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Michael Franzak
Lieutenant Colonel Michael "Zak" Franzak (Ret.) is an American writer. He is the author of ''A Nightmare's Prayer'', his memoir. Currently, Franzak lives in Holly Springs, North Carolina with his wife, son, and daughter. Military When Franzak graduated from high school, it was not his original plan to join the Navy. According to Franzak, he was "desperate and had nowhere to go." He joined the Navy in 1981. Franzak attended boot camp, and then served as an aviation ordinanceman with VF-1 aboard the USS Ranger and USS Kitty Hawk. In 1983, he was presented the NROTC scholarship, while on active duty. Franzak attended Texas A&M University. While attending school, he decided to change his line of service from Navy to Marine Corps. In 1987, Franzak graduated from college with military and academic awards. He was also commissioned 2nd Lieutenant. In May 1988, Franzak graduated from The Basic School, where he earned honors and finished at the top of his class. In 1990, he was "winged," ...
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
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United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft . The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revo ...
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United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Marine Corps has been part of the U.S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834 with its sister service, the United States Navy. The USMC operates installations on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world. Additionally, several of the Marines' tactical aviation squadrons, primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons, are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the aircraft carriers. The history of the Marine Corps began when two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as ...
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Holly Springs, North Carolina
Holly Springs is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 41,239, a 67% increase from 2010. History Etymology The town's name refers to the free flowing springs that emerge into a stream and small lake surrounded by large mature holly trees. Early history The Tuscarora Indians used the area around Holly Springs as a hunting ground prior to colonial settlement. This tribe fled North Carolina around 1720 to escape the influx of Europeans and eventually became the sixth nation of the Iroquois. The town of Holly Springs grew around fresh water springs, believed to be the original "holly springs", near the intersection of what is now Avent Ferry Road and Cass Holt Road. These roads linked Raleigh to the Cape Fear River and ultimately to Fayetteville as well as linking Hillsborough to Smithfield. 19th century By 1800, the crossroads had spawned a village, including a general store built by Richard Jones, a Bapt ...
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Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, Texas A&M has the largest student body in the United States, and is the only university in Texas to hold simultaneous designations as a land, sea, and space grant institution. In 2001, it was inducted into the Association of American Universities. The university's students, alumni, and sports teams are known as Aggies, and its athletes compete in eighteen varsity sports as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The university was the first public higher-education institution in Texas; it opened for classes on October 4, 1876, as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (A.M.C.) under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Act. In the following decades, the college grew in size and scope, expanding to its largest enrol ...
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The Basic School
The Basic School (TBS) is where all newly commissioned and appointed (for warrant officers) United States Marine Corps officers are taught the basics of being an "Officer of Marines". The Basic School is located at Camp Barrett, Quantico, Virginia, in the south-west of the Marine Corps Base Quantico complex. Each year over 1,700 new officers are trained, representing such commissioning sources as the U.S. Naval Academy, Navy ROTC (Marine Option), Officer Candidates School, and Marine Corps Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Warrant Officer accession programs. Philosophy of instruction at TBS The School's "Five Horizontal Themes" define the expectations of every student officer at TBS. These themes are: *A Leader of Exemplary Character **Has a clear understanding that a Marine commission brings with "special trust and confidence" and the highest expectations of the American people. **Devoted to the Core Values of Honor, Courage and Commitment **Possesses a moral compass that u ...
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McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primarily employed on light attack or multi-role missions, ranging from close air support of ground troops to armed reconnaissance. The AV-8B is used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), the Spanish Navy, and the Italian Navy. A variant of the AV-8B, the British Aerospace Harrier II, was developed for the British military, while another, the TAV-8B, is a dedicated two-seat trainer. The project that eventually led to the AV-8B's creation started in the early 1970s as a cooperative effort between the United States and United Kingdom, aimed at addressing the operational inadequacies of the first-generation Hawker Siddeley Harrier. Early efforts centered on a larger, more powerful Pegasus engine to dramatically improve the capabilities of the ...
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran border, west, Turkmenistan to the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, northwest, Uzbekistan to the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, north, Tajikistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, northeast, and China to the Afghanistan–China border, northeast and east. Occupying of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains Afghan Turkestan, in the north and Sistan Basin, the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. , Demographics of Afghanistan, its population is 40.2 million (officially estimated to be 32.9 million), composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Kabul is the country's largest city and ser ...
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Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The medal was established on July 2, 1926, and is currently awarded to any persons who, after April 6, 1917, distinguish themselves by single acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. Both heroism and extraordinary achievement are entirely distinctive, involving operations that are not routine. The medal may be awarded to friendly foreign military members in ranks equivalent to U.S. Pay Grade of O-6 and below, in actual combat in support operations. History The first award of the Distinguished Flying Cross was made by President Calvin Coolidge on May 2, 1927, to ten aviators of the U.S. Army Air Corps who had participated in the Army Pan American Flight which took place from December 21, 1926, to May 2, 1927. Two of the airmen died in a mid-air collision trying to land at Buenos Aires on February 26, 1927, and received their awards posthumousl ...
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Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors
Overview TAPS is the national organization providing compassionate care for all those grieving the death of a military loved one. Founded in 1994, the mission of TAPS is to provide peer-based emotional support to all those who are grieving the death of someone whose life included military service to the United States. This support is offered regardless of the cause of death, times since death, or relationship to the deceased and available at no cost to military survivors through the generous support of donors and sponsors.   This makes TAPS unique in that its mission does not solely focus on combat deaths and the primary next of kin. Rather, grief support and resources are extended to anyone impacted by a military death, including battle buddies of the deceased. Studies show on average, at least eleven people are impacted by a single death. The heart of TAPS is survivors helping survivors heal. A growing body of evidence supports “companioning” through peer-based emotion ...
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Colby Award
The William E. Colby Military Writers' Award was established in 1999 by the William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium at Norwich University in Vermont in order to recognize "a first work of fiction or non-fiction that has made a major contribution to the understanding of intelligence operations, military history, or international affairs." It is named in honor of William Egan Colby. As of 2021, Alex Kershaw is the chair of its selection committee. The Colby Circle was co-founded by writers Carlo D'Este and W.E.B. Griffin. The award honorarium is currently administered by the Tawani Foundation in Chicago, and presented at the annuaWilliam E. Colby Military Writers' Symposiumhosted by Norwich University. Recipients *2022 Wesley Morgan, '' The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley'' *2021 Mark Treanor, '' A Quiet Cadence: A Novel'' *2020 Adam Higginbotham, '' Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster'' *20 ...
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Living People
Related categories * :Year of birth missing (living people) / :Year of birth unknown * :Date of birth missing (living people) / :Date of birth unknown * :Place of birth missing (living people) / :Place of birth unknown * :Year of death missing / :Year of death unknown * :Date of death missing / :Date of death unknown * :Place of death missing / :Place of death unknown * :Missing middle or first names See also * :Dead people * :Template:L, which generates this category or death years, and birth year and sort keys. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Living people 21st-century people People by status ...
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