Turkish Land Forces

The Turkish Land Forces (), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the foundation of the army include suppression of rebellions in southeastern Turkey from the 1920s to the present day, combat in the Korean War, the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the current Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War, as well as its NATO alliance against the USSR during the Cold War. The army holds the preeminent place within the armed forces. It is customary for the Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces to have been the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces prior to his appointment as Turkey's senior ranking officer. Alongside the other two armed services, the Turkish Army has frequently intervened in Turkish politics, a custom that is now regulated to an extent by the reform of the National Security Council. The current commander of the Turkish Land Forces is General Ümit Dündar.
From late 2015, the Turkish Army (along with the rest of the Armed Forces) saw its personnel strengths increased to a similar level as the previous decade. Factors that contributed to this growth include the Turkish occupation of northern Syria, as well as a renewal of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict.
History.
War of Independence.
The modern Turkish Army has its foundations in nine remnant Ottoman Army corps after the Armistice of Mudros at the end of World War I. After the rise of Turkish resistances ("Kuva-yi Milliye") in Anatolia, Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his colleagues formed the Grand National Assembly (GNA) in Ankara on April 23, 1920, Kâzım Pasha's XV Corps was the only corps which at that time had any combat value. On November 8, 1920, the GNA decided to establish a standing army ("Düzenli ordu") instead of irregular troops ("Kuva-yi Milliye", Çerkes Ethem's "Kuva-yi Seyyare" etc.).
On August 26, 1922, the Army of the Grand National Assembly ("Büyük Millet Meclisi Ordusu") launched the general offensive known as the Great Offensive ("Büyük Taarruz") against the Greek forces around Kara Hisâr-ı Sâhip. Nurettin Pasha's 1st Army and Yakup Şevki Pasha's 2nd Army encircled the main body of Major General Nikolaos Trikoupis's group and defeated it near Dumlupınar. Fahrettin Pasha's V Cavalry Corps entered Smyrna (Izmir) on September 9, 1922. Şükrü Naili Pasha's III Corps entered Constantinople (Istanbul) peacefully on October 6, 1923. Subsequently to the founding of the Republic of Turkey, the Army of the GNA was reorganized into three army inspectorates ("ordu müfettişliği", 1st, 2nd and 3rd army inspectorate).
First Kurdish rebellions and lead-up to WWII.
There were several Kurdish rebellions in southeastern Turkey in the 1920s and 1930s, the most important of which were the 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion and the 1937 Dersim rebellion. All were suppressed by the TAF, sometimes involving large-scale mobilisations of up to 50,000 troops. Associated atrocities against civilians include the Zilan massacre.
In 1935, Turkey purchased 60 T-26 mod. 1933 light tanks from the USSR (also, two twin-turreted T-26 mod. 1931 were presented to the Turkish government in 1933–1934), along with about 60 BA-6 armoured cars to form the 1st Tank Battalion of the 2nd Cavalry Division at Lüleburgaz. The Armoured Brigade of the Turkish Army consisted of the 102nd and the 103rd Companies armed with the T-26 mod. 1933 tanks (four platoons in a company, five tanks in the platoon) at the end of 1937. The reserve group of the brigade had 21 T-26 tanks also. At the beginning of 1940, the Turkish Army had the Armoured Brigade in Istanbul, which belonged to the 1st Army, and the 1st Tank Battalion, which belonged to the 3rd Army. Turkish T-26 tanks were taken out of service in 1942.
World War II.
During World War II, Turkey mobilized more than a million personnel. The Turkish Army order of battle in 1941 shows a number of formations. Neutral for most of the war, Turkey declared war on Nazi Germany in February 1945, after being given an ultimatum by the Allies of World War II to do so by March 1, 1945, if Turkey wanted a seat in the future United Nations.
"Note"
Cold War era.
The command of the Turkish Army was formed on July 1, 1949, and Nuri Yamut was appointed as the first commander of the Turkish Army.
Korean War.
The Turkish Army participated in the Korean War as a member state of the United Nations. Of the 5,000 soldiers of the Turkish Brigade there, 731 were killed. They fought in the Battle of Wawon where it was credited with saving the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division from encirclement. The brigade also fought at Gimnyangjang-ni, 'Operation Ripper,' or the Fourth Battle of Seoul, and the Battle of the Hook. After Turkey joined NATO on February 18, 1952, the government initiated a comprehensive modernization program of the armed forces.
Invasion of Cyprus.
In July 1974, Turkey intervened in Cyprus, following a coup organized by EOKA-B and led by Nikos Sampson who ousted the democratically elected Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios III in order to establish Enosis (Union) between Cyprus and Greece. The coup was backed by the Greek military junta in Athens.
The 1974 Turkish military operations in Cyprus can be divided into two distinct Turkish offensives, the first being "Atilla 1", which commenced in the early hours of July 20, 1974, with an amphibious landing force, directed by the 6th Corps, forming a beachhead at Kyrenia's Five Mile Beach. It comprised only infantry troops, but was supported by rolling air and naval artillery attacks, and met with limited resistance from the Cyprus National Guard, which was in disarray as a result of the July 15, 1974 coup. The majority of fighting ceased on the 23rd of July, though sporadic clashes continued after this date until the 14th of August. "Atilla 1" successfully achieved its objective of forming a bridgehead with the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Agyrta-Nicosia.
The second Turkish offensive began on August 14, 1974, as Greek and Turkish Cypriot representatives met in Geneva to discuss the situation on the island. Turkish pleas for international intervention having failed and very slow diplomatic progress, in addition to being confined to an indefensible and non-viable region in Cyprus, Turkish Armed forces took action again. Despite a UN ceasefire in place (several had already been disregarded), the Turkish Army, massively reinforced from weeks of build-up, launched an all-out surprise attack on ill-prepared Greek Cypriot and Greek units. With the little answer to the masses of armour, mechanised units, artillery and air support that the Turks could bring to bear, virtually all Greek Cypriot defences collapsed in a matter of days, and by August 16, 1974, Turkish forces, spearheaded by the 28th and 39th Infantry Divisions, had extended to capture some 37% of the island, including the towns of Famagusta, Varosha and Morphou.
The conflict in Cyprus resulted in the de facto division of the island between the Turkish Cypriot controlled north and the Greek Cypriot controlled south. Turkey still maintains troops in Cyprus, since a political solution could not yet be achieved and since many members of the Turkish Cypriot community fear a return to the intercommunal violence which occurred between 1963 and 1974.
Historical units and structure.
In 1964, was promoted to the rank of Major General. He then held command of the 57th Training Division in Manisa, between the years 1965 to 1967. He later commanded 7th and 9th Corps.
The Turkish Army has since the mid-1960s operated on a corps-division-brigade system, with a varying number of divisions and brigades assigned to a corps. The IISS Military Balance 1966–67 recorded a total strength of 360,000, with 16 infantry divisions (14 NATO assigned), 4 armoured brigades (Zırhlı tugay) with M47 Patton tanks, armoured cavalry regiments, and two parachute battalions. At some point in the 1960s the Army apparently utilised the Pentomic structure for a period, before adopting the American ROAD divisional organisation. Back in the early 1970s, there was a 6th Infantry Division based at Istanbul.
The U.S. "Area Handbook for the Republic of Turkey," written by Thomas Roberts, said in late 1968 that the army had 425,000 men (p. 385), three field armies (First: Istanbul, Second: Konya, Third: Erzurum), thirteen infantry divisions, one armoured division (with M-47s and M-48s), four armoured brigades (M47 Patton tanks), two armoured cavalry regiment, two mechanised infantry brigades, and two parachute battalions. There was a trained reserve of 450,000.
According to official British military reports in 1974, the Turkish Army included the First Army (2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 15th Corps), Second Army (4th, 6th, and 7th) and Third Army (8th, 9th and 11th Corps). There were also three Interior Zones with three recruit training divisions and four recruit training brigades. For a long period, these formations were grouped under the NATO headquarters Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) in Izmir, led by a Turkish Army four-star General.
In 1981–82, the Army had one armoured division, two mechanised infantry divisions, and fourteen Infantry Divisions, with 3,000 M47 MBTs, 500 M48 MBTs, as well as 70 Leopard 1A3 on order, for a total of 3570 tanks.
Until the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1990, the Army had a static defense mission of countering any possible attack on Thrace by Soviet/Warsaw Pact forces and deterring Greece, and any attack by the Soviet Transcaucasus Military District on the Caucasus frontier. The Third Army was responsible for holding the Caucasus line with about a third of the Army's total strength of one armoured, two mechanised, and fourteen infantry divisions (1986 data). Soviet forces immediately facing the Third Army in the Caucasus were the 31st Army Corps in the Georgian SSR and the 7th Guards Army in the Armenian SSR. Together the 31st Corps and 7th Guards Army had six divisions (roughly three Category "B" and three "C") plus some immobile fortified defence areas.
Nigel Thomas's "NATO Armies 1949–87", published in 1988, attributed the 2nd, 3rd Corps, 5th, and 15th Corps to the First Army; the 6th and 7th Corps to the Second Army, the 4th, 8th, and 9th Corps to the Third Army, and the 11th Corps to the Aegean Army. He wrote that the 11th Corps comprised the 28th and 39th Divisions.
When the General Staff attempted to shift 120,000 troops to the frontier with Iraq in 1990, they discovered that there were serious deficiencies in the Army's ability to respond to crises that could erupt suddenly in distant regions.
After the fall of the Soviet Union LANDSOUTHEAST in Izmir became Joint Command Southeast for a period, before becoming Allied Air Component Command Izmir in 2004. The headquarters' land-focused roots were revived in the 2010s when NATO's two air commands were reduced into one (at Ramstein, Germany) and Allied Land Command was established at the site.
Modernization and current status.
Towards the end of the 1980s, a restructuring and modernization process has been initiated by the Turkish Armed Forces, which still continues today. The final goal of Turkey is to produce indigenous military equipment and to become increasingly self-sufficient in terms of military technologies.
The then-Army Commander said of further modernization efforts in 2006:
Gen. Büyükanıt, who sent crucial messages regarding the future of the Land Forces, said that the country's own instabilities should also be taken into consideration. He reported that the land forces will shrink considerably within the next eight years. But he said that despite this process, the force's capacities will be increased.
"The Land Forces aim at being equipped with new opportunities and capabilities in order to carry out its duty in full strength against a large variety of threats, varying from classical threats to asymmetrical ones.
"The targets for our land forces are to be realized through 'Forces 2014' project. This project aims to shrink the forces without undermining its combat capabilities. On the contrary, under the plan, the efficiency of the force will increase.
"Within this period of time, the Land Forces will gradually decrease by 20 to 30 percent in terms of the number of personnel and forces formations. It will be equipped with modern arms and war devices as the distinct features of this new formation. Thus the battle capability will be given to high-ranking brigades. Moreover, with the Combat Zone Management System, the land tactical map will be numerically formed in real-time or close to real-time and a constant tracking will be provided," said Büyükanıt. (The New Anatolian, Evren Değer, 10 August 2006.)
At present, the primary main battle tanks of the Turkish Army are the Leopard 2A4 and the M60T. There are also around 400 Leopard 1 and 750 M60 Patton variants in service (excluding the M60T which were upgraded with the 120 mm MG253 guns), but the Turkish Army retains a large number of older vehicles. More than 2,800 M48 Pattons are still in service (upgraded with the 105 mm M68 guns) though only around 1,300 of these are stored as reserve MBTs, while the rest are mostly transformed into other types of military vehicles (such as cranes, MBT recovery vehicles and logistical support vehicles) or used as spare parts resources.
Turkey plans to build a total of 1,000 new Otokar Altay MBTs, in four separate batches of 250 units, with the MİTÜP Turkish National Tank Project. The tanks will be produced by the Turkish firm Otokar, and share some of the systems that are used in the K2 Black Panther main battle tank of South Korea.
Turkey has signed an agreement with the US to buy fourteen CH-47F Chinook helicopters, for $400 million. Because of financial constraints, however, the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry, or SSM, Turkey’s procurement agency, later wanted to buy only six CH-47Fs, five for the Army and one for the Special Forces, leaving a decision on the remaining eight platforms for the future. Contract negotiations between the SSM, the U.S. government and Boeing were launched last year.
The length of compulsory military service is six months for private and non-commissioned soldiers (the service term for reserve officers chosen among university or college graduates is 12 months). All male Turkish citizens over the age of 20 are required to undergo a one-month military training period, but they can obtain an exemption from the remaining five months of their mandatory service with a paid exemption option.
Turkey has chosen a Chinese defence firm to co-produce a US$4 billion long-range air and missile defence system FD-2000, rejecting rival bids from Russian, US and European firms. The Turkish defence minister announced the decision to award the contract to China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) in a statement on Thursday, September 26, 2013. NATO has said that missiles should be compatible.
In 2017, Turkey has bought the anti-aircraft S-400 missile system from Russia.
The TLF has seen frequent recent combat around and beyond its borders. It is fighting a conflict in south-eastern Turkey against the prolonged Kurdish PKK insurgency, and monitoring ISIS, Russian intervention in Syria, the Kurdish YPG, as well as multiple other elements, in Syria. It maintained a prolonged command of Regional Command Capital in ISAF. Thus the TLF has had extensive combat experience.
Structure.
The structure of the Turkish Army has historically had two facets: operational and administrative. The operational chain consists of the field fighting formations, and the administrative the arms and service branches – infantry, armour, artillery etc.
Operational organisation.
The army's 14 armoured brigades are the most powerful brigades in the restructured organisation; each includes 2 armoured, 2 mechanised infantry and 2 self-propelled artillery battalions. The 17 mechanised brigades each have 1 armoured, 2 mechanised and one artillery battalion. The army's 9 infantry brigades each have 4 infantry battalions and one artillery battalion, while the 4 commando brigades have 3 commando battalions.
From 1992 the Army began to change from a corps-division-regiment structure to a corps-brigade arrangement, with divisions remaining on Cyprus and for certain special other cases, such as for NATO's reaction forces. In accordance with NATO’s new strategy in the early 1990s, Turkey agreed to commit forces to NATO’s ACE Rapid Reaction Corps. 'Therefore, the decision was made to create a new division. Thus, the old 1 Inf Div which had been abolished many years ago was reactivated and renamed as 1 TU Mech Inf Div and attached to 4 TU Corps on 30 November 1993.’ This division appears to have been replaced within 3rd Corps by the 52nd Armoured Division, formed later on.
The Military Balance, 1994–1995 also lists the following units: the Presidential Guard Regiment, an infantry regiment, 5 border defense regiments (Brigades (?)), and 26 border defense battalions. The fate of these independent units under the reorganization remains unclear.
In late 2002 the 3rd Corps, with its headquarters near Istanbul, was certified as one of the six NATO High Readiness Force-Land (HRF-L) headquarters and gained the additional title of the Rapidly Deployable Turkish Corps (RDTC). A year later, Jane's Defence Weekly reported on 9 July 2003 that as part of force restructuring, its 4 existing armies would be reorganized into a Western Army, in Istanbul, and the Eastern Army would replace 2nd Army in Malatya. This plan does not appear to have been carried out.
The Army announced plans in mid-2004 to abolish four brigades across Turkey. The arms and equipment of the brigades closed will be kept in depots. The plan involves the disbandment of:
The IISS and the Turkish Army's website give differing figures as to the number of formations in the Army. The official site gives totals of 9 Army Corps, 1 Infantry Division, 2 Mechanized Infantry Divisions, 1 Armored Division, 1 Training Division, 11 Infantry / Motorized Infantry Brigades, 16 Mechanized Infantry Brigades, 9 Armored Brigades, 5 Para-Commando Brigades, 1 Army Aviation Brigade, 2 Artillery Brigades, 5 Training Brigades and one Humanitarian Aid Brigade.
The IISS Military Balance 2008 lists the Turkish Land Forces with 4 Army HQ, 10 corps HQ, 17 armoured brigades, 15 mechanised infantry brigades, 2 infantry divisions, 11 infantry brigades, 1 Special Force command HQ, 5 commando brigades, one combat helicopter battalion, 4 aviation regiments, 3 aviation battalions (totalling 1 transport and 2 training battalions), and 4 training/artillery brigades.
List of formations and units.
The Turkish Army is organised into the following commands: The information below is unconfirmed and may be out of date; it seems likely now that the Training and Doctrine Command controls all the artillery and infantry training brigades.
Administrative branches.
Combatant
Battle Supporting
Battle Supporting & Service
Insignia and ranks.
Turkish Land Forces has NATO-compatible rank system.


Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), the active reserve for the RAF, by providing an additional non-active reserve. However during the Second World War the high demand for aircrew absorbed all available RAuxAF personnel and led the RAFVR to quickly become the main pathway of aircrew entry into the RAF. It was initially composed of civilians recruited from neighbourhood reserve flying schools, run by civilian contractors with largely RAF-trained flying instructors as well as other instructors in related air war functions, such as observers and wireless operators.
After the war, and with the end of conscription in the early 1960s, the RAFVR considerably reduced in size and most functions were absorbed into the RAuxAF. The RAFVR now forms the working elements of the University Air Squadrons and the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme. It has a secondary function of managing groupings of Royal Air Force reservists for the management and operation of the RAF's Volunteer Gliding Squadrons and Air Experience Flights of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
Early years of the RAFVR.
The RAF Volunteer Reserve was formed in July 1936 to provide individuals to supplement the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The purpose was to provide a reserve of aircrew to draw upon in the event of war. The Auxiliary Air Force, which had been formed in 1925 by the local Territorial Associations, was organised by squadron and used local recruitment similar to the Territorial Army Regiments.
Initially the RAFVR was composed of civilians recruited from neighbourhood reserve flying schools. The flying schools were run by civilian contractors who mainly employed instructors who were members of the Reserve of Air Force Officers (RAFO) who had completed a four-year service commission as pilots in the RAF. Navigation instructors were mainly former master mariners without any air experience. Recruits were confined to men of between 18 and 25 years who had been accepted for part-time training as pilots, observers or wireless operators. When a civilian volunteer was accepted for aircrew training they took an oath of allegiance ('attestation') and were then inducted into the RAFVR. Normally they returned to their civilian job for several months until they were called up for aircrew training. During this waiting period they could wear a silver RAFVR lapel badge to indicate their status.
During the 1930s the RAFVR also began an informal association with the Air Cadet Organisation with members of the RAFVR arranging and implementing the cadet training.
The RAFVR during the Second World War.
When the Second World War broke out in September 1939 the RAFVR comprised 6,646 pilots, 1,625 observers and 1,946 wireless operators. During the war, the Air Ministry used the RAFVR as the principal means of entry for aircrew to serve with the RAF. All those called up for Air Force Service with the RAF, both commissioned officers and other ranks, did so as members of the RAFVR under the National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
By the end of 1941 more than half of Bomber Command aircrew were members of the RAFVR. Most of the pre-war pilot and observer Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) aircrew had been Commissioned and the surviving regular officers and members of the RAFO filled the posts of flight and squadron commanders. Eventually of the "RAF" aircrew in the Command probably more than 95 percent were serving members of the RAFVR.
During 1943, the decision was taken by the Air Ministry to raise an order for members of the RAFVR to remove the brass and cloth 'VR's worn on the collars and shoulders of officers and other ranks, as these were viewed as being divisive. No similar order was raised for members of the Auxiliary Air Force, who retained their 'A's on uniforms at that time.
After the Second World War.
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the RAFVR was reconstituted in 1947 and continued to act as a focus for individuals who had a continuing obligation under the Acts. Its activities peaked at the end of the 1950s.
Following the end of conscription in 1962/63, the war-appointable RAFVR reduced in size to a small number of specialist support flights. In 1997 these were absorbed into the RAuxAF as the non-conscriptive RAF became an increasingly professionalised organisation. However the RAFVR continued in the Training Branch, RAFVR(T), and the University Air Squadrons, RAFVR(UAS). Many decades later they were joined by the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme, RAFVR(DTUS).
Members of both the RAFVR(UAS) and RAFVR(DTUS) are eligible (in exactly the same manner as for members of the RAF's active volunteer reserve, the RAuxAF) for published daily rates of pay when on duty, and also the annual reservist bounty or Proficiency Grant, as long as they maintain the required levels of personal fitness tested via the RAF, successfully complete the requirements of Common Core Skills in terms of military capability, and attend the required number of Man Training Days and Annual Continuous Training periods. This is evidenced by a Certificate of Efficiency signed off by the Commanding Officer of the individual concerned.
Association with the Air Cadet Organisation.
The association with the Air Cadet Organisation was maintained by members of the RAFVR(T) who coordinate and administer at various levels of the command structure. This included CCF and ATC Squadron Officers, some CCF Contingent Commanders, ATC Wing and Regional Staff Officers, VGS and Air Experience Flight Pilots and Instructors. In December 2017, the Air Force Board agreed for RAFVR(T) ranks within the Royal Air Force Air Cadets to be removed. This was to make way for the introduction within all MOD-sponsored cadet forces of the Cadet Forces Commission (CFC), which was introduced in 2017
RAFVR Officer Cadets and Acting Pilot Officers within the UAS continue in their capacity as members of the University Air Squadrons. Following the advent of the Marston Report, and the removal of the requirement to follow the RAF Elementary Flying Training syllabus (replaced instead by an extended syllabus that includes value-added flying), there has been a much greater emphasis on the development of military skills, building existing leadership abilities and expanding the officer potential within the current membership.
RAFVR Officer Cadets are also members of the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme, a scheme which marries the benefits of studying science and engineering degrees with leadership and teamwork, under RAF sponsorship, whilst attending one of a small number of designated universities. During this period of study, members of the RAFVR(DTUS) are associated with their university's DTUS Squadron which provides members with a varied syllabus of activities including military and leadership training, physical fitness, adventure training and attachments to RAF units both in the UK and overseas. DTUS is to shut down over a five year transition period following the announced closure of Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (DSFC), scheduled for 2021.


Law Enforcement Detachments

Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support maritime law enforcement, interdiction, or security operations. LEDETs are the operational elements of the Coast Guard’s two Tactical Law Enforcement Teams (TACLETs) which were part of the Coast Guard’s Deployable Operations Group (DOG) from 2007 to 2013. As of April 2010 there are seventeen LEDETs.
History.
The Coast Guard officially established the Law Enforcement Detachment program in 1982. The first LEDETs operated directly under Coast Guard groups and districts, where they served as law enforcement specialists, conducting training and local operations. In 1986, Public Law (P.L.) 99-570 specifically authorized the establishment of billets for active duty Coast Guard personnel to carry out drug interdiction operations from naval surface vessels provided by the Department of Defense (DoD). Since the Posse Comitatus Act and department policy strictly prohibit Department of Defense personnel from directly engaging in law enforcement activities, LEDETs were tasked with operating aboard United States Navy (USN) ships to investigate contacts and conduct boardings in accordance with Coast Guard policy and directives. In accordance with P.L. 99-570, LEDETs were to deploy aboard U.S. Navy "ships of opportunity", transiting or operating in areas frequently used by illegal drug traffickers. In 1988, P.L. 100-456 made it a requirement that Coast Guard law enforcement personnel be assigned to each appropriate Navy surface vessel that transits a drug interdiction area.
The 1989 National Defense Authorization Act designated the DoD as the lead agency of the Federal Government for the detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime trafficking of illegal drugs into the United States or any of its commonwealths, territories, or possessions. In turn, the Coast Guard was designated the lead agency for the interdiction and apprehension of illegal drug traffickers on the high seas. In order to meet these statutory responsibilities, the DoD began deploying surface assets to drug interdiction areas, making ships available for direct support of Coast Guard law enforcement operations.
In the 1990s, the individual LEDETs were consolidated under three Tactical Law Enforcement Teams (TACLETs): Tactical Law Enforcement Team North (TACLET North) based in Chesapeake, Virginia, Tactical Law Enforcement Team Gulf (TACLET Gulf) based in New Orleans, Louisiana, Tactical Law Enforcement Team South (TACLET South), based in Opa-locka, Florida, and the Pacific Area Tactical Law Enforcement Team (PACTACLET) based in San Diego, California. In 2004, TACLET North was decommissioned and merged with Maritime Safety and Security Team 91102 to form a new counter-terrorism unit which was eventually named the Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT).
From July 2007 to April 2013, the Tactical Law Enforcement Teams and Law Enforcement Detachments were part of the Coast Guard's Deployable Operations Group (DOG) in an effort to organize the Coast Guard's various deployable specialized force under a single command. In April 2013, the DOG was disbanded and the TACLETs returned to control of the area commanders.
Capabilities.
Law Enforcement Detachments currently consist of anywhere between six and eleven members and are usually commanded by a Lieutenant (junior grade) or Lieutenant. Personnel are trained in close quarters combat (CQC), vertical insertion techniques, and container climbing. Personnel also receive special training as precision marksmen, emergency medical technicians, or linguists.
In addition to providing law enforcement boarding teams, LEDETs also have specially trained aerial gunners which can deploy aboard ship-based Navy helicopters to provide airborne use of force against smugglers, filling a role similar to the Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron.
LEDET members are eligible to receive the Tactical Law Enforcement Badge after eighteen months of LEDET duty.
Operations.
Drug interdiction.
Counter-drug operations are the LEDETs primary mission, although they also conduct other military indication mission types. Beginning in May 1993, LEDETs began deploying aboard foreign as well as U.S. naval vessels. LEDETs have successfully deployed aboard vessels of the British Royal Navy, the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Belgian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy. LEDETs have successfully seized numerous smuggling vessels including go-fast boats, larger fishing vessels, and self propelled semi-submersible vessels and as of March 2007, LEDETs had taken part in nine of the eleven largest cocaine seizures.
Examples of counter-drug operations.
The first joint U.S. Coast Guard-U.S. Navy airborne use of force interdiction occurred on 10 September 2006 when , LEDET 408 from TACLET South, and Detachment 1 from U.S. Navy Helicopter Anti-Submarine (Light) Squadron 60 (HSC-60) intercepted a go-fast boat north of the Colombian coast.
On 13 September 2008 LEDET 404 deployed aboard seized a self-propelled, semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel west of Guatemala during a nighttime boarding. The SPSS had been detected by a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft which vectored "McInerney" towards the vessel. "McInerney" launched two small-boats to interdict the vessel and LEDET 404 boarded the vessel under cover of darkness effectively surprising the crew. Upon realizing that they were being boarded, the smugglers first tried to throw the boarding team from the vessel by rapidly reversing the engines and then opened seacocks to scuttle the vessel but then complied with the boarding team’s orders to close them again. The vessel was found to be carrying seven tons of cocaine.
In April 2010, a LEDET deployed aboard "McInerney" utilized an unmanned aerial vehicle, namely a MQ-8 Fire Scout, to interdict a go-fast vessel carrying approximately of cocaine. During nighttime hours, the Fire Scout detected a cocaine laden go-fast vessel transiting in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It was able to covertly monitor the go-fast for three hours, capturing video evidence of the go fast rendezvousing with a logistics/refueling vessel. The LEDET, launching from "McInerney", nabbed both the go-fast and the logistics vessel, seizing approximately of cocaine and causing the drug runners to jettison another .
Maritime interdiction and security.
While counter-drug law enforcement is one of the LEDETs' largest missions, they have played an important role in military maritime interdiction and maritime security operations, conducting boardings and assisting in training U.S. and allied boarding teams.
During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991, ten four-member LEDETs were deployed to the Persian Gulf to support the enforcement of the United Nations sanctions against Iraq. The first boarding of an Iraqi vessel conducted by a LEDET occurred on 30 August 1990. Five days later, a Coast Guard-led boarding team from seized control of the Iraqi cargo ship "Zanoobia" and took it to Oman after the master refused to take his ship to a non-Iraqi or Kuwaiti port. Of the six hundred boardings conducted by U.S. naval forces, Coast Guard LEDETs either led or supported approximately sixty percent. LEDETs also assisted in training allied boarding teams and, shortly after the beginning of Operation Desert Storm, the LEDET aboard assisted in clearing eleven Iraqi oil platforms and taking twenty three prisoners.
In November 1993 four LEDETs were deployed aboard NATO vessels in Southern Europe to support the operations enforcing the United Nations embargo against the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav Wars.
Law Enforcement Detachments also played a role in the Iraq War. Two LEDETs were already deployed to the Northern Persian Gulf before preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom began. During Operation Iraqi Freedom LEDETs were deployed aboard navy coastal patrol vessels. On 24 April 2004 Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan Bruckenthal, assigned to LEDET 403 deployed aboard , was killed in action at the Khawr Al Amay Oil Terminal off the coast of Iraq in a terrorist-suicide bombing. Petty Officer Bruckenthal was the first Coast Guardsman killed in action since the Vietnam War and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Counter-piracy.
LEDETs deployed aboard U.S. Navy ships as part of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) to conduct counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia. On 13 May 2009 LEDET 409 assisted in the first capture of a pirate "mother ship" by CTF-151 after a U.S. Navy helicopter responding to a vessel under attack by pirates located a suspected pirate dhow. LEDET 409 and a Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) team from boarded the dhow and apprehended seventeen suspected pirates after finding assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher aboard.
In May 2010, another LEDET operating in the Gulf of Oman with USS "San Jacinto" stopped a dhow which had been hijacked by pirates. They captured 13 pirates and freed the Yemeni mariners.
Alien migrant interdiction.
LEDETs have conducted operations to interdict illegal migrants including Operation Able Vigil in 1994. One of the most dangerous migrant interdiction operations occurred in September 1998 after interdicted the motor vessel "Chih Yung" with 172 Chinese migrants aboard. The cutter requested support in handling the migrants and two teams from PACTACLET were deployed to assist. The LEDET and the cutter's boarding team had to combat riots, hunger strikes, and suicide attempts before all 172 migrants were turned over to Immigration and Naturalization Service officials in San Diego.
Selection and training.
A competitive candidate should have attended Boarding Officer (BO) school or, at a minimum, Boarding Team Member (BTM) school and have a wealth of Coast Guard maritime law enforcement experience. LEDETs will generally seek candidates with diverse professional experiences to make the teams well-rounded and able to solve problems on the spot.
After being selected, LEDET members will prepare and train within their unit for the Basic Tactical Operations Course (BTOC) held at the Joint Maritime Training Center. This eight week course delivers maritime interdiction common tactical skills and advanced tactical marksmanship to prepare personnel for high risk response mission operations.
Following BTOC, LEDET trainees will attend the Boarding Officer Course at the Maritime Law Enforcement Academy. The Boarding Officer Course (BOC) is offered to U.S. Coast Guard personnel and foreign naval officers. The purpose of the BOC is to prepare Boarding Officers for the arduous duties associated with enforcing laws and treaties at sea. Graduates of the BOC possess the skills and knowledge necessary to lead a Coast Guard boarding team in the enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations in a safe and professional manner.
In unit training consists of vertical insertion, hook and climb, and various other squad and team level assaults. Select members of the 12 man LEDETs will continue to receive more specialized training as medics, communications specialists, breaching specialists, precision marksmen, or language specialists. Training in the unit takes 18 months before a candidate is awarded the Tactical Law Enforcement Badge.


USCGC Forsythia (WAGL-63)

USCGC "Forsythia" (WAGL-63/WLR-63), was a 114-foot, 230-ton buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. It was one of three such vessels (her sisters were the and ) built to replace the stern paddlewheel steamers that the Coast Guard decided were too expensive to maintain. She was built by Avondale Marine Ways of Westwego, Louisiana, and entered service in 1943. She was stationed at Sewickley, Pennsylvania until 1963, and then Memphis, Tennessee, until she was decommissioned in 1977.


Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award

The Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award is an award presented annually to the individual making an outstanding contribution in naval research and development.
Background.
The award is named in honor of Captain Robert Dexter Conrad, who was the primary architect of the Navy’s basic research program, and the head of the Planning Division of the Office of Naval Research at the time of its establishment. It is designed to recognize and to reward outstanding technical and scientific achievement in research and development for the Department of the Navy (DON).
Description.
The Captain Robert Dexter Conrad award consists of a gold medal and a citation signed by the Secretary of the Navy.
Criteria.
The Captain Robert Dexter Conrad award will be granted, on an annual basis, to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the field of research and development for the DON. Such contribution shall be so outstanding as to be widely recognized, not only by the cognizant personnel within the DON, but also by the civilian scientific and engineering community of the Nation. While no time limitation is intended to be imposed in selecting a candidate for the award, it is recommended that only accomplishments of recent years be considered. Award considerations will be given to achievements in any of the following:
Eligibility.
At the time of the achievement or contribution cited as a basis for the award, nominees must have been in one of the following categories:
Nominating responsibilities.
The Chief of Naval Research (CNR) is responsible for obtaining and forwarding, with comments, a nomination to the Secretary of the Navy via the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and System) annually.
If none of the nominees submitted in a given year meet the established standards, the CNR will recommend to the Secretary that no award be granted for that year. To avoid possible embarrassment, nominations should be designated “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” and safeguarded until final action has been taken.
Nomination procedure.
The Chief of Naval Research will establish a Nomination Review Committee. The Committee will consist of nine representatives from Navy activities, which have significant research and development programs. The Committee will be responsible for ensuring that the widest possible consideration of potential nominees and for making an appropriate recommendation to the CNR.
Award nominations should be in the correct format and be favorably endorsed by the headquarters command. The CNR will issue a notice concerning the nomination due date and general information on the Committee meeting. Prior to this meeting, Committee members will receive a copy of each nomination to be considered.
When the Committee meets, each representative should be prepared to provide supporting information on the potential candidate(s) submitted by his or her organization. After each nomination has been discussed, ballots will be completed and a recommendation will be formulated and forwarded to the CNR.
Award presentation.
Awards approved by the Secretary of the Navy will be presented by the CNR or the CNR’s designated representative at a special ceremony which is mutually convenient to the recipient, his or her employing organization, and the CNR.
Recipients.
List of recipients and year supplied by the Office of Naval Research; affiliation gleaned from a web search.


List of equipment of the Turkish Land Forces

Modern equipment of the Turkish Land Forces. Totals in these tables do not necessary accurately reflect combat attrition sustained during the ongoing Syrian-Turkish clashes and Kurdish–Turkish conflict.
Vehicles.
Anti-aircraft.
Most of the Anti-aircraft equipment is in the inventory of Turkish Air Force.
Radar systems.
These are radars in Turkish Land Forces command. For other radars see List of active weapons of the Turkish Air Force.
Aircraft.
These are aircraft in Turkish Land Forces command. For other aircraft see List of active aircraft of the Turkish Air Force page.


Spanish Army (Peninsular War)

The Spanish Army of the Peninsular War refers to the Spanish military units that fought against France's Grande Armée from 2 May 1808 to 17 April 1814) a period which coincided with what is also termed the Spanish War of Independence ("Guerra de la Independencia Española").
These regular troops were supplemented throughout the country by the guerrilla actions of local militias which, in the case of Catalonia, ran to thousands of well-organised "miquelets", or "somatenes", who had already proved their worth in the Catalan revolt of 1640 and in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), while in Andalusia, they were more modest in number, and sometimes little more than brigands who were, in some cases, feared by French troops and the civilian population alike but which were nevertheless a constant source of harassment to the French army and its lines of communication, as were the numerous spontaneous popular uprisings. So much so, that by summer 1811, French commanders deployed 70,000 troops only to keep said lines open between Madrid and the border with France. A list drawn up in 1812 puts the figure of such irregular troops at 38,520 men, divided into 22 guerrilla bands.
At some battles, such as the Battle of Salamanca, the Army of Spain fought side-by-side with their allies of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, led by General Wellesley (who would not become the Duke of Wellington until after the Penininsular War was over).
Background.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which divided the Kingdom of Portugal and all Portuguese dominions between France and Spain, Spain agreed to augment, by three Spanish columns (numbering 25,500 men), the 28,000 troops Junot was already leading through Spain to invade Portugal. Crossing into Spain on 12 October 1807, Junot started a difficult march through the country, finally entering Portugal on 19 November.
The three columns were as follows:
Irregular troops.
Following on from other related decrees, on 17 April 1809, the Junta Central issued orders for all able-bodied patriots to join the Corso Terrestre (literally, "Land Corsairs"). By the following August, the Corso Terrestre of Navarra, initially comprising fifteen men, led by Francisco Xavier Mina, had carried out a series of successful ambushes, and soon consisted of 1,200 infantry troops and 150 cavalry, now known as the Primero de Voluntarios de Navarra ("First Volunteers of Navarra"). By November 1811, Juan Palarea Blanes, known as "El Médico", based in La Mancha, had raised both the Husares Francos Numantinos, a light cavalry unit, and the Cazadores Francos Numantinos, a light infantry unit, both of which were incorporated into the 4th Army in 1813, with the cavalry unit later joining Espoz y Mina's division in Navarre.
May – November 1808.
The jubilation following General Castaños' mid-July victory at Bailén was short-lived, and General Merlin's sacking of Bilbao, on 16 August 1808, caused much popular discontent throughout the country, which was aimed specifically at the Juntas and the generals.
On 5 September, a war council was convened, attended by General Cuesta; Castaños; Llamas; la Peña; the Duque del Infantado, representing General Blake; and another officer (unknown) representing Palafox. Cuesta, as the senior general, attempted to persuade Castaños to join him in leading a military government separated from the Juntas, but Castaños refused. Then, having tried, to no avail, to persuade his colleagues to name him commander in chief, Cuesta stormed out of the meeting. Having taken matters into his own hands, he would later be arrested and relieved of his command, only to have it restored shortly afterwards.
On 10 November, the Junta Central published its manifesto, dated 28 October 1808, in which, among other declarations, it declared its intention of maintaining a force of 500,000 troops, together with 50,000 cavalry.
According to the manifesto, the existing diverse regiments and corps of the Spanish Army would be organised into four large corps, presided over by a Junta Central de Guerra (Central War Board), to be headed by Castaños, as follows:
Autumn Campaign (1809).
The Junta Central's Autumn Campaign was politically motivated, and despite Del Parque's victory at Tamames in October, the Spanish Army's subsequent defeats at the battles of Ocaña and Alba de Tormes led to the Junta's fall at the beginning of 1810.
The campaign was to be carried out by the Army of Estremadura, under the Duke of Alburquerque's much depleted force of 8,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry, as he had had to transfer three divisions of infantry and twelve regiments of cavalry to reinforce the Army of La Mancha, under Venegas, and which, after its defeat at Almonacid, had been reduced to only 25,000 men.
The Army of La Mancha now comprising some 50,000 men, the Junta removed Venegas (who had taken over from Cartaojal, sacked for his incompetence at the Battle of Ciudad Real in March) replacing him with Aréizaga, who was able to bring the force up to 48,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 60 cannon, making it one of the largest forces Spain had ever created.
The Army of the Left which, in theory, was 50,000 strong (although only 40,000 of them actually took part in the campaign), was formed from La Romana’s Army of Galicia, with Ballasteros’s Army of the Asturias and the Del Parque's troops. The latter was given command of this Army.
1812–1814.
On 22 September 1812, the Cortes named Wellington "generalissimo" (supreme commander) of the Spanish armies. The commander of the 4th Army, General Ballesteros, was arrested and relieved of his command in October 1812, and exiled for protesting Wellington's command and trying to instigate an uprising. By mid-1813, Spain's regular forces consisted of some 160,000 troops, around a third of which were fighting alongside Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army.


Red Guards (Russia)

Red Guards () were paramilitary volunteer formations consisting mainly of factory workers, peasants, cossacks and partially of soldiers and sailors for "protection of the soviet power". Red Guards were a transitional military force of the collapsing Imperial Russian Army and the base formations of Bolsheviks during the October Revolution and the first months of the Russian Civil War. Most of them were formed in the time frame of the Russian Revolution of 1917, and some of the units were reorganized into the Red Army during 1918. The Red Guards formations were organized across most of the former Russian Empire, including territories outside the contemporary Russian Federation such as Finland, Estonia, Ukraine, and others. They were not centralized and were formed by decision of a local political party and local soviet members. By fighting to protect and extend the power of the soviets, they aided the creation of a new state that (according to its original conception) would give "all power to the soviets": the Soviet Union.
Overview.
Composing the majority of the urban population, they were the main strike force of several radically oriented socialist political factions. Red Guard units were created in March 1917 at manufacturing companies by Factory and Plant Committees and by some communist-inclined party cells (Bolsheviks, Left Socialist Revolutionaries, others). The Red Guards formations were based on the worker's strike forces of the Russian Revolution of 1905. Lenin gave a following evaluation of the phenomenon:
A number of other militarized formations created during the February Revolution, such as "people's militia" (народная милиция), created by the Russian Provisional Government, "squads of self-defence" (отряды самообороны), "committees of public security" (комитеты общественной безопасности), "workers' squads" (рабочие дружины) were gradually unified into the Red Guards.
Creation.
On March 26, 1917, the Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDRP(b) published a resolution "About the Provisional Government" since then the term, Red Guards, received the widest usage. The biggest centralized Red Guards formations were created in Petrograd and Moscow. Soon thereafter a series of attempts took place to legalize those formations. On April 14, 1917, the Moscow Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks) (RSDLP(b)) adopted a resolution for the creation of its Red Guard. On April 17 in Petrograd, the council of workers' squad's representatives created a commission for the formation of workers' guards and on April 29 in the "Pravda" newspaper has appeared a draft of its statute. The Vyborg raion (district) council of Petrograd on April 28 declared to transform the squads of workers' and factory militia into the Red Guard squads. On May 17 the Samara council of workers' representatives (deputies) established a commission in the creation of Red Guard squads. A big role in the creation of the Red Guard squads played the Factory committees. Before April 1917, seventeen Russian cities created Red Guard squads, which by June increased in numbers to 24.
Red Guards were the base for the forming of the Red Army. Therefore, the term is often used as just another English name for the Red Army in reference to the times of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War.
In Petrograd, the head of the Red Guards (30,000 personnel) was Konstantin Yurenev. At the time of the October Revolution, the Russian Red Guards had 200,000 personnel. After the revolution, the Red Guards performed some of the functions of the regular army, between the time the new Soviet government began demobilizing the old Russian military and the time the Red Army was created in January 1918.
Organization.
During the revolution, training of the Red Guards was arranged by the Military Organization of the RSDLP (Bolshevik Military Organizations).
Enlistment was voluntary, but required recommendations from Soviets, Bolshevik party units or other public organizations. The military training of workers was often performed without disengagement from the work at plants. There were both infantry and mounted regiments. At different places, the organization was nonuniform in terms of subordination, headcount, degree of military training. This state was often called "half-partisan". While successful at local conflicts (e.g., with ataman Alexander Dutov in Orenburg guberniya), this loose organization was inefficient when combating larger, organized forces of the White Army. Therefore, when the creation of the Red Army was decreed, Red Guards had become the Army Reserve and the base for the formation of regular military detachments.


Saguntum and Valencia order of battle

The Battle of Saguntum (25 October 1811) saw the Imperial French Army of Aragon under Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet defend against a Spanish army led by Captain General Joaquín Blake. The Spanish attempt to raise the siege of the Sagunto Castle failed when the French, Italians, and Poles drove their troops off the battlefield in rout. The 20,000 French inflicted 6,000 casualties on their more numerous opponents, including many prisoners, while sustaining only about 1,000 casualties.
Suchet hoped to quickly seize Sagunto Castle, but the 2,600-man Spanish garrison repulsed two of his assaults with several hundred casualties. Blake hoped to force Suchet to retreat by cutting off his supplies. The guerillas inflicted two stinging defeats on the French-Allied forces, but ultimately failed to shake Suchet's resolve. Blake reluctantly ordered his army to relieve the siege, even though he was not confident in the ability of his soldiers to face Suchet's veterans. Blake heavily weighted his left wing while keeping his best troops in the weaker right wing. The Spanish left wing attacked the much weaker French right flank and was completely routed by French infantry and Italian cavalry. The Spanish right wing gave a much better account of itself, forcing Suchet to commit all his reserves before forcing it to withdraw. Eventually, the French cavalry put the whole Spanish army to rout. Their hopes of relief dashed, the garrison of Sagunto Castle quickly surrendered. The action took place during the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Sagunto lies a short distance from the east coast of Spain, about north of Valencia, Spain.
The Siege of Valencia (3 November 1811 – 9 January 1812) saw Suchet's army envelop and besiege most of Blake's army in the city of Valencia. The 30,000 French troops compelled 16,000 Spanish soldiers to surrender at the conclusion of the siege, although another 7,000 Spaniards escaped from the trap. Suchet quickly converted Valencia into an important base of operations. Valencia, modern-day capital of the Valencian Community, is located on the east coast of Spain.
Blake army waited passively in a line of fortifications outside Valencia. Reinforced by 13,000 Franco-Italian troops, the bulk of Suchet's army marched around the Spanish left flank and rolled up Blake's lines. Another Imperial French division managed to break through the Spanish right flank. The right and left Imperial pincers closed around Valencia. Two-thirds of Blake's army retreated within the city while the remainder withdrew to the west. After an abortive attempt to break out, Blake surrendered after a two-month siege.


Marine Corps Detachment, Fort Leonard Wood

The Marine Corps Detachment at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri hosts the largest United States Marine Corps detachment outside a Marine Corps base. With over 1200 students and support personnel, Ft Leonard Wood hosts Marines training at the Motor Transport Instruction School, Military Police Instruction School, Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Defense School and the Engineer Equipment Instruction School.


Marine Air Control Group 38

Marine Air Control Group 38 (MACG-38) is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar that is currently composed of four squadrons and one battalion that provide the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing's tactical headquarters, positive and procedural control to aircraft, and air defense support for the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
History.
1950s.
Marine Air Control Group 3 was commissioned on March 28, 1951 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. The group was formed during the Korean War to replace Marine Air Control Group 2 that deployed to South Korea in March and April 1951. Following the end of the Korean War and a restructure within Marine Corps aviation, MACG-3 was decommissioned on December 31, 1955.
Reactivation through the 1980s.
The Group was reactivated on September 1, 1967 at MCAS EL Toro.
Desert Storm & the 1990s.
MACG-38 deployed to Saudi Arabia in August 1990 and later supported Operation Desert Storm. Elements of the group have supported Operation Restore Hope, Operation Safe Departure, Operation Southern Watch and Operation Stabilise. The group relocated to MCAS Miramar in October 1998.
War on Terror to present.
MACG-38 began planning for a possible invasion of Iraq during the summer of 2002. The groups first units began deploying to Kuwait in October 2002 as part of Exercise Internal Look. The 2003 invasion of Iraq eventually required not only all of MACG-38 but also almost all of Marine Air Control Group 28 and a significant number of augments including reservists from Marine Air Control Group 48 and Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1). MACG-38 personnel continued to deploy today in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from January 2004 through early 2009. During security and stabilization operations the group was headquartered at Al Asad Airbase in the Al Anbar Province.
Most recently the Group deployed to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan in March 2010. It was again responsible for providing aviation command and control for the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The group returned to the United States in Spring of 2011.
In the summer of 2002, planning for the possible invasion of Iraq began in earnest for west coast MACCS units attached to the I Marine Expeditionary Force (IMEF). I MEF had the lead for planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq however the scope and scale of


Camp Calvin B. Matthews

Camp Calvin B. Matthews or Marine Corps Rifle Range Camp Matthews or Marine Corps Rifle Range, La Jolla (prior to World War II) or more simply Camp Matthews was a United States Marine Corps military base from 1917 until 1964, when the base was decommissioned and transferred to the University of California to be part of the new University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus. Over a million Marine recruits as well as other shooters (such as Marines stationed at Miramar) received their marksmanship training at this military base.
Location and boundaries.
Camp Matthews was located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. The base's eastern boundary was present-day Regents Road. Its northern boundary was present-day Voigt Drive (formerly Old Miramar Road) and Matthews Lane and extended westward to Gilman Drive (formerly Coast Highway), which was its western boundary. The base's southern boundary was near present-day La Jolla Village Drive and a "panhandle" extended southward along what is today Interstate 5 and extended past present-day Nobel Drive. United States Army base Camp Callan was to the west of Camp Matthews. The Marine base at Miramar was about east of Camp Matthews.
History.
Early years.
The Marine Corps leased of land from the City of San Diego in 1917 for use as a marksmanship training facility for Marine recruits being trained at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. However, a permanent detachment of Marines was not stationed at this base until 1923. It was first used as a rifle range in late 1918. The Marines built the first eight targets of "A" range themselves with picks and shovels. In 1925 five more targets were added. The first headquarters buildings were built in 1927 and the first detachment barracks were built in 1928. During the 1930s and 1940s, more buildings and barracks were constructed as well more firing ranges. During these years, the base had no official name but was called Marine Rifle Range, La Jolla. In 1937, the U.S. government terminated the lease and acquired in fee from the City of San Diego. This acquisition consisted of the formerly leased area as well as additional land to the east. The government also leased an additional from the City of San Diego. This newly leased area was in the northeastern corner of the base. The total area of the base was then . Except for a few ranch houses, all of the area acquired was undeveloped at the time of acquisition.
World War II, Korean War and Early Vietnam Era years.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II, the base was busier than ever. At the peak of the base's activity in 1944, it put 9,000 recruits through marksmanship training every three weeks, because MCRD was never suitable for this. Marine recruits from MCRD, completed their marksmanship training at Camp Matthews and marched from the camp back to the Recruit Depot with an over-night bivouac sleeping in shelter-half tents (pup-tents) . During these years, there were 700 permanent personnel stationed at the base. However, by the mid-1950s only 120 Marines were stationed at Camp Matthews. During World War II and the Korean War, more administrative buildings as well as street and utility systems were built. Most recruits lived in 6-man tents during their stay at the range.
In 1960, part of the movie "The Outsider", a film about WW II Marine IRA Hayes, was filmed at Camp Matthews because recruits were being housed in WW II Style hard-back tents. Some Marine recruits served as extras in that filming. (Contributor's personal knowledge - I was there!)
The camp was known as the Marine rifle range, without a formal name until WWII. The base was officially named Camp Calvin B. Matthews on March 23, 1942. It was named after Brigadier General Calvin B. Matthews, a Marine marksman of the 1930s.
In December 1945 an ammunition truck caught fire near Camp Matthews and blew up causing a large crater near highway 101.
Closing and transfer.
As the community of La Jolla expanded after World War II, local people became more and more concerned over the close proximity of a military rifle range facility in their neighborhood. The La Jolla Town Council began trying to get the United States Navy to close Camp Matthews in 1956 but the Navy resisted. In 1959, Congressman Bob Wilson introduced a bill in Congress that would transfer Camp Matthews to the University of California for the planned San Diego campus. In 1962, Camp Matthews was determined to be surplus by the Marine Corps. In May 1963, one of the 65 target ranges could no longer be used because of the safety hazard it posed to the encroaching civilian population. The base finally closed in 1964, the same year the first undergraduate class entered Revelle College, UCSD's first undergraduate college. Closing ceremonies took place on August 21, 1964 but the base was not officially closed until October 6, 1964. A monument to the camp was unveiled at this ceremony. Major General B. A. Hochmuth, the Commanding General of MCRD at the time, fired the ceremonial "last rounds" before the camp closed. The Navy conveyed titles and interest in and improvements to the Regents of the University of California on September 23 of this year. The lease on the with the City of San Diego was terminated in this year as well. The University of California began developing the base property for use as a campus the following year. After Camp Matthews closed, Marine marksmanship training was conducted further north at Edson Range in Camp Pendleton and continues to be conducted there up to the present day.
Facilities.
Camp Matthews contained at least fifteen different shooting ranges as well as various buildings and other infrastructure during its existence. The shooting facilities included:
The base had a number of buildings as well. It had 7 barracks, approximately 270 tents, administration buildings, quartermaster storerooms, magazines, an armory, maintenance shops, a dispensary, a service station, and a main post exchange. Only a few of the original Marine Corps buildings still exist. They are primarily located along Myers Drive in the central part of the present-day campus and were used for administrative buildings, the campus bookstore, as well as other uses over the years. This central location of the UCSD campus was called the Matthews Campus but is now called the University Center and Sixth College. A few locations on campus are named after Camp Matthews. They include Matthews Lane (which is part of the northern boundary of the former base) and Matthews Quad, an area in the center of the UCSD campus bound by Myers Drive, Lyman Walk, Russell Lane, and Rupertus Way. The original flagpole from the base still stands on a grass island in the middle of Myers Drive. A monument commemorating the former base stands there as well as a fountain designed by Michael Asher which is part of the Stuart Collection. The rear entrance sentry booth still stands in a UCSD parking lot. Drawings and graffiti left by Marine recruits still decorate the interior of the sentry booth and are now protected by plexiglas. Another surviving Camp Matthews building is the Ché Café.
Current land use.
The area Camp Matthews used to occupy has been divided-up for various uses. During the 1960s, UCSD disposed of former Camp Matthews land in the following way:
The rest of the land currently belongs to UCSD and much of the current campus is built on this land. The that the City of San Diego previously leased to the military are now leased to UCSD.
Safety and environmental effects.
During the decommissioning of the camp, the government decontaminated Range H, the grenade/mortar/bazooka range, which was located in a ravine in the “panhandle” area of the base near the present-day I-5. In the early 1960s, a mining company salvaged lead and brass from the Camp Matthews ranges. However, over the years ammunition and even rockets from the former base have turned up during construction on the site. In April 1999, approximately 200 practice rockets were discovered in a hillside immediately below the Radisson Hotel La Jolla (which is currently the Sheraton Hotel La Jolla ). This area is from the Range H area of the former base and is now on the east side of I-5. They were found due to a parking lot expansion project involving the removal of part of a hillside (this hillside is now landscaped). There was no charge in any of the rockets and all the propellant was gone. The hotel hired a private company to survey the area for more ordnance with metal detectors but found none. In February 2003, approximately 40 practice rockets were found at two construction sites on the former base. One rocket was found in the medical complex area of the campus during this year. In 2005, during the construction of student housing units, the following was found: 14 inert rockets (8 2.3–inch M7 series practice rockets and 6 M29 series practice rockets), fragments from 60 mm mortars, M9 rifle grenades, Mk II hand grenades, and M29 series practice rockets. Small arms projectiles (.30-caliber and .45-caliber) have been found north of the UCSD Jacobs Medical Center complex. They were corroded and missing their outer coverings. They were possibly World War I or World War II era munitions.
Over the years, the government has investigated the former Camp Matthews site due to concern over the previous use of the base. The first government inspection of the site took place in 1988 due to an inquiry from a construction contractor regarding the likelihood of finding ordnance and explosives (OE) during construction on a site on a part of the former base east of I-5. The next inspection took place in 1999 when the Defense Environmental Restoration Program – Formerly Used Defense Sites (DERP-FUDS) conducted an Inventory Project Report (INPR) (J09CA111001) on the site. Since then, more investigations have occurred in the 2000s. The most recent investigations indicate that high levels of lead and arsenic (as well as other potentially harmful chemicals) are found in the soil and a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) should be conducted.
References.
PROJECT REPORT (INPR)]


Navy Region Center Singapore

The Navy Region Centre Singapore (NRCS) manages shore support facilities. It does so for departments such as the Department of the Navy (DoN) and Department of Defense (DoD). The centre manages facilities such as administration, Housing, Morale, welfare, family support services and recreation programs.
According to the NRCS Commanding Officer Capt. Scott Murdock (in 2016)“A major part of our mission is taking care of the fleet." Whenever U.S Navy vessels arrive at the port, NRCS and supporting departments like NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Centre Yokosuka, Site Singapore (FLC), Family Readiness Group, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Navy Exchange, and Navy Federal Credit Union are responsible for supporting the fleet and provide services such as provisions, fuel, postal services, and pier-side support.
Support.
The NRCS also supports various other wings such as-
Facilities.
The NRCS contains some facilities which are accessible to U.S Navy personnel. Some of them are sports facilities, which include baseball fields and scheduled softball matches against other navy departments.
The centre also has the Café Lah Community Center, which contains a coffee shop as well as a theater.
Along the walkway of the headquarters, a barber shop, several souvenir shops are also present.
Safety and Environmental Fair.
In 2016 the NRCS held its Safety and Environmental Fair. The event drew more than 150 visitors and included representatives of the region’s medical staff, Child and Youth Programs, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Public Health Department, Fleet and Family Readiness Group, the Public Safety Department and the Environmental Department. The event is held to promote safety and environmental awareness. It also seeks to educate people about different safety topics and activities such as driving safety, fire extinguishing techniques, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), food safety and dental hygiene.


2nd Supply Battalion

The 2nd Supply Battalion is a battalion of the United States Marine Corps that specializes in distributing and warehousing military goods and equipment. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and they fall under the command of Combat Logistics Regiment 25 and the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.
History.
Activated 26 May 2006 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as Combat Logistics Regiment 25 and assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group. Elements of the battalion participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, from February 2007 through January 2008.


Beaumont Reserve Fleet

The Beaumont Reserve Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946, as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF). The fleet is located in Beaumont, Texas.
History.
In 1946, the US Government excavated 24 million cubic yards of soil from the Neches River, southeast of Beaumont, to create the McFadden Bend Cutoff. This is the location of the fleet. The Neches River connects to Sabine Lake and then the Gulf of Mexico.
The Beaumont Reserve Fleet is one of only three remaining National Defense Reserve Fleets, of the original eight NDRFs, and the only anchorage on the Gulf Coast. The fleet is maintained by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), an agency of the Department of Transportation (DOT).
Inventory of the Beaumont Reserve Fleet.
Correct as of 31 January 2020.
Ported at the Port of Beaumont:
Ported in the Beaumont Reserve Fleet:
Texas A&M School Ship, ported in Galveston:


Fitness Report

A Fitness Report (FITREP) is an evaluation form used by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Navy officers are given Fitness Reports, while Navy chief petty officers (E-7 to E-9) are given "Chief EVALs" and Navy sailors E-6 and below are issued Evaluation Reports (EVALs). Marine enlisted from the rank of sergeant (E-5) to sergeant major/ master gunnery sergeant (E-9) and officers are given Fitness Reports, while junior Marines are given Proficiency and Conduct marks ("Pros/Cons").
The United States Air Force equivalents are the Enlisted Performance Report (EPR) and Officer Performance Report. The United States Army equivalents are the Enlisted Evaluation Report (EER) and Officer Evaluation Report. The Navy uses the same format for senior enlisted as officers because of the special role that chief petty officers play in the Navy. Similarly chief petty officers also wear the same uniforms, with appropriate rank insignia, as officers.


Good conduct variation

In the United States Navy prior to June 2019, sailors in pay grades E-4 to E-9 were authorized to wear golden rate insignia instead of red if they met the requirements for good conduct service. Those sailors in paygrades E-4 to E-6 who had met good conduct service requirements were also authorized to wear collar insignia and cap devices with gold chevrons on their service uniforms. On 1 June 2019, golden rate insignia began to be worn by all sailors with 12 years of service or more, regardless of disciplinary history.
History.
Gold rating badge and service stripes.
Navy sailors whose most recent twelve cumulative years of naval active or active reserve service had met requirements for Good Conduct Service (that which meets minimum requirements for performance, conduct and evaluation marks for the Good Conduct Award) wore gold rating badges and gold service stripes on dress blue uniforms, dinner dress blue uniforms and dinner dress blue/white jacket uniforms. The twelve years may have been active or drilling reserve time in the Navy, Navy Reserve, and Navy units attached to Marine Corps, or Marine Corps Forces Reserve units. Times excluded were for that spent in the delayed entry program, inactive reserve, and broken service. Under broken service conditions - resumed the cumulative time counted upon active duty reenlistment or upon enlisting in the drilling reserves.
Continued wearing of gold.
Once qualified to wear the gold rating badge and gold service stripes, the qualification continues through the duration of an enlisted person's service, providing they continue to meet minimum conduct, performance, and evaluation mark requirements for a Good Conduct Medal or Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Award. On the date the individual fails to meet the minimum standards, the gold rating badge and gold service stripes must be removed from the uniform. Additionally, if an individual is convicted by court-martial or Non-judicial punishment (NJP), the gold badge and gold service stripes must be removed from the uniform on the date the conviction becomes final within the meaning of Article 76, Uniform Code of Military Justice. The privilege to again wear the gold service stripes/rating badge may only be earned by fulfilling the requirements listed above.
The United States Coast Guard's enlisted rate insignia, while similar to that of the U.S. Navy's, include gold stripes for all chief petty officers (E-7 to E-9) regardless of their disciplinary history. All other ranks wear red stripes.
Fleet reserve personnel.
Fleet reserve personnel may wear the gold rating badges and service stripes authorized at the time of their transfer to the fleet reserve. For fleet reserve personnel returning to active duty, fleet reserve time is considered broken time for the purpose of determining authorized additional service stripes, and qualifying to wear gold sleeve insignia.
E-4 Good Conduct Variation.
The petty officer third class good conduct variation is very rare in the U.S. Navy as it is uncommon for a sailor with 12 years of good conduct to have not been promoted beyond that paygrade. For more information on this rarity, see petty officer third class good conduct variation.
Discontinuation.
In March 2019, it was announced by the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education that starting on 1 June 2019, golden rate insignia will be worn by all sailors with 12 years of service or more, regardless of disciplinary history.


List of United States Navy people

This article contains a list of notable people (officers and sailors) of the U.S. Navy.


South African Infantry School

The South African Infantry School is within the Army Base in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape. The Infantry School, now at Oudtshoorn, was established in November 1953, after a history dating back to the South African Military School in Bloemfontein, established in 1912. It is the Infantry’s “centre of excellence” and offers a number of infantry-specific courses to regulars and Reservists.
History.
Early history.
On the 1 July 1912, the "South African Military School" was established in the old President's residence in Bloemfontein. The school's name was changed to "The School of Musketry" on the 1 November 1912 and moved to Tempe in Bloemfontein.
On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the school at Tempe was closed and all the members of the staff were transferred to Potchefstroom. These staff members were responsible for the next number of years for the training of volunteers for overseas duty.
During 1920, the "South African Military School" was established at what was then called Roberts Heights (This has subsequently changed names twice, first to Voortrekkerhoogte and now to Thaba Tshwane). The college was granted the status of "School" in 1924 as a result of the training of the first group of permanent force Officer Candidates. The school was enlarged just before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1935 with the creation of the following branches:
During the 1940-1945 years, certain of these branches were moved. The "Regimental Training" was taken over by the "Weapon Training Branch" for example. It was during this era that the idea was mooted that there should be an independent Infantry School.
In November 1953 the "Weapon Training Branch" was officially renamed the "Infantry School" in terms of SADF order No. 206/53, but this renamed unit remained an integral part of the "South African Military College".
On 1 October 1963, after having been a ghost unit for almost 10 years, the Infantry School was finally established as a self accounting unit. At this stage and until 1 January 1964, Maj J. H. Rossouw, SAIC, was appointed Acting Officer Commanding. It was during this period that the decision to move the Infantry School to Oudtshoorn, its present location, was taken.
Oudtshoorn.
On 1 January 1964 the new, fully fledged Infantry School opened its portals in Oudtshoorn to admit its first students under the command of Cmdt M. N. Horner, SAIC. Since that day, the School has undergone two major metamorphoses. The first being in January 1974 when, in addition to its established role, it assumed the role of the unit where National Servicemen Junior Leaders were trained. The second occurred in December 1976 when it was decided to remove virtually all Citizen Force courses from the School and transfer them to the Danie Theron Combat School in Kimberley.
In January 1977 another historic event occurred at the Infantry School that is the advent of the first prospective Cadet Officer intake of then recently qualified teachers. In those years, the unit had shouldered its share of the burden of duty in the operational area. Later on it had become policy to send companies of National Servicemen to the operational area as part of their training as Junior Leaders.
1977 was an important year in the school's history as they received their Colours on the 1 October 1977 and were granted the Freedom of the City by the City Council of Oudtshoorn.
On the 28 March 1980, the Infantry School received its own song from the well known Dirkie and Doll de Villiers. The song was handed over to the Commanding Officer, Col W.G. Kritzinger, during a parade at the school and the song was performed for the first time by the School's choir.
During December 1980, the "Exerce Perfectioni" Statue was handed over to the School by the City Council of Oudtshoorn. The statue was unveiled by Gen Magnus Malan.


Hesse-Darmstadt Kreis Regiment

The Hessen-Darmstadt Kreis Regiment was created in 1697 in Gießen.


USCGC McCulloch

McCulloch or Hugh McCulloch has been the name of more than one ship of the United States Revenue-Marine, United States Revenue Cutter Service, or United States Coast Guard, and may refer to:


USCGC Covington (PF-56)


Rosneath naval base

Rosneath naval base was a naval base, constructed on the Rosneath peninsula, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. close to the village of Rosneath. The construction of the base started in July 1941, in response to American expectations that they would be shortly entering World War II. In June 1945, the base was decommissioned, then fell into disuse and was finally closed in 1948.
Rosneath castle.
Rosneath Castle was situated at the head of the bay, was used by transient officers accommodation and as an officers mess. The castle had been rebuilt by George Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll in 1860 for Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. The castle and estate was sold in early 1940, ending 500 years of Clan Campbell ownership of Rosneath and the surrounding area.
HMS Rosneath.
Rosneath Bay was chosen as the area of the base as it location in Firth of Clyde provided deep water channels that were considered excellent for ship operations and sufficient land at Rosneath estate was provided that was both flat for tanks, combined with a hilly and wooded area that provided excellent protective coverage for buildings. The initial construction of the base was started when funds were provided as part of the Lend-Lease agreement. Contract workers and material started to arrive in June 1941. In July 1941,the American Civil Engineer Corps and Seabees along with civilian personnel arrived to find that the Royal Engineers, 996 Dock Operating Company constructing a shallow water jetty for barges. In August 1941, 150 Irish workmen were contracted and began work immediately. Although shiploads of construction machinery arrived from the US, work was delayed due to the lack of a rock crusher, which meant the local quarry, which was 25 miles away, needed to be used for the delivery of aggregate. By December 1941, work was advanced, on the barracks, hospital, reservoirs, roads and the water filter and purification plant.
In the same month the United States joined the war and the scope of work was reduced by one-third. Instead of the three specialities of submarine facilities, destroyer facilities and repair shops being offered at the base, it was decided to remove the destroyer facilities. Any work for the destroyer facilities was subsequently cancelled and the tank farm, hospital and support functions were all reduced in size, to take cognizance of the smaller size of base.
Operation Torch.
On the 24 August 1942, the base was again commissioned by the United States Navy to train amphibious craft sailors as part of combined operations preparations for the Allied invasion of French North Africa, that was known Operation Torch. The most important training aspect of those preparations was a naval fire-fighting course, and a practice-landing course.
Rosneath House became the locus for planning Operation Torch. In November and December 1942, the 29th Seabees arrived to continue maintenance and construction in preparation for Operation Torch. The Seabees completed the marine railway, provided 20 Nissen huts for barracks, eight 10000 barrel fuel tanks with a pumping station and fuel lines. They also built a laundry and roads to service the area as well as renovating a number of buildings to provide a hospital and admin offices.
The Green Isle area of Rosneath which was heavily wooded area, provided ideal cover for a military camp that was capable of billeting 4500 men, who were part of the operation. Naval personnel who couldn't be billeted on site, numbering 6300 officers and men, stayed with families in Helensburgh. British commandos who were part of the combined operation also stayed in Helensburgh.
Once Operation Torch was completed, the base was returned to the Royal Navy on 1 February 1943, except for the facilities needed for US Submarine Squadron 50 which continued to operate, dock space for USS Beaver and the Seabee camp at Clachan House in Rosneath. All the American personnel were transferred to the Springtown base in Derry, except for the 230 Civil Engineer Corps.
Receiving station.
On the 20 August 1943, the base was again reactivated by the United States Navy, to act as the main receiving station for personnel who needed to be assigned to a specific vessel or location. During that year, up until August 1944, thousands of men arrived from the US, to be transferred to duties on ships and naval bases that were located all over the United Kingdom. The base aprovided training, supply and maintenance crews for increasingly larger units as the war progressed, including the 11th Amphibious Force consisting of 1900men. Other units were also supported that consisted of over 5000 sailors.
Decommissioning.
On 5 May 1945, the base was decommissioned by the US Navy and in June 1945 the Seabees left, reverting its name back to HMS Rosneath. In 1948, the base was finally decommissioned by the Royal Navy. At some point after the end of the war, the base was demolished to be replaced by new housing, a school and a church. Little evidence of the base remains.
Facilities.
The wharf at the base measured 4750 lineal feet of deep-water berths as well as 1500 lineal feet of shallow-water berths. The base also included:
Slightly north of Rosneath was Camp Clachan that consisted of barracks and facilities for 400 men and used to house the 29th Seabees. In the two months between April and May 1942, 325 Americans, 1000 Irish and 250 British construction workers worked on the constructing the camp. By June 1942, the base construction was well advanced. Huts at the base were divided into units, served from a single galley, with 500 men to a unit and 10 men per hut. Huts were placed in an irregular manner amongst the trees, interspersed with bomb shelters. A hospital was also constructed on a hillside overlooking the Firth of Clyde and contained 680 beds, designed in a fan shape with a galley at the centre. Portkil Hotel and cottage were repaired to use as accommodation. On the opposite side of the peninsula, approximately 3 miles from Rosneath, ammunition was stored in 14 stores measuring 20 x 50 feet.


The Guardian (2006 film)

The Guardian is a 2006 American action-adventure drama film directed by Andrew Davis. The film stars Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher and Melissa Sagemiller. The title of the film refers to a legendary figure within the film which protects people lost at sea: "the Guardian". The film focuses on the United States Coast Guard and their Aviation Survival Technician program. "The Guardian" was released on September 29, 2006.
Plot.
The film opens with a description of a legend told by people who have survived being lost at sea: a presence, referred to as the Guardian, which pushed them to the surface, enabling them to survive until help arrived.
Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is the top rescue swimmer at the United States Coast Guard's Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program, but the long hours have destroyed his marriage. When on a rescue, Ben loses his team in a HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter crash at sea. While waiting in a survival raft, his best friend, Chief Petty Officer Carl Billings (Omari Hardwick), dies. Shaken by survivor guilt, Ben is transferred to become an instructor at the Coast Guard AST training school. He develops a legendary reputation among the students for his high number of rescues.
Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) is a hot-shot candidate for AST. Ranked as a top high school competitive swimmer with scholarships to every Ivy League college, Jake opts to enlist in the Coast Guard. During training, Jake meets local schoolteacher, Emily Thomas (Melissa Sagemiller), and they begin a casual relationship.
The initial weeks of training end with most of the students dropping out and advanced instruction begins. Jake is late for class and Ben punishes his entire class for his tardiness. Believing Jake to be lazy and unmotivated, Ben tries to force him to quit. He gradually begins to see Jake's persistence and dedication.
Jake meets Emily in a bar and tells her about beating Ben's old records. The bartender, a friend of Ben's, tells Jake about a time when Ben injured himself saving every victim from a burning hospital ship full of invalid patients.
Later, a friend of Jake's is afraid of failing school because he is unable to cope with panicked victims in the water. Jake takes him out for a drink at a Navy bar to cheer him up. They get in a fight and land in jail after being badly beaten by the Navy sailors, causing Jake to miss a date with Emily.
Chief Aviation Survival Technician Jack Skinner (Neal McDonough) bails Jake out. Back on base, Ben and Jake get into a confrontation about their pasts. It is revealed that during high school, Jake was involved in a car crash while on the way home with his teammates. It is revealed Jake lost the flip to be the designated driver and, although completely sober, blames himself for the accident. The two bond over the common experience of being the only survivor of fatal accidents. They return to the bar and fight the sailors again, this time winning. Jake returns to base and takes the blame for the fight.
At graduation, only a handful of candidates remain. Jake has emerged as a leader during training. Emily attends his graduation, but they end their relationship because Jake is leaving for an assignment at CG Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, Ben's previous post.
Ben and Jake are sent to rescue two kayakers trapped in a cave. Ben experiences flashbacks and Jake must guide him, but the rescue is eventually successful. Ben decides to retire after this. He tells Jake that the only record he kept track of was the 22 people he lost during his career. Ben apologizes to his wife and indicates he will not contest the divorce.
Jake is sent to rescue the crew of a sinking fishing trawler. During the rescue, he becomes trapped in the ship. His helicopter is forced to return to base, where Ben hears of the situation and decides to suit up and go out to rescue Jake personally. He frees Jake from the hull. As they are winched upwards towards the helicopter, their combined weight causes the winch cable to begin separating. Knowing that the cable will break, Ben unclips himself so that Jake can survive. Jake catches him, but Ben removes his glove and slips free, plummeting into the ocean. His body is never found.
Much later, Jake is on a rescue mission, when one of the survivors repeats the legend of the Guardian to him. Jake connects the legend to Ben. He then surprises Emily when she is teaching her class at school, telling her that he lied to her. "I can't do just 'casual,'" he says, referencing their commitment earlier to keep things uncommitted. She smiles as they embrace and kiss.
Production.
David Dobkin was originally slated to direct "The Guardian" until being replaced by Andrew Davis. Ron Brinkerhoff was also originally involved, making the pitch for a mid-six-figure-budgeted film, before Disney took over the production.
Following the series of hurricanes in the southern United States in 2005, production moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. Some of the base scenes were filmed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana and at Camp Minden in Minden, Louisiana. Some of the scenes that were supposed to be filmed in Kodiak, Alaska were actually filmed at CG Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Sixty thousand pounds of ice were needed on the set. The training pool used in the movie was LSU–Shreveport's natatorium.
The wave scenes were filmed at Louisiana Wave Studio, Metropolitan Ave, Lynbrook, Shreveport.
The film was revised after Hurricane Katrina, with the addition of several comments on the storm and the rescues. The end credits are replete with "glory" shots of U.S. Coast Guard helicopters conducting rescues in the greater New Orleans area. The DVD contains a special feature on U.S. Coast Guard rescue operations, especially in the aftermath of Katrina.
Many of the supporting actors in "The Guardian", including ASTC instructors, helicopter pilots, and support personnel, are actual U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, pilots, and ground personnel. Several characters, including Kutcher's, identify themselves as airmen. An airman is the enlisted rating of a Coast Guardsman who is undesignated and/or currently undergoing training in an aviation related field. Similar ratings within the Coast Guard are those of seaman and fireman.
One of the students was Mark Gangloff, an Olympic swimmer who received a gold medal in the Athens Olympic Games. The production company hired local contractors to build a massive indoor wave pool for production.
Historical relevance.
The mishap in "The Guardian" where Randall loses his crew is loosely based on an actual U.S. Coast Guard aviation mishap in Alaska. The aircraft was an HH-3F Pelican (USCG variant of the Jolly Green Giant) instead of the HH-60J Jayhawk (USCG variant of the Blackhawk/Seahawk) pictured in the movie.
Alternate ending.
In an alternate ending to "The Guardian", found on the DVD, Randall survives. As he unhooks and tries to fall, Jake again grabs him and vows not to let go. Instead of unstrapping his glove, Randall lets the cable pull them up and it breaks just as they get into the helicopter. This ending was added because some of the writers were worried that the original ending was too strong for viewers. Nonetheless, it was scrapped when Disney chairman, Dick Cook, applauded the original ending.
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack of "The Guardian" was released by Hollywood Records on September 12, 2006. The soundtrack uses a variety of music genres, including R&B, Country music, Rock and Soul blues.
Reception.
Box office.
"The Guardian" earned $18 million on its opening weekend (#2 at the box office behind "Open Season"), and almost $95 million worldwide by January 4, 2007.
Critical reception.
At Rotten Tomatoes, "The Guardian" received a 37% "Rotten" rating, based on 149 reviews. The site's consensus states: "The Coast Guard gets its chance for a heroic movie tribute, but "The Guardian" does it no justice, borrowing cliche after cliche from other (and better) military branch movies." While Metacritic rates it a 53/100 based on 29 reviews. Stephen Hunter pans it in "The Washington Post", calling it "a good little film" for the first hour then it "begins to overload its frail reed of a structure with giant sloppages of cliches from other movies, some so bad it's almost comical", concluding that the movie "veers off into slobbery touchy-feeliness, and the tone becomes mock-religious, almost liturgical." Wesley Morris of "The Boston Globe" called it "dutiful but dull." A. O. Scott, in his review for "The New York Times", notes that participation by actual members of the Coast Guard "lends an air of authenticity" and concludes "... [i]t's not a great movie, but it's certainly one of the finest Coast Guard pictures you're likely to see anytime soon." In a "Variety" review, Joe Leydon says the movie is "overlong but [the] involving drama has obvious cross-generational appeal." Ed Blank in the "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review" acknowledges there is plenty to snipe at yet adds: "The Guardian" "regurgitates formulaic elements in a way that pays off repeatedly and potently."


LORAN-C transmitter Searchlight

LORAN-C transmitter Searchlight was the Yankee secondary of the U.S. West Coast LORAN-C Chain (GRI 9940) and the Whiskey secondary of the South Central U.S. Chain (GRI 9610). The station, established in 1976, consisted of four transmission towers. It transmitted 540 kW from south of Searchlight, Nevada. There were five active duty and 2 reserve duty Coast Guard personnel stationed at LORSTA Searchlight. The station's Officer in Charge was a Chief Electronics Technician.
The station was closed on February 8, 2010 as a budget cut. The station, and all of the others, were considered to be obsolete with the general availability of GPS systems.
The four mast were demolished.