescue Squadron (71 RQS). The 71 RQS subsequently relocated to Moody AFB, Georgia in 1997.
The 9/11 attacks prompted the Air Force to close the heavily used 4-lane State Road A1A, which ran immediately in front of the AFTAC Headquarters building. A1A was later reopened to two-lane traffic with car inspections, followed by two-lane traffic without inspections until a barrier was constructed in front of the building and the building reinforced with steel and concrete with the windows sealed.
In February 2005, the Patrick AFB Officers Club was destroyed by an accidental fire.
In 2010, the Air Force announced its intention to replace the existing AFTAC building front State Road A1A with a new facility that would cost in the range from $100 to $200 million. At the time of this announcement, this constituted the largest single military construction (MILCON) project in the United States for the Air Force. Completed in 2014, the new facility is a multistory command and control building with a radiochemistry laboratory, central utility plant and a 600 space parking garage located approximately a west of the original AFTAC headquarters building.
US Navy Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft, part of Operation Looking Glass, were sometimes seen at Patrick AFB during the 2010–11 time frame and were often mistaken by onlookers for the previously retired VC-137 Presidential aircraft (i.e., Air Force One), which looks similar.
Operational history.
On 17 May 1950, the base was renamed the "Long Range Proving Ground Base" but three months later was renamed "Patrick Air Force Base", in honor of Major General Mason Patrick.
On 3 May 1951, the Long Range Proving Ground Division was assigned to the newly created Air Research and Development Command (ARDC). The next month the division was redesignated the Air Force Missile Test Center (AFMTC).
Cost comparison studies done in the early 1950s pointed out the desirability of letting contractors operate the station. The first range contract was signed with Pan American World Services on 31 December 1953. The Air Force Missile Test Center began transferring property and equipment to Pan American World Services at the end of that year. Pan American operated under contract to the Air Force for the next 34 years (until early October 1988). In 1988, the old range contract was divided into the Range Technical Services (RTS) and the Launch Base Services (LBS) contracts. The RTS contract was awarded to Computer Sciences Raytheon (CSR) in June 1988, and the LBS contract was awarded to Pan American World Services (later known as Johnson Controls) in August 1988.
The Eastern Range supported a variety of missile and manned and unmanned space programs in the 1960s, making it a regular focus of media attention. In the 1960s, a test range office at Patrick AFB with a missile backdrop was used to film scenes for the TV sitcom, "I Dream of Jeannie", which was set in nearby Cocoa Beach (no cast was present). But by the mid-1970s, the demise of the Apollo manned space program and the end of land-based ballistic missile development at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station signaled a downturn in fortunes, and on 1 February 1977, the "Air Force Eastern Test Range" organization was inactivated and its functions transferred to Detachment 1 of the Space and Missile Test Center (SAMTEC) until the activation of the Eastern Space and Missile Center in 1979 on 1 October 1979. In 1990, ESMC was transferred from the inactivating Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) to the newly established Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). On 12 November 1991 ESMC was inactivated and the 45th Space Wing (45 SW) assumed its remaining functions.
Aerospace Defense Command use.
In 1961, Patrick AFB began hosting a joint Federal Aviation Administration/Air Defense Command (later Aerospace Defense Command) joint-use radar site featuring an AN/FPS-66 general surveillance radar set for air defense of the Patrick AFB/Cape Canaveral area. Designated site "Z-211" (FAA J-05), the 645th Radar Squadron was reactivated on 28 June 1962 to operate the radar, feeding data to Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center DC-09 at Gunter AFB, Alabama.
Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) operated the radar until 25 April 1976 when it was replaced by a detachment of the 20th Air Defense Squadron (OLA-A). The USAF radar was removed around 1988. After its closure by the Air Force, the facility was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The former ADC site was replaced by a new site near Melbourne, Florida, as part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS), designated by NORAD as Southeast Air Defense Sector (SEADS) Ground Equipment Facility "J-5", with a new ARSR-4 radar.
Strategic Air Command use.
The 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (9 SRW) of the Strategic Air Command established Operating Location OLYMPIC FLAME (OL-OF), a new Lockheed U-2 aircraft operating location at Patrick AFB, Florida, on 29 January 1982. OL-OF was subsequently redesignated as 9 SRW, Detachment 5 on 1 January 1983 and concentrated on reconnaissance operations (to include MIDAS and HICAT) over Central America and the Caribbean basin, replacing an operational capability that had previously been resident at nearby McCoy AFB until that installation's closure in 1975. Detachment 5 was inactivated at Patrick AFB in 1992.
Role and operations.
45th Space Wing.
The host wing for Patrick SFB is the 45th Space Wing (45 SW), whose Airmen manage all launches of uncrewed rockets at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) 12 miles to the north. These rockets include satellites for the US military, to include the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the National Security Agency (NSA), as well as scientific payload launches in support of NASA, weather satellite launches in support of NOAA, payloads in support of international customers such as the European Space Agency, and commercial payloads for various corporate communications entities. Units and individuals from the 45 SW have deployed abroad during wartime, most notably during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom
Air Force Technical Applications Center.
The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is a tenant command headquartered at Patrick SFB. Previously an activity of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AFISRA), AFTAC became a subordinate unit of Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF) and now the Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber), both of Air Combat Command (ACC). AFTAC is the sole Department of Defense agency operating and maintaining a global network of nuclear event detection sensors.
920th Rescue Wing.
The 920th Rescue Wing (920 RQW), part of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), is another tenant command headquartered at Patrick SFB and is the installation's only military flying unit. An Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained combat search and rescue (CSAR) organization, the 920 RQW is the only rescue wing in the Air Force Reserve, operating the HC-130P/N "King" variant of the C-130 Hercules and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, ready for worldwide deployment. In addition to its CSAR mission, the wing also participates in civilian rescue operations, ranging from rescue support for NASA crewed spaceflight operations, to augmentative support to U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue (SAR) operations, to Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) in the wake of major disasters. Most notable is the 920th's role in crewed spaceflight support to NASA, providing Eastern Range monitoring and having provided search and rescue support for space shuttle launches originating from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Additional operations have included searching the Caribbean for downed aircraft, as well as retrieving critically ill sailors and passengers from ships hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic, often at night and/or in bad weather. Because the USAF HH-60 can refuel in flight from the USAF HC-130, MC-130, or USMC KC-130, it possesses a much greater range and mission radius versus similar military helicopters lacking such capability. The 920 RQW is a full participant in the Air Force's Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force (AEF) operating concept. Under this concept, the bulk of the wing deployed to Iraq in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subsequent AEF deployments have included Djibouti and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
US State Department.
The U.S. State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Air Wing helps foreign countries combat drugs and narcotics criminals. The Bureau operates a fleet of aircraft, primarily former USAF and USMC OV-10 and former USAF C-27 aircraft at Patrick SFB to help detect and interdict the drug trade in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Afghanistan.
Based units.
Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Patrick, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
See Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for units of the 45th Space Wing permanently based there.
United States Space Force.
Space Operations Command (SpOC)
United States Air Force.
Air Combat Command (ACC)
Air National Guard (ANG)
Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC)
United States Department of State.
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Infrastructure and facilities.
Buildings.
The base has the Space Coast Inn for visiting personnel, dormitories for permanent party single enlisted personnel, quarters for families in three separate housing areas, recreational housing on the beach, beach access, combined officers and enlisted clubs, Commissary, a large AAFES base exchange (BX), library and numerous Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facilities.
Facilities are used by 4,000 military men and women, 11,500 civilian workers, contractors and dependents, 43,000 military retirees, and 82,000 members of retirees families.
There are several chapels including Chapel One, Chapel Two, South Chapel at the South Housing area, and Seaside Chapel (Building 440). There is a "45th Space Wing Chapel" which travels with the Wing when it is deployed. The Catholic Group is called "St. George Parish" and meets in Chapel One or Two. While the buildings are owned by the Space Force, the Catholic Parish is under the spiritual direction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
In 2009, base housing was privatized and in addition to active duty personnel and their families, also became available for lease by members of the Reserve and Guard, military retirees, Department of Defense civil service employees and DOD contractors.
In 2010–2012, the medical clinic underwent a major remodel project. It was estimated to cost $18.5 million.
In 2020, the Satellite Pharmacy and Dental Clinic were remodeled to bring current with today's standard of care under DHA (Defense Health Administration), the construction of a new medical clinic was started. It is expected to cost $18.5 million.
Access.
Patrick Space Force Base lies on a barrier island, and is primarily accessed from the mainland by the Pineda Causeway (State Road 404) in Satellite Beach, or State Road A1A which runs the entire length of Patrick SFB.
Water.
The base obtains potable water from the city of Cocoa. A single potable water line from Cocoa runs under the Sykes Creek Bridge at Sea Ray Drive.
Media.
The "Missileer" was published by the base weekly until 28 September 2012. It was discontinued due to defense budget cutbacks as a result of sequestration. A local paper, "Florida Today", publishes "The Shark Pride" weekly, as a replacement for the former publication.


Central Band of the Royal Air Force

The Central Band of the Royal Air Force is an RAF regular band and is part of Royal Air Force Music Services. The motto of the band is "Aere Invicti" (Latin for "Invincible with the Brass").
History.
The Central Band of the RAF was formed in 1920, shortly after the RAF had been formed in 1918. Their version of the theme from the "Dam Busters" reached No. 18 in October 1955, spending one week in the UK Top 20.
The band has given performances on BBC Radio 2's "Friday Night is Music Night" in October 2010 and, to mark the 100th anniversary of the formation of the RAF, in April 2018.
Personnel.
All band members are fully trained military personnel.
The director of music is Flight Lieutenant Chris I'Anson.
The bandmaster is Warrant Officer Terry Gardner.


Chaplain of the United States Coast Guard

The Chaplain of the United States Coast Guard (COCG) is the senior chaplain of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and is attached to USCG headquarters in Washington, D.C. as a United States Navy Chaplain Corps officer who reports directly to the Commandant of the Coast Guard. The current Chaplain of the Coast Guard is Captain Thomas Walcott, USN.
Purpose.
The Chaplain of the Coast Guard serves as the Commandant's senior advisor on matters pertaining to chaplains and the free exercise of religion as enshrined in First Amendment to the United States Constitution as exercised by USCG personnel and their eligible family members. Chaplains provide religious ministry, advocate for and promote the well-being of USCG personnel, and serve as command liaison officers to civilian religious leaders, communities, organizations and agencies. The duties of the office are described in the Commandant's Religious Ministries in the Coast Guard instruction.
The USCG does not have an organic chaplain corps; chaplains from the United States Navy Chaplain Corps are assigned to the USCG to serve in USCG billets. Traditionally, documents such as the USCG Chaplains Orientation Manual provided guidance for Navy chaplains assigned to USCG duties. Chaplains are clergy who hail from many different faiths and denominations and may be ordained or appointed as ministers, priests, imams, and rabbis by their denomination.


Submarine Force Library and Museum

The United States Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum is located on the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut. It is the only submarine museum managed exclusively by the Naval History & Heritage Command division of the Navy, and this makes it a repository for many special submarine items of national significance, including . Visitors may take a 30-minute self-guided audio tour of the "Nautilus".
History.
The Electric Boat Company (EB) established the museum in 1955 as the "Submarine Library". EB donated it to the Navy in 1964, and the Navy moved it to its current location next to Naval Submarine Base New London. It received its official title in 1969. The "Connecticut Nautilus Committee" was formed in 1984 to raise funds for an improved museum, hoping to convince the Navy to donate the "Nautilus". A new facility was built with funding from the state, individuals, and businesses, opening in 1986. In late 1997, the Committee started planning and raising funds for a addition to the museum building. Fund raising started the next year, and the construction project ran from 1998 to early 2000. The new addition was officially opened to the public on April 28, 2000 "in conjunction with the Centennial Celebration of the United States Submarine Force", according to the museum.
Collection and permanent exhibits.
The museum has 33,000 artifacts including the , the first nuclear-powered submarine in the world. "Nautilus" was launched in 1955 and decommissioned in 1980. It traveled under the polar ice cap and reached the North Pole during the Cold War. Also at the museum is a replica of David Bushnell's "Turtle", built in 1775 and the first submarine used in combat. Other exhibits include midget submarines from World War II, working periscopes, salvaged parts from the nuclear USS "NR-1", a submarine control room, models of submarines, and the Explorer, an early research submarine. The sail section from the , the first nuclear powered ballistic missile sub, is on outdoor display near the main entrance.
The museum also has a library with around 20,000 documents and 30,000 photos related to the history of submarine development. The library also includes 6,000 books related to the field of submarine history, including a 1551 text on submarine retrieval, and an 1870 copy of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" with a model of the fictional "Nautilus". Documents in the collection include notes and calculations by John Philip Holland for the Navy's first commissioned submarine, "one-of-a-kind artifacts from World War I and World War II", and the submarine library collections of Electric Boat Corporation and the Navy.
"Connecticut" magazine called the museum "an absolute gem worth exploring" with the USS "Nautilus" as "the star attraction". Anna Mundow in Fodor's guide to Connecticut and Rhode Island asserts that "students of modern military history will be impressed" by the museum.


Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard

Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard are military medals and ribbons of the United States Coast Guard which are currently issued under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security.
Prior to 2002, such awards were issued by the Secretary of Transportation and Coast Guard personnel were eligible to receive a variety of Department of Transportation (DOT) civilian decorations. Since transferring to the Department of Homeland Security, the issuance of DOT awards has been discontinued in the Coast Guard, although such awards may still be seen on active duty Coast Guard uniforms.
Coast Guard military awards are similar to U.S. Navy awards (often with nearly identical ribbons save for an additional white stripe) and Coast Guard personnel are eligible to receive all inter-service awards and decorations, authorized foreign awards and international decorations.
The current active awards and decorations of the U.S. Coast Guard are as follows:
Order of precedence.
The following is the ribbon order of precedence authorized for wear by the U.S. Coast Guard. The list contains awards and decorations for the departments of Defense (including Army, Navy and Air Force), Homeland Security and Transportation:
References.


List of equipment of the Royal Thai Army

This article is a list of equipment of the Royal Thai Army.
Current equipment.
Aircraft.
The Royal Thai Army is known to operate the following aircraft types:


Contract field team

The Contract Field Teams program (also called Contractor Field Teams and commonly abbreviated CFT) is a program of the United States Air Force designed to provide temporary and long-term labor support for a variety of technical service needs; maintenance and repair, depot services, inspections, modernization for contingency support for aircraft, vehicles, weapon systems and other equipment. The CFT program is currently administered by the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, and has been in place since 1951.
The official USAF definition of CFT is: "A group of skilled contractor maintenance personnel who are provided with government furnished special tools, equipment, and supplies to accomplish maintenance on site at operational bases. The contractor provides supervision, people and hand tools."
Under the CFT program, a series of contracts is awarded to various contractors, from which separate task orders will later be issued. To win a CFT task order the contractor must be able to demonstrate that it can assemble the necessary personnel and deploy them to the directed site within a short time frame (generally 30 days from notification). The task orders may involve recurring effort (such as augmenting a depot workforce with certain skill positions for a specified period of time, usually an entire calendar year) or nonrecurring effort (such as installation of field kits on selected systems at a military installation). Usually all the contractors are eligible to bid on any task order; however, the USAF reserves the right to award a task order to a contractor without competition.
Although the program is administered by the USAF, all branches of the military are eligible to use the CFT program for their needs, as well as some civilian agencies.
Current CFT Contractors (beginning 1 October 2008).
Eleven contractors (seven large businesses and four small businesses) were awarded contracts under the current CFT competition. This changed from the prior competition, which had no small-business set-aside and which had only four contract awards.
The four small business contracts are limited to CONUS support only, while the seven large business contracts can support either CONUS or OCONUS effort.


USS Finch (DE-328)

USS "Finch" (DE-328) was an "Edsall"-class destroyer escort in the service of the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 and from 1956 to 1969. From 1951 to 1954, she was loaned to the United States Coast Guard where she served as USCGC "Finch" (WDE-428). She was scrapped in 1974.
Namesake.
Joseph Warren Finch Jr. was born on 8 March 1920 in Chicago, Illinois. He was appointed Ensign in the United States Naval Reserve on 28 May 1941. He was killed in action in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942, when his ship was sunk. Lieutenant (junior grade) Finch shared posthumously in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the "Laffey" for its outstanding performance in action against the Japanese in the Southwest Pacific from 15 September until its loss.
History.
"Finch" was first launched on 28 August 1943 at Orange, Texas, as DE-328; sponsored by Miss Grace Cushing, fiancée of Lieutenant Finch. She was commissioned three times. The ship was first commissioned on 13 December 1943, taking on its 182-man crew with USNR Lieutenant Commander Albert H. Nienau in command.
World War II.
"Finch" arrived at Curaçao on 7 March 1944, and escorted two oil tanker convoys to Casablanca and Algiers until 31 May. After training in the Caribbean and in Casco Bay, she departed from Norfolk on 28 July. "Finch" escorted shipping to Naples for Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. She returned to New York City on 31 August. The ship escorted five convoys from New York and Boston to Great Britain between 29 September 1944 and 8 May 1945.
After the end of the war in the European theatre, "Finch" was transferred to the Pacific Fleet, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 12 July. She continued to Guam, becoming part of a carrier task force there on 13 August. Japan surrendered two days later, and "Finch" sailed to Leyte on 17 August. She participated in occupation duties, which included the evacuation of Allied prisoners of war in Korea to Formosa during September 1945.
During her operation from 28 August 1943 until 6 March 1947, "Finch" entered 63 ports from the eastern and western ports of the USA through the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. "Finch" participated in 18 convoys as an escort for a variety of naval and commercial ships. "Finch" entered drydock at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 4 October 1946 under the command of Lieutenant Commander R. L. Tully, but was not finally decommissioned until 6 March 1947.
Korean War.
From 24 August 1951 to 23 April 1954, "Finch" was on loan to the United States Coast Guard and in commission as USCGC "Finch" (WDE-428). She served on weather station duty along the west coast and in the Far East during the Korean War.
Cold War.
Upon her return to the U.S. Navy, she was converted to a radar picket escort vessel. She was reclassified DER-328 on 17 August 1956, and recommissioned 17 August 1956. Seattle was "Finch"s home port from 17 December 1956 through 10 September 1958, as she made regular patrols on seaborne radar early warning duty. She arrived at Pearl Harbor 16 September 1958 for similar duty until 16 May 1960, then sailed for San Francisco, her home port for barrier operations through 1962.
In the 1969 movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!", the ship was used to portray the USS "Ward".
Decommissioning and fate.
On 3 October 1969, "Finch" was decommissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She was stricken 1 February 1974, and sold for scrap 16 August 1974.


Jack Hooper

Jack Hooper (William John "Jack" Hooper) is the former deputy director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) who became well known mainly for his role in some of Canada's most sensitive and controversial spy-service scandals, including CSIS's involvement in the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian engineer father of two who was sent to Syria where he was imprisoned without charges and tortured.
Hooper was also involved in the decision making process of sending CSIS officers to Guantanamo Bay's prison to interrogate Omar Khadr, a convicted war criminal detained in Guantanamo at the age of 15.
Career.
Hooper began his career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1974. Posted to Burnaby, B.C.. He joined the RCMP Security Service in 1981 and was assigned to various counterintelligence and counter-terrorism desks.
Following the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP that investigated the RCMP after a number of illegal activities by the RCMP Security Service came to light in the 1970s, the responsibility for national security was removed from the RCMP and assigned to a new civilian agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), established in 1984.
Hooper transferred from the RCMP to CSIS in 1984, when the intelligence service was created from the ruins of the RCMP security service. The RCMP Security Service had by then been discredited after the revelations of improprieties and scandals exposed by the McDonald Commission.
His transfer came after a camera crew caught him turning a protester upside down and "bouncing his head off the asphalt", during a protest at Simon Fraser University where the part-time tactical team officer was studying for his Masters Degree in Criminology.
He retired from the service in 2007 and went to work for Public Mobile, a telecommunications company.
He was replaced with Luc Portelance, following a long-standing enmity between Hooper and Director Jim Judd.
After finishing University, he worked on an oil rig in the Beaufort Sea.
In 1997, Hooper was tasked to fly to Lima, Peru to bribe Peruvian security agents to protect the Canadian embassy, and also carried out missions in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen during his 22-year career in CSIS.
In 2007, as part of the investigation into government foreknowledge of the torture, it was revealed that Hooper had sent an earlier memo on October 10, 2002 that included the reference "I think the United States would like to get Arar to Jordan where they can have their way with him", which was the first conclusive evidence that CSIS, and not just the RCMP, knew that a Canadian was going to be tortured at the request of the United States.
A year later, Hooper contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to tell them that it was not in Canada's interests to demand that the United States return Maher Arar.
In May 2006, he raised controversy when he admitted that CSIS was unable to screen more than 90% of immigrant applicants from Pakistan and Afghanistan, which he said "may be inadequate".
Death.
He died on November 12, 2010, of a heart attack. He was 57.
One of the expressions he seemed to like had a special reference to "the big dogs" . He used to say: "If you’re going to run with the big dogs, you better learn to piss in the high grass."


Ian Frenkel


Launch 5

Launch 5 is a restored NYPD patrol launch presently in use as a United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Facility as well as for volunteer non-profit environmental, public safety and educational work. Launch 5 enjoys a rich history beginning with her construction and dedication in 1966 and continuing to this day including valuable missions and enjoying substantial media exposure. Her crew is a group of volunteers who donate time and money to keep her afloat and to take her to public service.
In addition to being a working vessel, Launch 5 serves as a floating memorial to the officer she was named after, Patrolman Henry Walburger, who was killed in the line of duty in 1964. The vessel goes by both names - "Patrolman Walburger" and "Launch 5". All NYPD Harbor Unit patrol launches are given a numbered designation welded to the outside of the wheelhouse. "Patrolman Walburger" was assigned No 5. She is fifty two feet in length, powered by twin diesel engines and weighs 25 tons.
History.
While there are many stories to tell regarding Launch No 5's voyage through time, what follows are some highlights in her history.
Slaying of Officer Henry Walburger.
At 6:45 a.m. on July 27, 1964, Patrolman Henry Walburger and his partner were dispatched to an apartment building in the 9th pct. of Manhattan for a possible burglary in progress. When they arrived, Walburger ascended the fire escape to discover a white male holding two black females hostage. The white male shot Patrolman Walburger through the window and he died.
Construction and commissioning of Launch No 5.
During the summer of 1966 the first four of a fleet of new steel patrol launches were being built to replace the aging wooden fleet. They were being built by Turecamo Tug in the Matton Shipyard on the western bank of the Hudson River on Van Schaick Island, Cohoes NY. One of them was to bear the number "No 5". Years later, photos of her construction surfaced through a chance meeting with a retired shipbuilder who worked in the yard at the time.
On November 18, 1966 Launch 5 was christened the "Patrolman Walburger" in a dedication ceremony attended by department brass, Henry's widow and children. After a ceremonial ride with the family, Launch No 5 began an approximate 30-year career as a very active patrol launch in the Jamaica Bay area of New York City - saving lives, property and enforcing the law.
Demise of Launch No 5.
Sometime in the early nineties, as a new fleet of aluminum launches were being put into service in the New York City Police Department Harbor Unit, Launch No 5 was sold as surplus to a private party who eventually let it sink in the Passaic River. She lay on the bottom of that river, sinking deeper and deeper into the mud, for about a year.
Raising of Launch No 5.
In 1998, Greg Porteus, a retired New York State Trooper whose father served aboard Launch 5 as a member of the NYPD Harbor Unit in the sixties and seventies, learned about Launch 5 lying on the bottom of the river and decided to embark on the project of raising and restoring the vessel. The project turned into a journey of its own taking in excess of four years and many thousands of dollars to accomplish. But many friendships and loyalties were built along the way. Launch 5 had her hull below the waterline completely replaced, was repowered with brand new Caterpillar diesels. She continues to be improved with new navigation systems, generator, etc.
Resurrection of Patrolman Walburger's spirit.
In the summer of 2002, the restoration was completed and she was rededicated to Patrolman Henry Walburger. The original dedication and name plaques were donated and affixed to the wheelhouse where they remain today. Patrolman Walburger's son Henry Jr., a retired NYPD detective, became an active crewmember and member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary along with Greg and the rest of the Launch 5 Crew.
Launch No 5 today.
Since her rededication in 2002, Launch 5 has been very busy again as a volunteer vessel - saving lives, providing security and public safety and helping to keep the Hudson River clean. But counted among her most proud achievements are the dozens of people who have been brought together through her restoration, service and her role as a floating memorial to the slain patrolman. In fact, she has come to symbolize the memories of "all" officers slain in the line of duty - and she carries those spirits with her on every active mission.
Missions.
As a volunteer facility for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Launch No 5 has participated in hundreds of "routine" safety and homeland security patrols. But she has also been called upon for more distinguished missions such as:
Media.
Launch 5's activities have drawn some media attention as well. Numerous newspaper articles have been written about her and her crew. Two impressive international magazine articles have been written as well. One of them was a seven-page tribute which was published in "Passagemaker" magazine. The other one was a centerfold photo spread in "Professional Mariner" magazine. She has appeared in numerous TV News spots and was featured in the opening scene of and episode of the "Law & Order" TV series. In January 2006, Launch 5 and her crew were filmed for a pivotal scene in Steven Soderbergh's movie "Guerilla" - a film about Che Guevara - which was released in 2008.


USCGC Triton

USCGC "Triton" may refer to:


Josaphat Brunet

Josaphat Brunet was a senior police officer in Canada.
In 1956 he was the founding director of the RCMP Security Service.
In 1958 he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Following his retirement from the RCMP he became, briefly, the director of Security for the National Bank of Canada. Later in 1960 he was appointed Director General of the Sûreté du Québec, a post he held for five years.
Brunet's son, Gilles Brunet, followed his father into the RCMP Security Service, where, at first, he seemed destined for promotion. But, in 1973, he was fired from the RCMP, due to ties to organized crime figures.
Josaphat Brunet died in 1974.
Western intelligence agencies would later learn that Josaphat's son Gilles had become a double agent for the Soviet Union and had been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to betray Canada and its allies. Another man, Leslie James Bennett, had been fired due to CIA suspicions that he was the mole within the RCMP. Commentators on intelligence matters would point out that Josaphat's role as the founding director of Canada's spy-catching agency had eased his son Gilles's attempts to evade detection, because he was "one of us".


General Military Academy

The General Military Academy (in Spanish: Academia General Militar) is a higher training center of the Spanish Army, responsible for the initial training for officers of the Arms and Corps of the Army, and for the officers of the Civil Guard. It is currently located in Zaragoza.
History.
First era.
The General Military Academy was founded under the reign of Alfonso XII, on February 20, 1882. The first training center was located in Alcázar de Toledo. The first head of the Academy was the General Méndez "The Great".
The Academy was dissolved in 1893, and later, the Armed Forces and Corps had their own separate training centers.
Second era.
In 1927, during the reign of Alfonso XIII, and under the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the center was reestablished in Zaragoza. Primo de Rivera came to the conclusion that one of the reasons of the dissents between the Armed Forces on the promotion system based on seniority or merits of war was based on the lack of an academy in which all four Army Corps were trained together. After the Debarkation of Alhucemas, Primo de Rivera developed a great admiration for Francisco Franco, a soldier with a great reputation after the African campaigns and the foundation of the Tercio de Extranjeros with José Millán Astray. On January 4, 1928, by Royal Decree, Franco was named Director of the General Military Academy.
Historian Eduardo González Calleja interpreted the designation of Franco as "a gesture of reconciliation with "Africanists", achieved after the operation of summer 1925. Both Primo and Franco, and the majority of colonial soldiers that formed the teacher board wanted to train a kind of official not study-oriented, with a knightly concept of the profession and without any relationship with the social media at the time whatsoever".
After the Second Republic was established and the military reforms were applied in June 1931 by the provisional Ministry of War, the center was closed. Azaña didn't trust the instructions provided at the center and believed its budget was huge in a moment in which military spending was trying to be cut. Conservative, anti-republican officials, thought the closure of the Academy was an attack to the very spirit of the Army, since the Academy was the only place in Spain in which soldiers of all kinds studied together. Franco was devastated, and after the end of the Civil War he restored the institution. However, he obeyed Azaña's commands at the time and closed the Academy.
Third era.
After the end of the Spanish Civil War and the reorganization of military studies in Spain, the General Military Academy was established again on September 27, 1940 by Minister of the Army José Enrique Varela. The old buildings used for training in the second era were used. In 1942, 170 students started studying in the Academy. Francisco Hidalgo de Cisneros y Manso de Zúñiga was named Director of the Academy. Notable alumni are Juan Carlos I of Spain, and his son Felipe VI of Spain.
Current curriculum.
Just like so many military academies in the world, the General Military Academy is a medium-sized, highly residential baccalaureate college, with a full-time, five-year undergraduate program that emphasizes instruction in the arts, sciences, and professions with a graduate program, preparing men and women to take on the challenge of being officers of the Spanish Army and the Civil Guard. The academy is accredited by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and is a directly reporting agency of the Army general staff.
Undergraduate program - academic.
The academic program consists of a structured core of subjects depending on the cadet's chosen specialty as a future Army officer, balanced between the arts and sciences. For Civil Guard cadets, additional training is focused on their law enforcement role. Regardless of major, all cadets graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree with assistance from the Central Defense University and the University of Zaragoza.
Undergraduate program - military.
As all cadets are commissioned as lieutenants upon graduation, military and leadership education is nested with academic instruction. Military training and discipline fall under the purview of the Office of the Commandant of Cadets. Entering freshmen, or 4th class cadets, are referred to as New Cadets, and enter the academy on Reception Day (in September) to start off their military service training as future officers and are recognized as full cadets in a ceremony in January the following year, where they make their pledge to the National Colour and receive ceremonial daggers. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of study as cadets and their final year as commissioned second lieutenants, aside from the usual academic work in military and civil subjects, also involve specialty training in the combat arms of the Army in their respective combat training schools, and for the Civil Guard, alongside military instruction its cadets receive speciality training within its own institutions for law enforcement training in various specialties suited for potential graduates.


Chester R. Bender

Chester R. Bender (March 14, 1914 – July 20, 1996) served as the fourteenth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1970 to 1974. He also served as Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy from 1965 to 1967.
Early life and education.
Bender was born in Burnsville, West Virginia, on March 14, 1914, and later moved with his parents John I. Bender and Inez Harbert Bender, to Plant City, Florida in 1925. In 1932, he was appointed as a cadet at the United States Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut. During his time at the academy, he served two years on the boxing squad and as humor editor of "Tide Rips", the academy yearbook. He served as gun captain during his senior year. He graduated from the academy on June 8, 1936 and received a bachelor of science degree and a commission as a Coast Guard ensign. He was the first Floridian to graduate from the academy.
Career.
Early assignments.
Upon graduation from the academy, Bender's initial assignment was as a line officer aboard Coast Guard cutters "Mendota" and , on patrol in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1938, he was transferred to , on duty in the Great Lakes region. During this tour of duty, he met and married Annamarie Ransom of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan on September 1, 1939. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1992. They had one son, Mark A. Bender. That same year, he was selected for flight training and reported for duty at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. A year later, he earned his aviator wings and was assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.
World War II.
During World War II, he flew anti-submarine patrols out of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. From June 1943 to December 1944, he commanded an air-rescue squadron based out of San Diego, California. During the last few months of the war, he served as air-sea rescue advisor and liaison officer for the Far East Air Force Headquarters, in the Philippines, earning the Bronze Star for his service.
Mid-career assignments.
In December 1945, he was assigned to U.S. Coast Guard headquarters, as the executive officer of the Air-Sea Rescue Agency. From 1946 to 1950, he served as personal aide and pilot to U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Joseph F. Farley. In 1950, Bender was transferred to Coast Guard Air Station St. Petersburg, Florida, where he served as executive officer. In 1953 he assumed command of the Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan. In 1955, he returned to Coast Guard headquarters, assuming command of the War Plans Division. Three years later in 1958, he was promoted to captain and given command of the Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii.
In 1959, after two decades of aviation duty, he assumed command of , based in Honolulu, Hawaii. From 1961 to 1964, he served as mobilization and readiness officer for the San Francisco, California-based Western Area Command. On July 1, 1964 Bender was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and assumed command of the Cleveland, Ohio-based Ninth Coast Guard District. From 1965 to 1967, he served as superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy. During his tenure, he established the U.S. Coast Guard Museum in order to preserve and display artifacts from early Coast Guard history. From 1967 to 1970, he served as commander of the San Francisco-based Twelfth Coast Guard District, where he was responsible for most Coast Guard operations in the Pacific Ocean, Northern California, and most of Nevada and Utah.
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
On April 16, 1970, Bender was nominated by U.S. President Richard Nixon to replace Admiral Willard J. Smith as commandant. Following Senate confirmation, he took office on June 1, 1970. During his tenure, he implemented the distinctive "Bender Blues" uniforms, designed to distinguish the U.S. Coast Guard from the U.S. Navy. In 1972, he was awarded the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal. As commandant, Bender was known for his support of environmental protection and was recognized for his management of the U.S. Coast Guard's programs relating to new environmental responsibilities. In 1973, he served as delegate and alternate chairman of the American delegation to the Marine Pollution Conference of the International Maritime Organization in 1973.
Later life and death.
Following his retirement from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1974, Bender moved to Moraga, California. He died there on July 20, 1996 after a long illness and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Awards.
In addition to the Bronze Star Medal, Bender's World War II campaign medals include the America Area, American Defense, Asiatic-Pacific with two bronze stars, Philippine Liberation with two bronze stars, Philippine Presidential Unit citation, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Service Medal (two awards).


List of active weapons of the Turkish Air Force

This is a list of active weapons of the Turkish Air Force that are currently in service.
Current weapons.
Air Defense Weapons.
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Weapon
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Role
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Notes
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Surface to Air Weapons
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Radar Systems
Missiles and Bombs.
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Weapon
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Role
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Versions
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Air-to-air missiles
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Air-to-ground missiles
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Bombs


Charles Constantine

Charles Constantine (13 November 1846 – 5 May 1912) was a Canadian North-West Mounted Police officer and superintendent, from Bradford, Yorkshire.
Following his service in the Canadian militia during the Red River Rebellion (1870) and the Northwest Rebellion (1885), he was commissioned as an inspector in the North-West Mounted Police in 1886. After serving in Banff and Regina, he was sent to examine conditions in the Yukon district in 1894 as the government was concerned about the influx of American miners and the liquor trade. He forecast that a gold rush was imminent and reported that there was an urgent need for a police force. In the following year, he went back to the Yukon with a force of 20 men who were in place when the Klondike Gold Rush started in 1897. Constantine's efforts ensured that law was maintained during the gold rush, that Canadian sovereignty was assured and helped create the Mounties' international reputation.
He left the Yukon in 1898, replaced by Sam Steele and returned to the prairies after being promoted to Superintendent. In 1902, he returned to the north to establish forts at Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories and Herschel Island off the Yukon Arctic Ocean coast. This was the first foray by the NWMP north of the Arctic circle.
After returning to the Athabasca District in 1905, Constantine was responsible for building a trail from Fort St. John, British Columbia to Teslin Lake in the Yukon, although work on the trail was abandoned in 1908. He died in 1912 in California following an operation.
Family.
In 1873, Constantine married Henrietta Anne Armstrong. One of his sons, Charles Francis Constantine, became the XI Commandant at RMC, Kingston.


Allen Roach

Allen Roach (born 9 March 1952) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in the 2011 provincial election. He represented the district of Montague-Kilmuir as a member of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party until his resignation after deciding not to run in the 2019 Prince Edward Island general election.
In October 2011, Roach was appointed to the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island as Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning. He retained the portfolio when Wade MacLauchlan took over as premier in February 2015, but was given an additional role as Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development. On May 20, 2015, Roach was moved to Minister of Finance. Roach resigned his cabinet position as finance minister on January 10, 2018, after announcing that he would not run in the 2019 election.


USCGC Cook Inlet (WAVP-384)


Carolina State Navy

Carolina State Navy may refer to:


Lightweight Helmet

The Lightweight Helmet (LWH), also known as the Lightweight Marine Corps Helmet or Lightweight Marine Helmet, is an armored helmet that is used by the United States Marine Corps and U.S. Navy. It is the U.S. Marine Corps' successor to the PASGT combat helmet, which it replaced. And derived from the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet, which incorporates improvements in the MICH such as the liner and retention system.
History.
As it is nearly identical to untrained eyes in shape to the PASGT, outside the Marine Corps it is still called the Fritz helmet or K-pot (due to its resemblance to the German Stahlhelm). Though heavier than the United States Army's Advanced Combat Helmet, its larger size also offers more protection and is lighter than the PASGT. Featuring a four-point retention strap system (compared to the two-point retention of the PASGT) and redesigned liner, it is considered more comfortable than the PASGT.
The LWH was designed in 2003 and entered service later that year. It completely replaced the PASGT in USMC service by 2009. The LWH was made by the Gentex Corporation and BAE Systems in five sizes. From 2007 onward, pads were installed in the helmet to improve comfort for wearers.
Whereas the PASGT helmet's shell is olive drab, the LWH's is coyote brown and can be fitted with cloth helmet covers, either originally made for the PASGT or more commonly those made for the LWH in desert and woodland MARPAT, as well as a mounting bracket on the front for any sort of night vision device, such as the AN/PVS-7 night vision goggle or AN/PVS-14 monocular night vision device (MNVD). Marines currently can be issued with a sling suspension or a pad suspension to fit the inside of the helmet to the head. A nape protection system adds ballistic protection to the rear of the head was also added as to reduce strain and improve comfort to the back of the neck.
Successor.
The Marine Corps placed its first order for the Enhanced Combat Helmet in July 2013, and will be fielded to deployed Marines before the end of 2013. The ECH is planned to equip all deployed Marines, while the Lightweight Helmet will still be used for training and noncombat purposes.


VS-37

Sea Control Squadron 37 or VS-37 also known as the "Sawbucks" was an Anti Submarine Warfare squadron that was decommissioned in 1995 along with CVW-15. During its active history, it flew during the Korean and Vietnam Wars as well as operating the last S-2 Trackers inservice with the US Navy in 1975.
History.
Pre VS-37 (1946 - 1953).
VS-37 was established as Attack Reverse Squadron VA-76E in 1946 at NAS Oakland, California (Now Oakland International Airport). The squadron then changed to VC-871 (Composite Squadron) before being changed to Anti Submarine Warfare Squadron 871 or "VS-871". While based at NAS Los Alamitos, the squadron was called to active duty to take part in the Korean War. Between October 28, 1952 and February 9, 1953, the squadron made a deployment to the region with the TBM-3S/W Avenger onboard USS Bataan. The squadron then switched to the USS Badoeng Strait for the rest of their time in the Korean War until May 26, 1953 when they returned home.
VS-37 during the 1950s (1953-1959).
VS-871 changed to the designation of VS-37 on June 24, 1953, flying the Grumman AF-2S/W Guardian. Between 1954 and 55, they deployed on board the USS Princeton CVS-37 in helping the evacuation of Republic of China (Nationalist China) forces fleeing the Tachen Islands. After this, the squadron made three more deployments that decade with the Grumman S2F-1 and S2F-2 Tracker.
1960s and 70s.
Starting in 1960, the squadron made its long association with the USS "Hornet" CVS-12 that would last until 1969. The following year (1961), the squadron split in two with one part remaining VS-37 while the other becoming VS-35. In 1965, '67 and finally in 1969, the squadron deployed with the Hornet to the Vietnam War as well as taking part in the recovery of the test spaceflight Apollo 3 on August 25, 1966. Between October 1970 and February 1971, VS-37 deployed aboard the USS "Ticonderoga" (CVS-14), travelling to the Indian Ocean once although they did not deploy to Vietnam during that period. After this, the squadron received the US Navy's first S-2G Tracker and moved to CVW-11 on board the USS "Kitty Hawk" CV-63. During the 1973-1974 deployment CV-63 entered south Vietnam waters where it received a battle pendent from RVN LTGEN KHANG for prior deployment operations, as well as an extended at sea period in the Indian Ocean that included a visit from the Shah of Iran. The final deployment with the S-2G occurred in 1975. In August 1976, the squadron retired the last US Navy Grumman Tracker, replacing it with the Lockheed S-3A Viking.
Between September 1978 and May 1979, they deployed with CVW-9 on board the USS "Constellation" (CV-64) to the Indian Ocean. This included operating the US-3A COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) aircraft.
1980s.
In 1981, they deployed USS "Ranger" (CV-61) as part of CVW-2 and USS "Enterprise" (CVN-65) as part of CVW-11 in late 1982 to 1983. Between February 1985 and May 1990, VS-37 deployed with the USS "Constellation" again with CVW-14 for six deployments in the West and North Pacific as well as the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. This included the escorting of US reflagged Kuwaiti tankers in Operation Earnest Will during the Iran-Iraq War in 1987.
1990s (Final Years).
In June 1990, VS-37 deployed with CVW-14 on the USS "Independence" CV-62. During that deployment, Iraq invaded Kuwait which led to the ship heading to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. During that time, the squadron helped in enforcing the blockade against Iraq with maritime patrols. On November 1, 1990, the Independence was relieved by the smaller USS "Midway" CV-41 and her air wing CVW-5 allowing the Independence to return home in December 1990.
With CVW-15 changing to the "Kitty Hawk" from the USS "Carl Vinson" (CVN-70) in 1991, VS-37 moved to back to "Kitty Hawk" to their new home base of NAS North Island, leaving behind CVW-14 after seven deployments. It was during this time in 1992 that the squadron transitioned to the newer S-3B Viking which had newer systems and capabilities included the ability to fire the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile.
During their last two deployments, they took part in Operation Restore Hope in the war-torn country of Somalia and Operation Southern Watch in Iraq and Kuwait. On the 19th of January 1993, they supported strikes against Iraq in response to an attack by their anti-aircraft defences.
The following year, they deployed to the Korean peninsula during the 1994 tensions between North and South Korea over the former's Nuclear Program. During the deployment, their aircraft were involved in a little known incident between the U.S. and P.R.C. when on October 27, a PLAN Han class submarine was detected and was later tracked by their own Vikings. The following day, one of their S-3s joined up with Chinese fighter aircraft which flew around them for around five minutes. The incident then soon ended. At the end of 1994, VS-37 returned from their last ever deployment which was with CVW-15 on the "Kitty Hawk". After this on March 1, 1995, VS-37 was disestablished ending 49 years of history.
In Fiction.
VS-37 and CVW-15 were both featured in the novel by Joe Weber, 'Honorable Enemies' as being depicted operating from the Kitty Hawk as what happened in early 90s.


Great Heathen Army

The Great Heathen Army (; ), also known as the Viking Great Army, was a coalition of Scandinavian warriors mainly from Denmark, who invaded England in 865 AD. Since the late 8th century, the Vikings had been engaging in raids on centres of wealth such as monasteries. The Great Heathen Army was much larger and aimed to occupy and conquer the four English kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex.
The name Great Heathen Army is derived from the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" of 865. Legend has it that the force was led by four of the five sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, including Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, Björn Ironside and Ubba. The campaign of invasion and conquest against the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms lasted 14 years. Surviving sources give no firm indication of its numbers, but it was amongst the largest forces of its kind.
The invaders initially landed in East Anglia, where the king provided them with horses for their campaign in return for peace. They spent the winter of 865–66 at Thetford, before marching north to capture York in November 866. York had been founded as the Roman legionary fortress of Eboracum and revived as the Anglo-Saxon trading port of Eoforwic.
During 867, the army marched deep into Mercia and wintered in Nottingham. The Mercians agreed to terms with the Viking army, which moved back to York for the winter of 868–69. In 869, the Great Army returned to East Anglia, conquering it and killing its king. The army moved to winter quarters in Thetford.
In 871, the Vikings moved on to Wessex, where Alfred the Great paid them to leave. The army then marched to London to overwinter in 871–72. The following campaigning season the army first moved to York, where it gathered reinforcements. This force campaigned in northeastern Mercia, after which it spent the winter at Torksey, on the Trent close to the Humber. The following campaigning season it seems to have subdued much of Mercia. Burgred, the king of Mercia, fled overseas and Coelwulf, described in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" as "a foolish king's thegn" was imposed in his place. The army spent the following winter at Repton on the middle Trent, after which the army seems to have divided. One group seems to have returned to Northumbria, where they settled in the area, while another group seems to have turned to invade Wessex.
By this time, only the kingdom of Wessex had not been conquered. In May of 878 Alfred the Great defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington, and a treaty was agreed whereby the Vikings were able to remain in control of much of northern and eastern England.
The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" does not mention the reason for this invasion, perhaps because Viking raids were fairly common during that period of time. "The Tale of Ragnar's Sons", on the other hand, mentions that the invasion of England by the Great Heathen Army was aimed at avenging the death of Ragnar Lodbrok, a legendary Viking ruler of Sweden and Denmark. In the Viking saga, Ragnar is said to have conducted a raid on Northumbria during the reign of King Ælla. The Vikings were defeated and Ragnar was captured by the Northumbrians. Ælla then had Ragnar executed by throwing him into a pit of venomous snakes. When the sons of Ragnar received news of their father's death, they decided to avenge him.
Background.
Viking raids began in England in the late 8th century, primarily on monasteries. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for AD 787 reports the first confrontation with the Vikings in England.
This incident is regarded, by some, as the first raid on England. Æthelweard's version of the Chronicle, known as the "Chronicon Æthelweardi", has a slightly different version of events, saying that the reeve, a certain Beaduheard, had spoken to the visitors in an "authoritative tone" and this is why they killed him.
The designation of these "Hæretha-landers" as Danes is somewhat problematic. Sara María Pons-Sanz states, in "Analysis of the Scandinavian Loanwords in the Aldredian Glosses to the Lindisfarne Gospels", that they were either men from Harthæsysæl (Hardsyssel) in Jutland, so actually Danes, or from Hörthaland in Norway, so that in the last case the word "Danish" refers to all Scandinavian people.
The first monastery to be raided was in 793 at Lindisfarne, off the northeast coast; the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" described the Vikings as "heathen men". Monasteries and minster churches were popular targets as they were wealthy and had valuable, portable objects. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" for the year 840 says that Æthelwulf of Wessex was defeated at Carhampton, Somerset, after 35 Viking ships had landed in the area. The Annals of St. Bertin also reported the incident, stating:
Despite this, Æthelwulf had some success against the Vikings. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" has repeated references during his reign of victories won by "ealdormen" with the men of their shires. However, the raiding of England continued on and off until the 860s, when instead of raiding, the Vikings changed their tactics and sent a great army to invade England. This army was described by the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" as a "Great Heathen Army" (OE: "mycel hæþen here" or "mycel heathen here").
The size of the army.
Historians provide varying estimates for the size of the Great Heathen Army. According to the 'minimalist' scholars, such as Pete Sawyer, the army may have been smaller than traditionally thought. Sawyer notes that the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" of 865 referred to the Viking force as a Heathen Army, or in Old English "hæþen here".
The law code of King Ine of Wessex, issued in about 694, provides a definition of "here" (pronounced ) as "an invading army or raiding party containing more than thirty five men", thus differentiating between the term for the invading Viking army and the Anglo-Saxon army that was referred to as the "fyrd". The scribes who wrote the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" used the term "here" to describe the Viking forces. The historian Richard Abels suggested that this was to differentiate between the Viking war bands and those of military forces organised by the state or the crown. However, by the late 10th and early 11th century, "here" was used more generally as the term for army, whether it was Viking or not.
Sawyer produced a table of Viking ship numbers, as documented in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", and assumes that each Viking ship could carry no more than 32 men, leading to his conclusion that the army would have consisted of no more than 1,000 men. Other scholars give higher estimates. For example, Laurent Mazet-Harhoff observes that many thousands of men were involved in the invasions of the Seine area. However, Mazet-Harhoff does say that the military bases that would accommodate these large armies have yet to be rediscovered. Guy Halsall reported that, in the 1990s, several historians suggested that the Great Heathen Army would have numbered in the low thousands; however, Halsall advises that there "clearly is still much room for debate".
The army probably developed from the campaigns in France. In Francia, there was a conflict between the Emperor and his sons, and one of the sons had welcomed the support from a Viking fleet. By the time that the war had ended, the Vikings had discovered that monasteries and towns situated on navigable rivers were vulnerable to attack. In 845, a raid on Paris was prevented by the large payment of silver to the Vikings. The opportunity for rich pickings drew other Vikings to the area, and by the end of the decade all the main rivers of West Francia were being patrolled by Viking fleets. In 862, the West Frankish king responded to the Vikings, fortifying his towns and defending his rivers, thus making it difficult for the Vikings to raid inland. The lower reaches of the rivers and the coastal regions were left largely undefended. Religious communities in these areas, however, chose to move inland away from the reaches of the Viking fleets. With the changes in Francia making raiding more difficult, the Vikings turned their attention to England.
Invasion of England.
The Viking leaders would often join together for mutual benefit and then dissolve once profit had been achieved. Several of the Viking leaders who had been active in Francia and Frisia joined forces to conquer the four kingdoms constituting Anglo-Saxon England. The composite force probably contained elements from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Ireland as well as those who had been fighting on the continent. The Anglo-Saxon historian Æthelweard was very specific in his chronicle and said that "the fleets of the viking tyrant Hingwar landed in England from the north".
The Vikings had been defeated by the West Saxon King Æthelwulf in 851, so rather than land in Wessex they decided to go further north to East Anglia. Legend has it that the united army was led by the three sons of Ragnar Lodbrok: Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless (Hingwar), and Ubba. Norse sagas consider the invasion by the three brothers as a response to the death of their father at the hands of Ælla of Northumbria in 865, but the historicity of this claim is uncertain.
Start of the invasion, 865.
In late 865, the Great Heathen Army encamped in the Isle of Thanet and was promised by the people of Kent danegeld in exchange for peace. Regardless, the Vikings did not abide by this agreement and proceeded to rampage across eastern Kent.
The Vikings used East Anglia as a starting point for an invasion. The East Anglians made peace with the invaders by providing them with horses. The Vikings stayed in East Anglia for the winter before setting out for Northumbria towards the end of 866, establishing themselves at York. In 867, the Northumbrians paid danegeld and the Viking Army established a puppet leader in Northumbria before setting off for the Kingdom of Mercia, where in 867 they captured Nottingham. The king of Mercia requested help from the king of Wessex to help fight the Vikings. A combined army from Wessex and Mercia besieged the city of Nottingham with no clear result, so the Mercians settled on paying the Vikings off. The Vikings returned to Northumbria in autumn 868 and overwintered in York, staying there for most of 869. They returned to East Anglia and spent the winter of 869–70 at Thetford. While in Thetford, they were attacked by Edmund, king of East Anglia, with whom they had no peace agreement. The Viking army was victorious in these battles, and Edmund was captured, possibly tortured, and killed. He would later come to be known as Edmund the Martyr.
In 871, the Great Summer Army arrived from Scandinavia, led by Bagsecg. The reinforced Viking army turned its attention to Wessex but the West Saxons, led by King Æthelred's brother Alfred, defeated them on 8 January 871 at the Battle of Ashdown, slaying Bagsecg in the process. Three months later, Æthelred died and was succeeded by Alfred (later known as Alfred the Great), who bought the Vikings off to gain time. During 871–72, the Great Heathen Army wintered in London before returning to Northumbria. It seems that there had been a rebellion against the puppet ruler in Northumbria, so they returned to restore power. They then established their winter quarters for 872–73 at Torksey in the Kingdom of Lindsey (now part of Lincolnshire). The Mercians again paid them off in return for peace, and at the end of 873 the Vikings took up winter quarters at Repton in Derbyshire.
In 874, following their winter stay in Repton, the Great Heathen Army drove the Mercian king into exile and finally conquered Mercia; the exiled Mercian king was replaced by Ceolwulf. According to Alfred the Great's biographer Asser, the Vikings then split into two bands. Halfdan led one band north to Northumbria, where he overwintered by the river Tyne (874–75). In 875 he ravaged further north to Scotland, where he fought the Picts and the Britons of Strathclyde. Returning south of the border in 876, he shared out Northumbrian land amongst his men, who "ploughed the land and supported themselves"; this land was part of what became known as the Danelaw.
King Alfred's victory.
According to Asser, the second band was led by Guthrum, Oscetel, and Anwend. This group also left Repton in 874 and established a base at Cambridge for the winter of 874–75. In late 875 they moved onto Wareham, where they raided the surrounding area and occupied a fortified position. Asser reports that Alfred made a treaty with the Vikings to get them to leave Wessex. The Vikings left Wareham, but it was not long before they were raiding other parts of Wessex, and initially they were successful. Alfred fought back, however, and eventually won victory over them at the Battle of Edington in 878. This was followed closely by what was described by Asser as the Treaty of Wedmore, where Guthrum agreed to be baptised and then for him and his army to leave Wessex. Then some time after, the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum was agreed, that set out the boundaries between Alfred and Guthrum's territories as well as agreements on peaceful trade, and the weregild value of their people.
Aftermath.
In late 878, Guthrum's band withdrew to Cirencester, in the kingdom of Mercia. Then, probably in late 879, it moved to East Anglia, where Guthrum, who was also known by his baptismal name of Aethelstan, reigned as king until his death in 890. The part of the army that did not go with Guthrum mostly went on to more settled lives in Northumbria and York. Some may have settled in Mercia. Evidence for this is the presence of two Viking cemeteries in Derbyshire that are believed to be connected to the Great Army, at Repton and at Heath Wood.
In 878, a third Viking army gathered on Fulham by the Thames. It seems they were partly discouraged by the defeat of Guthrum but also Alfred's success against the Vikings coincided with a period of renewed weakness in Francia. The Frankish emperor, Charles the Bald, died in 877 and his son shortly after, precipitating a period of political instability of which the Vikings were quick to take advantage. The assembled Viking army on the Thames departed in 879 to begin new campaigns on the continent.
In 892, the army that had encamped on Fulham, now comprising 250 ships, had returned and re-established itself in Appledore, Kent. Another army of 80 ships soon afterwards also encamped in Milton Regis, posing a threat to the West Saxons. The army subsequently launched a series of attacks on Wessex. Due in part to the king's efforts to resist the invaders and defend Wessex, the Heathen army made less of an impact against the kingdom than hoped and saw little progress, eventually disbanding in 896.
Throughout the 880s, the Viking presence in his kingdom encouraged Alfred to protect Wessex. The king realised the importance of naval combat against the Vikings and saw to the creation of a navy; Alfred ordered the construction of specialised ships that were supposedly twice as long as Viking ships, some possessing 60 oars, others possessing even more. Alfred also reorganised the army and set up a powerful system of fortified towns known as "burhs".
Alfred mainly used old Roman cities for his "burhs", as he was able to rebuild and reinforce their existing fortifications. Every freeman in the land could be called out to protect the realm in times of trouble but the speed of Viking hit-and-run raids had been too quick for the local militias to act; part of Alfred's reforms were to create a standing army that could react rapidly to attacks. The Anglo-Saxon rural population lived within a 24 km (15-mile) radius of each "burh", so they were able to seek refuge when necessary. To maintain the "burhs", as well as the standing army, Alfred set up a system of taxation and conscription that is recorded in a document now known as the Burghal Hidage. The "burhs" were connected with a network of military roads, known as "herepaths", enabling Alfred's troops to move swiftly to engage the enemy.
Some historians believe that each "burh" would have had a mounted force ready for action against the Vikings. Based on figures from the Burghal Hidage, it is probable that a fifth of the adult male population of Wessex (27,000 men) would have been mobilised. A common Viking tactic was to seize a centre, usually some sort of fortification, that they could reinforce and then use as a base to plunder the surrounding district. From 884 Alfred's reforms prevented them from doing this in Wessex.
By 896, the Viking army was all but defeated and no longer saw any reason to continue their attacks and dispersed to East Anglia and Northumbria. Those that were penniless found themselves ships and went south across the sea to the Seine. This influx of new settlers helped consolidate the ever-growing establishment of Danelaw. Anglo-Saxon England had been torn apart by the invading Great Heathen Army and the Vikings had control of northern and eastern England, while Alfred and his successors had defended their kingdom and remained in control of Wessex.
Archaeological sites.
The stone church of St Wystan at Repton was, in the 9th century, the site of an Anglo-Saxon monastery and church. Excavations at the site between 1974 and 1988 found a D-shaped earthwork on the river bank, incorporated into the church. Burials of Viking type were made at the east end of the church, and an existing building was cut down and converted into the chamber of a burial mound that revealed the disarticulated remains of at least 249 people, with their long bones pointing towards the centre of the burial. A large stone coffin was found in the middle of the mass grave; however, the remains of this individual did not survive. A study of the skeletal remains revealed that at least 80% of the individuals were male, and were between the ages of 15 and 45. Further investigation of the male skeletal remains revealed that they were dissimilar to the local population of Repton, most likely of Scandinavian descent, and many showed signs of violent injury. In contrast, analysis of the female remains revealed that they were similar to the local population, suggesting an Anglo-Saxon lineage. It is possible that the people in the grave may have suffered some sort of epidemic when the army overwintered in Repton during 873–74, leading to the mass burial. A variety of Viking artifacts, such as a silver Thor's hammer, were also found among the bones.
Although initial radiocarbon dating suggested that the bodies had accumulated there over several centuries, in February 2018, a team out of the University of Bristol announced that the remains could indeed all be dated to the late 9th century, consistent with the time the army wintered in Derbyshire. They attributed the initial discrepancies to the high consumption of seafood by the Vikings. Because the carbon in the Earth's oceans is older than much of the carbon found by organisms on land, radiocarbon dating must be adjusted. This is called the marine reservoir effect.
The nearby Heath Wood barrow cemetery contains about sixty cremations (rather than burials). Finds of cremation sites in the British Isles are very rare, and this one probably was the war cemetery of the Great Heathen Army.


Robert R. Wagner

Robert R. Wagner (1923-2001) was an American virologist who spent time on the faculty at Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and finally the University of Virginia School of Medicine, from which he retired as professor emeritus in 1994. His research focused on the vesicular stomatitis virus. Wagner died of cancer in 2001.
Education.
Wagner attended Columbia University as an undergraduate and received his bachelor's degree in 1943, after which he began medical school at Yale Medical School and received his M.D. in 1946. Following his internship, he joined the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, where he was first exposed to virology research while assigned to the U.S. Navy Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. After his time in the Navy, Wagner moved to England to work as a postdoctoral fellow with Christopher Andrewes.
Academic career.
Wagner joined the faculty at Yale University in 1951 and then moved to Johns Hopkins in 1957, where he became the director of the Infectious Disease Division and later the head of the Division of Virology. In 1967 Wagner moved to the University of Virginia School of Medicine to serve as the chair of the Department of Microbiology. Under his leadership the department expanded dramatically, both in number of faculty and in breadth of research. Wagner also became the director of the newly created University of Virginia Cancer Center and was appointed the Marion McNulty and Marvin C. Weaver Professor of Oncology in 1984.
Following a brief stint as the virology section editor for the "Journal of Bacteriology", run by the American Society for Microbiology, Wagner served as the founding editor-in-chief of the "Journal of Virology", working with fellow editors Lloyd Kozloff and Norman Salzman. The journal launched in 1966, and Wagner continued in his role for 15 years, overseeing a large expansion in the size of the journal before stepping down in 1982 and being succeeded by Edward M. Scolnick. With Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, Wagner collaborated in editing a vast 19-volume treatise called "Comprehensive Virology". The first volume was reviewed in 1975 as somewhat difficult to understand for those unfamiliar to the field, but likely valuable as a reference work. In the early 1980s, Wagner was among the group of American virologists who helped organize and became the founding members of the American Society for Virology.
Wagner retired and assumed professor emeritus status at the University of Virginia in 1994, though he continued to be an active member of the community. His department - now the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology - awards the Robert R. Wagner Prize to excellent graduate students.
Research.
Wagner has been recognized as a major contributor to the development of molecular virology. During the early 1960s, while at Johns Hopkins, he became involved in research on interferons, which eventually entered clinical use. Much of his research focused on the molecular biology of the vesicular stomatitis virus. With student Alice S. Huang, Wagner characterized what are now known as defective interfering particles.


USCGC Dallas

Dallas has been the name of more than one ship of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and United States Coast Guard, and may refer to:


530th Air Force Band

The 530th Air Force Band supports global Air Force and Air National Guard missions by fostering patriotism and providing musical services for the military community as well as the general public.
History.
Originally formed in 1946, the Air National Guard Band of the South was activated for federal service with the 116th Air Control Wing on October 10, 1950. The band was stationed in Alexandria, Louisiana until 1952, when it was released from active duty. In 1953, the Georgia Air National Guard reformed the band with Chief Warrant Officer John Love as Commander, a position he held until his retirement in 1960. Under his leadership, the band achieved recognition as the best Air National Guard band in the United States. Previously known as the 530th Air National Guard Band, the group was renamed Air National Guard Band of the South in 2002. One of eleven Air National Guard bands, the Band of the South provides music for military ceremonies, official protocol functions, and recruiting and retention events, and community relations.
Under the direction of Captain Alan B. McConnell, the Air National Guard Band of the South averages fifty performances a year, and performs regularly throughout its primary area of responsibility (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina) as "Goodwill Ambassadors" for the Georgia Air National Guard. Throughout the years, the band's reputation has led to requested performances in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Wyoming, Montana, Indiana, Michigan, Delaware, the Azores Islands, Norway, and the Dominican Republic. The band has performed for many notable figures, including President Harry S. Truman and the President of Tanzania, honored generals from one star to four, and serenaded dignitaries from mayors and congressmen to governors and presidents.
Within the Air National Guard Band of the South are a concert band, ceremonial band, Eagle's Flight Jazz Ensemble, a rock/pop ensemble known as Sound Barrier, Space-A Rock Band, Brass Quintet, Woodwind Quintet, and High Flutin,' a flute ensemble. All members of the band are traditional guardsmen, and along with all other Army and Air National Guard units, serve one weekend a month, two weeks during the year and other times when called to duty.
Functions.
The 530th provides music for military ceremonies, official functions, recruiting and retention events and community relations. The band averages fifty performances a year and performs regularly throughout its area of responsibility as "Goodwill Ambassadors" for the Georgia Air National Guard. Members are typical guardsmen, serving one weekend a month, two weeks during the summer and at other times when called to duty.
The unit performs for audiences all over the world, although it primarily serves communities throughout Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The units last performance was July 13, 2013.


USS Pecatonica (AOG-57)

USS "Pecatonica" (AOG-57) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946 and from 1948 to 1961. She was then transferred to the Taiwanese Navy where she served as ROCS "Chang Pei" (AOG-307/AOG-507) until 2005.
History.
United States Navy (1945-1961).
USS "Pecatonica" was laid down as a Maritime Commission type (T1-MT-M1) tanker hull under a Maritime Commission contract at Cargill Inc. on 6 December 1944, she was launched by 17 March 1945. She was commissioned on 28 November 1945 with LCDR. M. E. Vallario in command at New Orleans, Louisiana.
She departed New Orleans on 11 December 1945 and sailed to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia arriving the on 16th and remained there until her decommissioning on 7 February 1946 and entered the Atlantic Fleet in Reserve. On 24 April 1948 "Pecatonica" recommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. Following shakedown, she conducted coastal logistic voyages along the Eastern Seaboard, making occasional trips to the Caribbean, through 1951.
"Pecatonica" was assigned to U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean in March 1952, remaining there until December. She returned to the United States in February 1953, after a year of supplying aviation fuel to U.S. 6th Fleet carriers and U.S. Air Force installations and a training exercise in the Caribbean. She went into the dockyards at NAVSTA Norfolk so that newer 3-inch guns could be fitted. She commenced operations in June to return to the Mediterranean for her second tour with the 6th Fleet.
"Pecatonica" made deployments to the Mediterranean in September 1953, March 1954, May 1955 and December 1955. In June 1956 she returned to Norfolk and operational control of Service Force Atlantic, providing logistic support for Mutual Defense Assistance Pact convoys, composed of MSOs, MSCs, AMSs, LSMs, and LSMRs, during their training cruises. She served in this capacity through 1960.
Republic of China Navy (1961-2005).
Early in 1961 "Pecatonica" shifted to the Pacific and was decommissioned on 24 April 1961 at Tsoying, Taiwan. She transferred the same day to the Republic of China Navy, under loan through MDAP, and served into 1970 as ROCS "Chang Pei" (AOG–307), and later redesignated AOG-507. Following 35 years of service to the Republic of China, she was decommissioned on 1 April 2005 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Her current disposition is unknown.


Chief of the Luftwaffe Personnel Office

Chief of the Luftwaffe Personnel Office () was not a rank but a leading position within the German "Luftwaffe" High Command in Nazi Germany.


Mr. Big (film)

Mr. Big is a 2007 documentary directed and produced by Tiffany Burns and edited by Alec MacNeill Richardson. The documentary examines the "Mr. Big" undercover methods used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). In these operations, RCMP officers pose as high-ranking gang criminals and develop relationships with the target involved. This is deliberate, as the relationship that is forged is ultimately used to determine what knowledge the target has of the crime(s) being investigated. "Mr. Big" operations have been credited with securing difficult convictions in a large number of cases, such as United States v. Burns"," R v. Hart"," and R v. Grandinetti, but concerns have been raised that they involve a risk of false confessions and wrongful convictions. "Mr. Big" includes interviews with targets of "Mr. Big" operations and their families, such as the Burns family, as well as interviews with various professionals who have an interest in the "Mr. Big" tactics, and RCMP footage of "Mr. Big" operations.


Keith A. Taylor

Keith A. Taylor is an American retired United States Coast Guard Rear Admiral. He is the current Senior Vice President of Fleet Operations at Holland America Line Inc. and Seabourn Cruise Line Limited.
Early life.
Taylor was born on May 21, 1961, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy from 1979-1983. He holds a Bachelor of Science with honors, a Master of Science in Industrial Administration from Purdue University, and a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT Taylor was a Sloan Fellow.
Coast Guard Career.
Taylor served over 30 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, in a variety of command, operational, engineering, and staff assignments. Taylor worked at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., between 1996 and 2000, where he conducted program review and budget development for all Coast Guard law enforcement. In 2003, Taylor was an aviator and aircraft maintenance officer, and became commanding officer of Air Station Miami. From 2006 to 2008, Taylor served as deputy chief of staff of the Coast Guard, until he was promoted to flag officer rank in 2008. He then he served as assistant commandant for resources and chief financial officer of the U.S. Coast Guard. Taylor continued his career as commander of the 13th Coast Guard District.
Taylor eventually rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. He retired on August 29, 2013. His final post was as the Commander of Coast Guard District 13, based in Seattle, Washington, a position he held since July 2011. During his time as commander, the district was responsible for saving the lives of 401 people during 3,284 search and rescue cases; the district also responded to calls for help resulting in the assistance to 6,350 people, as well as responding to 6,000 oil spills or chemical releases. Finally, under his command the district saved $21.75 million in property values.
Post-military career.
Upon his retired from the military, Taylor was named senior vice president, fleet operations, for both Holland America Line and Seabourn. Beginning January 1, 2014, Taylor took over the fleet management responsibilities of Dan Grausz, executive vice president of fleet operations.
Personal life.
On November 12, 1988, Taylor married his wife, Charlene Brown, in Osterville, Massachusetts.


William D. Shields

William Davis Shields (August 19, 1907 – March 28, 1989) was a Vice Admiral in the United States Coast Guard who served as the 9th Vice Commandant from 1964 to 1966.


Combat Logistics Battalion 5

Combat Logistics Battalion 5 (CLB-5) is a logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. CLB-5 is a subordinate battalion to Combat Logistics Regiment 1 and the 1st Marine Logistics Group. The unit is based out of the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The battalion nickname is "Traveller", named after the 16-hand grey American Saddlebred horse ridden into battle by General Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War. The unit slogan is "Success Is Not An Accident."
Mission.
Provide direct support tactical logistics to the 5th Marine Regiment beyond its organic capabilities in the areas of transportation, intermediate level supply, field level maintenance, and general engineering.
History.
Combat Logistics Battalion 5 was activated on 25 May 2006 at Camp Pendleton, California and assigned as a subordinate battalion to Combat Logistics Regiment 1.
Unit Awards.
A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. CLB-5 has been presented with the following awards [1]:
References.
Combat Logistics Battalion 5 (PDF) "www.usmcu.edu." United States Marine Corps. September 18, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2020.