434th Operations Group
The 434th Operations Group (434 OG) is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is the flying component of the Fourth Air Force 434th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana. The unit's World War II predecessor unit, the 434th Troop Carrier Group was a C-47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe. The group flew combat paratroopers on airborne assaults on Normandy ( Operation Overlord); Southern France ( Operation Dragoon); the Netherlands ( Operation Market-Garden), and Germany ( Operation Varsity). It also flew combat resupply missions in the relief of Bastogne in 1945. Overview The mission of the 434 OG is to provide mid-air refueling to long-range bombers, fighters, and cargo aircraft. It flies the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker. The 434 OG is one of the key refueling units in the Air Force Reserve. The group regularly participates in exercises and front-line operations to support America's national interes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commissioned officers and enlisted airmen. AFRC also plays an integral role in the day-to-day Air Force mission and is not strictly a force held in reserve for possible war or contingency operations. AFRC also supports the United States Space Force through the 310th Space Wing, pending the creation of a space reserve component. Overview The federal reserve component of the United States Air Force, AFRC has approximately 450 aircraft assigned for which it has sole control, as well as access to several hundred additional active duty USAF aircraft via AFRC "Associate" wings that are collocated with active duty Air Force wings, sharing access to those same active duty Air Force aircraft. The inventory, both AFRC-controlled and active duty Regu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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72d Air Refueling Squadron
The 72nd Air Refueling Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 434th Operations Group, 434th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom Joint Air Reserve Base, Indiana. The 72nd operates the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting air refueling missions. Overview The 72nd Air Refueling Squadron's primary mission is to provide Global Reach by force extending through air refueling operations for the United States Military and its allies. Additionally the unit is tasked with aeromedical evacuation support, airlift, and passenger transport. History Origins - World War II The 72nd Air Refueling Squadron originated as the 72nd Troop Carrier Squadron on 3 January 1943. The squadron was activated on 9 February 1943 at Alliance Army Air Field, Nebraska assigned to the 434th Troop Carrier Group. In September 1943 equipped with Douglas C-47 Skytrains, the unit moved to Baer Field, Indiana at which today is the Fort Wayne International Airport. Shortly there ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 1944 to V-E Day, 7 May 1945. Unlike the permanent airfields built in the United Kingdom and designed for the strategic bombardment of Germany, the tactical combat airfields on the continent were temporary, often improvised airfields to be used by the tactical air forces to support the advancing ground armies engaged on the battlefield. Once the front line moved out of range for the aircraft, the groups and squadrons moved up to newly built ALGs closer to the ground forces and left the ones in the rear for other support uses, or simply abandoned them. Overview When the Allies invaded Normandy on D-Day, Royal Air Force Airfield Construction Service engineers were among those in the initial assault waves. Their mission was to rapidly c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Facts On The Ground
Facts on the ground is a diplomatic and geopolitical term that means the situation in reality as opposed to in the abstract. The term was popularised in the 1970s in discussions of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to refer to Israeli settlements built in the occupied West Bank, which were intended to establish permanent Israeli footholds in Palestinian territory. Rashid Khalidi wrote in 2010: See also * '' Fait accompli'' * ''De facto'' * '' Status quo ante bellum'' * ''Ex factis jus oritur'' * Realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ... * Revanchism * Operation Uvda * Ground truth References * * * * * Further reading Gershom Gorenberg, The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977', Macmillan, 2006 Political terminolo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises mainland Normandy (a part of France) and the Channel Islands (mostly the British Crown Dependencies). It covers . Its population is 3,499,280. The inhabitants of Normandy are known as Normans, and the region is the historic homeland of the Norman language. Large settlements include Rouen, Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg. The cultural region of Normandy is roughly similar to the historical Duchy of Normandy, which includes small areas now part of the departments of Mayenne and Sarthe. The Channel Islands (French: ''Îles Anglo-Normandes'') are also historically part of Normandy; they cover and comprise two bailiwicks: Guernsey and Jersey, which are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mission Chicago
Mission Chicago was a pre-dawn glider-borne combat assault in the American airborne landings in Normandy, made by elements of the 101st Airborne Division on the early morning of June 6, 1944 during the Normandy landings of World War II. It was part of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord. Originally slated to be the main assault for the 101st Airborne Division, the glider operation instead became the first reinforcement mission after the main parachute combat assault, Mission Albany. Because the area of responsibility for the division was in close proximity to Utah Beach, the use of glider reinforcement was limited in scale, with most division support units transported by sea. Overview The 101st Airborne Division's objectives were to secure the four causeway exits behind Utah Beach, destroy a German coastal artillery battery at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, capture buildings nearby at Mezières believed used as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days each month wer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but stretches into Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known landmarks. Large areas are given over to military training and thus the sparsely populated plain is the biggest remaining area of calcareous grassland in northwest Europe. Additionally the plain has arable land, and a few small areas of beech trees and coniferous woodland. Its highest point is Easton Hill. Physical geography The boundaries of Salisbury Plain have never been truly defined, and there is some difference of opinion as to its exact area. The river valleys surrounding it, and other downs and plains beyond them loosely define its boundaries. To the north the scarp of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF Aldermaston
Royal Air Force Aldermaston or more simply RAF Aldermaston is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Newbury, Berkshire and southwest of Reading, Berkshire, England. Originally built as an RAF Bomber Command airfield during 1941-1942, Aldermaston was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces in August 1942. Placed under the jurisdiction of Eighth Air Force, it was home to several Douglas C-47 Skytrain Troop Carrier Groups. It was transferred to Ninth Air Force in 1943 primarily as a Troop Carrier Command base. Returned to RAF Control at the end of 1945, it was used by Technical Training Command before being placed on Care and Maintenance. In 1946, it was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and used by BOAC aircraft for training. Also used by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for Supermarine Spitfire assembly and flight testing, the airfield closed in 1950 and the site became home of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (later the Atomic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RAF Fulbeck
Royal Air Force Fulbeck or more simply RAF Fulbeck is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire and west of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located about north-northwest of London and was opened in 1940 when it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as troop carrier airfield for airborne units. After the war it was closed in 1948. History USAAF use It was known as USAAF Station AAF-488 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "FB". 434th Troop Carrier Group In October 1943, the 434th Troop Carrier Group arrived at Fulbeck from Baer AAF, Indiana. The group was assigned to the 53d Troop Carrier Wing and flew Douglas C-47/C-53 Skytrains. Operational squadrons of the 434th and fuselage codes were: * 71st Troop Carrier (CJ) * 72d Troop Carrier (CU) * 73d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |