View allAll Photos Tagged Deployment
(further information and pictures are available by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Cathedral of St. Pölten
The Cathedral of St. Pölten
Apse
The Cathedral of St. Pölten (also cathedral of the Assumption) is a cathedral and since 1785 the cathedral of the Diocese of St. Pölten. Until the dissolution of the Augustinian Canons monastery of St. Pölten in 1784 it was the abbey church. The building appears despite well-preserved late Roman core a baroque building.
History
General view of the monastery of St. Pölten from 1653, still with the now demolished Parish Church on Cathedral Square
Predecessors
The origins of today's monastery of St. Pölten (St. Hippolytus) and thus of the cathedral date back to the period around the year 790. During this time it is said that the brothers Adalbert and Otakar from the Tegernsee monastery founded a daughter house in St. Pölten. The Benedictines also brought the Hippolyt relics to St. Pölten, from which the modern name of the city is derived. Since 828 the monastery was in possession of the diocese of Passau. The from there outgoing missionary activity can be supposed in the Great Moravian Empire, the church on Pöltenberg in Znojmo is suspected to have been founded from there.
With the invasion of the Magyars around the year 907, the monastery was almost completely destroyed. Only after the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 it was rebuilt. The first written mention of the monastery is found in 976 in a charter of Emperor Otto II for Bishop Pilgrim of Passau. Under Bishop Altmann of Passau it was in 1081 converted into an Augustinian Canons monastery and from then on it bore the patronage of St. Peter, in the 12th Century the high altar was the SS. Stephen and Hippolytus consecrated.
Today's church
Around 1150, a three-aisled church without transept church with twin towers was built as West plant (Westwerk), which was, however, already generously rebuilt 1267-1280 after a fire. This church was consecrated in 1228 by Bishop Gebhard in honor of the Virgin Mary ascension into heaven (the Assumption) that Patotrozinium that the Cathedral till today carries. In 1512 there was a devastating fire in the city, thereafter the North Tower was demolished and never rebuilt.
Today's figure of the cathedral emerged in the 17th Century. After a fire in 1621 the present diocese building was designed in the early Baroque. The last high point in the history of construction experienced the former convent under provost Johann Michel Führer. He was thrilled by the high baroque splendor of neighboring residences as Melk Abbey and found in the in the city living Jacob Prandtauer a like-minded partner. The planned reconstruction should expand the diocese building to a second floor and the exterior view of the church should become a three-tower ensemble (similar to the Seitenstetten monastery) with the existing tower at its center. This plan was not fully implemented, mainly because Führer burned the candle at both ends and the monastery was nearly bankrupt when he resigned in 1739. In addition to the spacious redesigning of the entire interior, especially by Daniel Gran and Bartolomeo Altomonte, only the tower was raised and fitted with a new dome.
1784, the monastery was abandoned by Joseph II . On 28 January in the following year the building became diocesan seat (cathedral) of the newly established Diocese of Sankt Pölten on the basis of the by Pius VI. adopted papal bull Inter plurimas.
In 1873 the reverend Josef Kinzl founded the Catholic patriotic folk and Preßverein (press association) for Lower Austria, publishing the St. Pölten messenger. Hence the NÖN (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten - news of Lower Austria) and the Lower Austrian Pressehaus have developed.
Architecture
The Choir of the Cathedral of St. Pölten
"As little as the viewer is expecting when he is looking at the outside of this cathedral, so surprising is the entry in the same, because objects appear to meet him from all sides, which deserve special attention, but probably at the same time arouse the wish that more light might brighten these masterpieces, God's temple somewhat economically illuminating".
- Representation of Erzherzogthums (Archduchy) Austria under the Ens (River Enns), 1835
The exterior
The floor plan of the exterior facade still consists largely from the around 1150 constructed building. Originally built as a three-aisled church without transept with twin towers as Westwerk, it was between 1267-1280 generously rebuilt in late Romanesque style after a fire.
The cathedral is directly connected to the diocese building, on the north side the church closes at the cloister. Despite the high degree of conservation of the late Romanesque building structure, is the construction baroque dominated by the mighty south tower with its double onion dome and the dome lanterns on the south aisle. From the late Romanesque building, the apse and the south façade have been preserved.
With exception of the two lower floors of the south tower, both towers have a Eckquaderung (corner block). At the west facade is main portal of the cathedral located with skylights and a broken pediment attachment. On both sides of the portal at the level of the second floor each is a statue of a saint: Hippolytus left, right, Augustine.
The interior
The interior of the church by Jakob Prandtauer, Joseph Munggenast, Daniel Gran and Bartolomeo Altomonte was baroquised. The ceiling frescoes designed partly Thomas Friedrich Gedon.
Organ
The organ is a work of Swiss company Metzler organ building from 1973 with 36 stops on three manuals and pedal. The prospectus stems from the original organ from the year 1722, built by Johann Ignaz Egedacher.
Bell
The cathedral has an almost complete peal from the Baroque period, cast in 1696 by Mathias Prininger from Krems. Only the bell 3 went lost through the bell deliveries in World War I and had to be re-acquired after two world wars.
No. Name nominal weight
(kg) diameter
(cm) casting year caster
1 Immaculataglocke a0 +2 4318 189 1696 Mathias Prininger
2 Zwölferin (ringing at twelve o'clock) cis1 +0 2223 151 1696 Mathias Prininger
3 Bishop anniversary bell e1 +2 1066 120 1955 Josef Pfundner
4/4 or Poor soul bell a1 +0516 93 1696 Mathias Prininger
5 Food bell cis2 +0264 73 1696 Mathias Prininger
There are also two other small bells that do not belong to the actual bells.
History of the City St. Pölten
In order to present concise history of the Lower Austrian capital is in the shop of the city museum a richly illustrated full version on CD-ROM.
Tip
On the occasion of the commemoration of the pogroms of November 1938, the Institute for Jewish History of Austria its virtual Memorbuch (Memory book) for the destroyed St. Pölten Jewish community since 10th November 2012 is putting online.
Prehistory
The time from which there is no written record is named after the main materials used for tools and weapons: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. Using the latest technologies, archaeologists from archaeological finds and aerial photographs can trace a fairly detailed picture of life at that time. Especially for the time from the settling down of the People (New Stone Age), now practicing agriculture and animal husbandry, in the territory of St. Pölten lively settlement activity can be proved. In particular, cemeteries are important for the research, because the dead were laid in the grave everyday objects and jewelry, the forms of burial changing over time - which in turn gives the archeology valuable clues for the temporal determination. At the same time, prehistory of Sankt Pölten would not be half as good documented without the construction of the expressway S33 and other large buildings, where millions of cubic meters of earth were moved - under the watchful eyes of the Federal Monuments Office!
A final primeval chapter characterized the Celts, who settled about 450 BC our area and in addition to a new culture and religion also brought with them the potter's wheel. The kingdom of Noricum influenced till the penetration of the Romans the development in our area.
Roman period, migrations
The Romans conquered in 15 BC the Celtic Empire and established hereinafter the Roman province of Noricum. Borders were protected by military camp (forts), in the hinterland emerged civilian cities, almost all systematically laid out according to the same plan. The civil and commercial city Aelium Cetium, as St. Pölten was called (city law 121/122), consisted in the 4th Century already of heated stone houses, trade and craft originated thriving urban life, before the Romans in the first third of the 5th Century retreated to Italy.
The subsequent period went down as the Migration Period in official historiography, for which the settlement of the Sankt Pöltner downtown can not be proved. Cemeteries witness the residence of the Lombards in our area, later it was the Avars, extending their empire to the Enns.
The recent archaeological excavations on the Cathedral Square 2010/2011, in fact, the previous knowledge of St.Pölten colonization not have turned upside down but enriched by many details, whose full analysis and publication are expected in the near future.
Middle Ages
With the submission of the Avars by Charlemagne around 800 AD Christianity was gaining a foothold, the Bavarian Benedictine monastery of Tegernsee establishing a daughter house here - as founder are mentioned the brothers Adalbert and Ottokar - equipped with the relics of St. Hippolytus. The name St. Ypolit over the centuries should turn into Sankt Pölten. After the Hungarian wars and the resettlement of the monastery as Canons Regular of St. Augustine under the influence of Passau St. Pölten received mid-11th Century market rights.
In the second half of the 20th century historians stated that records in which the rights of citizens were held were to be qualified as Town Charters. Vienna is indeed already in 1137 as a city ("civitas") mentioned in a document, but the oldest Viennese city charter dates only from the year 1221, while the Bishop of Passau, Konrad, already in 1159 the St. Pöltnern secured:
A St. Pöltner citizen who has to answer to the court, has the right to make use of an "advocate".
He must not be forced to rid himself of the accusation by a judgment of God.
A St. Pöltner citizen may be convicted only by statements of fellow citizens, not by strangers.
From the 13th Century exercised a city judge appointed by the lord of the city the high and low jurisdiction as chairman of the council meetings and the Municipal Court, Inner and Outer Council supported him during the finding of justice. Venue for the public verdict was the in the 13th Century created new marketplace, the "Broad Market", now the town hall square. Originally square-shaped, it was only later to a rectangle reduced. Around it arose the market district, which together with the monastery district, the wood district and the Ledererviertel (quarter of the leather goods manufacturer) was protected by a double city wall.
The dependence of St. Pölten of the bishop of Passau is shown in the municipal coat of arms and the city seal. Based on the emblem of the heraldic animal of the Lord of the city, so the Bishop of Passau, it shows an upright standing wolf holding a crosier in its paw.
Modern Times
In the course of the armed conflict between the Emperor Frederick III . and King Matthias of Hungary pledged the Bishop of Passau the town on the Hungarian king. From 1485 stood Lower Austria as a whole under Hungarian rule. The most important document of this period is the awarding of the city coat of arms by King Matthias Corvinus in the year 1487. After the death of the opponents 1490 and 1493 could Frederick's son Maximilian reconquer Lower Austria. He considered St. Pölten as spoils of war and had no intention of returning it to the diocese of Passau. The city government has often been leased subsequently, for instance, to the family Wellenstein, and later to the families Trautson and Auersperg.
That St. Pölten now was a princely city, found its expression in the coat of arms letter of the King Ferdinand I. from 1538: From now on, the wolf had no crosier anymore, and the from the viewer's point of view left half showed the reverse Austrian shield, so silver-red-silver.
To the 16th Century also goes back the construction of St. Pöltner City Hall. The 1503 by judge and council acquired house was subsequently expanded, rebuilt, extended and provided with a tower.
A for the urban history research important picture, painted in 1623, has captured scenes of the peasant uprising of 1597, but also allows a view to the city and lets the viewer read some of the details of the then state of construction. The economic inconveniences of that time were only exacerbated by the Thirty Years War, at the end of which a fifth of the houses were uninhabited and the citizenry was impoverished.
Baroque
After the successful defense against the Turks in 1683, the economy started to recover and a significant building boom began. Lower Austria turned into the land of the baroque abbeys and monasteries, as it is familiar to us today.
In St. Pölten, the change of the cityscape is closely connected to the Baroque architect Jakob Prandtauer. In addition to the Baroquisation of the interior of the cathedral, a number of buildings in St. Pölten go to his account, so the reconstruction of the castle Ochsenburg, the erection of the Schwaighof and of the core building of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Englische Fräuleins - English Maidens) - from 1706 the seat of the first school order of St.Pölten - as well as of several bourgeois houses.
Joseph Munggenast, nephew and co-worker of Prandtauer, completed the Baroquisation of the cathedral, he baroquised the facade of the town hall (1727) and numerous bourgeois houses and designed a bridge over the Traisen which existed until 1907. In the decoration of the church buildings were throughout Tyroleans collaborating, which Jakob Prandtauer had brought along from his homeland (Tyrol) to St. Pölten, for example, Paul Troger and Peter Widerin.
Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II: Their reforms in the city of the 18th Century also left a significant mark. School foundings as a result of compulsory education, the dissolution of the monasteries and hereinafter - from 1785 - the new role of St. Pölten as a bishop's seat are consequences of their policies.
1785 was also the year of a fundamental alteration of the old Council Constitution: The city judge was replaced by one magistrate consisting of five persons, at the head was a mayor. For the first mayor the painter Josef Hackl was chosen.
The 19th century
Despite the Napoleonic Wars - St. Pölten in 1805 and 1809 was occupied by the French - and despite the state bankruptcy of 1811, increased the number of businesses constantly, although the economic importance of the city for the time being did not go beyond the near vicinity.
Against the background of monitoring by the state secret police, which prevented any political commitment between the Congress of Vienna and the 1848 revolution, the citizens withdrew into private life. Sense of family, fostering of domestic music, prominent salon societies in which even a Franz Schubert socialized, or the construction of the city theater were visible signs of this attitude.
The economic upswing of the city did not begin until after the revolution of the year 1848. A prerequisite for this was the construction of the Empress Elisabeth Western Railway, moving Vienna, Linz, soon Salzburg, too, in a reachable distance. The city walls were pulled down, St. Pölten could unfold. The convenient traffic situation favored factory start-ups, and so arose a lace factory, a revolver factory, a soap factory or, for example, as a precursor of a future large-scale enterprise, the braid, ribbon and Strickgarnerzeugung (knitting yarn production) of Matthias Salcher in Harland.
In other areas, too, the Gründerzeit (years of rapid industrial expansion in Germany - and Austria) in Sankt Pölten was honouring its name: The city got schools, a hospital, gas lanterns, canalization, hot springs and summer bath.
The 20th century
At the beginning of the 20th Century the city experienced another burst of development, initiated by the construction of the power station in 1903, because electricity was the prerequisite for the settlement of large companies. In particular, the companies Voith and Glanzstoff and the main workshop of the Federal Railways attracted many workers. New Traisen bridge, tram, Mariazell Railway and other infrastructure buildings were erected; St. Pölten obtained a synagogue. The Art Nouveau made it repeatedly into the urban architecture - just think of the Olbrich House - and inspired also the painting, as exponents worth to be mentioned are Ernst Stöhr or Ferdinand Andri.
What the outbreak of the First World War in broad outlines meant for the monarchy, on a smaller scale also St. Pölten has felt. The city was heavily impacted by the deployment of army units, a POW camp, a military hospital and a sick bay. Industrial enterprises were partly converted into war production, partly closed. Unemployment, housing emergency and food shortages long after the war still were felt painfully.
The 1919 to mayor elected Social Democrat Hubert Schnofl after the war tried to raise the standard of living of the people by improving the social welfare and health care. The founding of a housing cooperative (Wohnungsgenossenschaft), the construction of the water line and the establishment of new factories were further attempts to stimulate the stiffening economy whose descent could not be stopped until 1932.
After the National Socialist regime had stirred false hopes and plunged the world into war, St. Pölten was no longer the city as it has been before. Not only the ten devastating bombings of the last year of the war had left its marks, also the restrictive persecution of Jews and political dissidents had torn holes in the structure of the population. Ten years of Russian occupation subsequently did the rest to traumatize the population, but at this time arose from the ruins a more modern St. Pölten, with the new Traisen bridge, district heating, schools.
This trend continued, an era of recovery and modernization made the economic miracle palpable. Already in 1972 was - even if largely as a result of incorporations - exceeded the 50.000-inhabitant-limit.
Elevation to capital status (capital of Lower Austria), 10 July 1986: No other event in this dimension could have become the booster detonation of an up to now ongoing development thrust. Since then in a big way new residential and commercial areas were opened up, built infrastructure constructions, schools and universities brought into being to enrich the educational landscape. East of the Old Town arose the governmental and cultural district, and the list of architects wears sonorous names such as Ernst Hoffmann (NÖ (Lower Austria) Landhaus; Klangturm), Klaus Kada (Festspielhaus), Hans Hollein (Shedhalle and Lower Austrian Provincial Museum), Karin Bily, Paul Katzberger and Michael Loudon ( NÖ State Library and NÖ State Archive).
European Diploma, European flag, badge of honor, Europe Price: Between 1996 and 2001, received St. Pölten numerous appreciations of its EU commitment - as a sort of recognition of the Council of Europe for the dissemination of the EU-idea through international town twinnings, a major Europe exhibition or, for example, the establishment and chair of the "Network of European medium-sized cities".
On the way into the 21st century
Just now happened and already history: What the St. Pöltnern as just experienced sticks in their minds, travelers and newcomers within a short time should be told. The theater and the hospital handing over to the province of Lower Austria, a new mayor always on the go, who was able to earn since 2004 already numerous laurels (Tags: polytechnic, downtown enhancement, building lease scheme, bus concept) - all the recent changes are just now condensed into spoken and written language in order to make, from now on, the history of the young provincial capital in the 3rd millennium nachlesbar (checkable).
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_zu_St._P%C3%B6lten
www.st-poelten.gv.at/Content.Node/freizeit-kultur/kultur/...
PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 11, 2017) Sailors move a Boeing F/A-18E "Super Hornet" assigned to the Stingers of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 113 onto an aircraft elevator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt departed San Diego for a scheduled deployment, Oct. 6, 2017 to the U.S. 7th and 5th Fleet areas of responsibility in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts.
PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 22, 2020) Masters-at-Arms 3rd Class Terry Hughes, left, from Troy, Alabama, and Luke Johnson, from Joliet, Illinois, observe an MH-60S Sea Hawk, attached to the Island Knights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25, delivering supplies to the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) during a replenishment-at-sea with dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3) in support of Valiant Shield 2020. Valiant Shield is a U.S. only, biennial field training exercise (FTX) with a focus on integration of joint training in a blue-water environment among U.S. forces. This training enables real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Erica Bechard)
A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II assigned to the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron fires its 30mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon during a theater security package deployment at Campia Turzii, Romania, April 1, 2015. The aircraft will forward deploy to locations in Eastern European NATO countries as part of the TSP. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joe W. McFadden/Released)
Frozen Swamps Recon Unit with their COW (Compact Open Walker). Entry for the Star Wars Battlepack contest at Eurobricks.
Despite the airbag deployment the 2020 MG ZS Excite EV is still taxed. The Ford Ka is no longer found on the DVLA vehicle check and had covered 68,634 miles by July 2022 MOT test.
Another scarab found at Carolina Beach State Park NC (USA) on 8 June 2008.
Hoplia mucorea (5-8 mm)
References:
Harpootlian, Scarab Beetles of South Carolina, p. 97 (key, p. 96), fig. 273
Also posted at, where identified by that author, at:
Divided reverse. No correspondence.
In 1916 when the Romanians declared war on the Central Powers and invaded Transylvania, elements of the seasoned German Alpenkorps were deployed to support the flighty Austro-Hungarians. The Germans who fought on this front from August 1916 to the end of 1917 were named Karpathenkorps.
Among these fellows was the officer Erich Hoffmann who was quartered in the village of Felsővisó. Hoffmann was a skilled and passionate photographer who took his camera with him wherever he went. In his time in Romania he managed to fill three photo albums with pictures of the local inhabitants, including many of the dwarf depicted above who taught at the local school.
Orthodox Jews and the local inhabitants in their colourful traditional costumes were another favourite subject. Unfortunately, little more is known about Hoffmann or his fate.
190613-N-ME568-2037
ARABIAN SEA (June 13, 2019) Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Hunter Hodnett, from Detroit, washes down an E-2D Hawkeye from the "Bluetails" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. With Abraham Lincoln as the flagship, deployed strike group assets include staffs, ships and aircraft of Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG 12), Destroyer Squadron 2 (DESRON 2), USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) and Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW 7). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dan Snow/Released)
This man is leaving his three adorable girls and beautiful wife for the next year so I asked him if I could take his family portraits for him. They didn't want to at first because they didn't want to put me out!! I finally convinced his wife and we met tonight. This was my favorite of the night.
PACIFIC OCEAN (May 5, 2018) Sailors and guests watch an EA-18G Growler, assigned to the Cougars of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139, launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt is currently deployed in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael Hogan/Released)
PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 24, 2018) Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Joe Tyson, front, and Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Jake Anderson man MK 38 25mm machine gun mount consoles in the pilot house of the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) during an integrated training team drill. Dewey is on a scheduled deployment to conduct operations in the Indo-Pacific region. It will also support the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) in order to advance U.S. Pacific Fleet's Up-Gunned ESG concept and will train with forward-deployed amphibious ships across all mission areas. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chelsea Troy Milburn)
TAIWAN STRAIT (May 13, 2020) An MH-60 Sea Hawk assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51 takes off from the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) while transiting the Taiwan Strait. McCampbell is assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Markus Castaneda)
MEDITERRANEAN SEA (July 12, 2017) A Boeing F/A-18E "Super Hornet" attached to the "Tomcatters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31 launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). The ship and its carrier strike group are conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.
Commissioned Officer Training School students take action in a simulated deployment scenario exercise at an Officer Training School complex at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., July 24, 2014. The exercise tested their leadership and decision-making skills as well as their contingency operations knowledge. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Natasha Stannard/Released)
The monastery of Saint Barnabas (or Ayios Barnabas) was a church on the island of Cyprus, located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Constantia. The site is today within Northern Cyprus and functions as a museum.
The original shrine church was founded in the late fifth century, perhaps in 477, when the Emperor Zeno financed the construction of a basilica near the spot where the body of Barnabas was discovered by Archbishop Anthemius. Funding was also provided by local notables. The church had a timber roof and included stoas, gardens, aqueducts, and hostels intended for receiving pilgrims. It may have been expected that pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem might stop in Constantia and visit the shrine. The sixth-century Laudatio Barnabae describes the new tomb of Barnabas as decorated with silver and marble. It also attested the existence of a monastic community living beside the shrine. The relics were eventually moved to the basilica of Saint Epiphanius in Constantia.
Two buildings were added to the complex during the reign of Justinian I (527–565) by the next archbishop, Philoxenos, who left a short inscription recording his work. In the late seventh century, the basilica was destroyed during Arab raids.
Today, what remains of the original basilica is incorporated in the east end of a newer vaulted basilica of the cross-in-square type, built around 900. The church has three aisles and two flat domes on tall drums. It may have been the residence of the archbishops for a couple centuries after the abandonment of Constantia in the late eighth century.
Although the second construction remained standing throughout the centuries and continued function as a pilgrimage church, the continuity of the monastic community, although possible, cannot be demonstrated. Wilbrand of Oldenburg visited the church in the 13th century, noting that the city around it was "destroyed". In 1735, Vasil Grigorovich-Barsky visited the site and drew a sketch of the cloisters, courtyards and outbuildings. The current form of the buildings is a result of work done in 1756 by Archbishop Philotheos. Between 1971 and 1974, the monastery had three monks who made their living by selling honey and painting icons. The monastery was abandoned following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
No longer hosting a monastic community, the church today function as a museum of icons. The former cloisters host an archaeological museum with artefacts going back to the neolithic.
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.
A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.
Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.
Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.
The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.
Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.
Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.
By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.
EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.
However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.
On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.
In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.
By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.
In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.
The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.
After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".
As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.
Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.
Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.
The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.
Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.
Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria
An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."
In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.
Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.
In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.
Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.
Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.
Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:
UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.
The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.
By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."
After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.
On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.
The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.
During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.
In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.
Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.
A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.
Soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI) from a deployment in Kuwait to the Rapid Deployment Facility at Fort Drum, New York, August 15, 2021. The Soldiers were greeted by their families at the Magrath Sports Complex auditorium. (U.S. Army photos by Spc. Pierre Osias)
This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightway there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army of the battlefield, and the battle takes place. Things remembered arrive at full gallop, ensuing to the wind. The light cavalry of comparisons deliver a magnificent deploying charge, the artillery of logic hurry up with their train and ammunition, the shafts of with start up like sharpshooters. Similes arise, the paper is covered with ink; for the struggle commences and is concluded with torrents of black water, just as a battle with powder.
- Honore de Balzac, "The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee"
160716-N-BL607-072
ARABIAN GULF (July 16 2016) – The Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533, conducts Air Operations and Maritime Surface Warfare training with the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61). Monterey, deployed as part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, is supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William Jenkins/Released)
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Soldiers with 1st Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment, participate in a combined arms live fire exercise during Iron Fist 2019, Jan. 24 on U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, CA. Exercise Iron Fist is an annual, multilateral training exercise where U.S. and Japanese service members train together and share techniques, tactics and procedures to improve their combined operational capabilities. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Cutler Brice)
Cal is well known for advocating the PragProgrammer's one button deploy pattern. Now that we're exposing our deploys on code.flickr.com (look at the footer), I thought people might want some clarification on how it works.
When we say "one button", we actually mean a button. And this is that button.
DV100 Deployable Universal Combat Earthmover (DEUCE). The DV100 DEUCE pictured here belongs to the U.S. Army’s 27th Engineer Battalion (COMBAT) (AIRBORNE), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat) (Airborne), XVIII Airborne Corps. The DV100 is an air droppable, combat engineer, earthmover capable of traveling independently between work sites at high speed. The DV100 is equipped with a power/angle/tilt blade and high capacity winch. An adjustable suspension allows the DV100 to travel smoothly at high speed and to traverse rough terrain. The adjustable suspension also provides for a stable base for earth moving and dozing operations. The DV100 DEUCE is manufactured by Caterpillar Defense & Federal Products.
PACIFIC OCEAN (May 12, 2016) Fire Control Technician 1st Class Isaiah King, a native of Radford, Virginia assigned to the Emory S. Land-class submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40), mans the M-2 HB gun in support sea and anchor duty security, May 12. Frank Cable, forward deployed to the island of Guam, conducts maintenance and support of submarines and surface vessels in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Alana Langdon/ Released)
A suicide bomber in Iraq injured Marine veteran Keith Buckmon, native of Capitol Heights, Md., in 2008, resulting in the complete reconstruction of both of his legs and his right arm using bone grafts and metal plates. Buckmon has also struggled with losing the Marines who died during the attack and battles the symptoms post-traumatic stress disorder every day. Now, Buckmon is an athlete in the 2013 Marine Corps Trials who competes in seated volleyball, wheelchair basketball, seated shot put and discus and shooting. Buckmon says his wife and two daughters, Damaris Buckmon, Iz'Abella Amaris Buckmon and Jy'Zella-leilani Grace Clark, are his motivation to keep pushing to get better because he strives to be a good husband and father. Buckmon has a tattoo on his shoulder that depicts a Purple Heart medal and the date he was injured. The Trials is an opportunity for wounded Marines, veterans and allies to compete in wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, track and field, swimming, archery and shooting. The top 50 athletes will go on to compete against wounded warriors from the other branches of military service at the Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., in May.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler L. Main)
Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations deploy a new asset to protect the United States. Marine Interdiction Agents use the Coastal Interceptor Vessel in coastal waters to combat maritime smuggling and defend the waterways along our nation’s border from acts of terrorism. The 41-Foot Interceptor Class Coastal Interceptor Vessel provides Marine Interdiction Agents with the protection, mobility, and reliability to intercept and apprehend maritime smugglers. The Coastal Interceptor Vessel will be deployed to marine units nationwide, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, throughout southeast Florida, and in San Diego, California. Photos by James Tourtellotte.
PHILIPPINE SEA (June 18, 2020) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 1st Class Tony Malone, from Munford, Tennessee, performs safety checks on an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the Eagles of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115, on the flight deck of the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), ensuring aircraft readiness during flight operations. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Erica Bechard)
The NDC Archers also carry the “Hyper” active protection devices, for defence against anti-armour missiles and RPGs. These are usually mounted high at the rear of the howitzer’s turret.
Caption: KITGUM, Uganda, Oct 20 -- Pfc. Kendra Hinds, a medic deployed to Uganda with the Army Reserve's 7225th Medical Support Unit (MSU) searches for a vein in order to give a patient an IV. The expectant mother arrived at the Pajimo Clinic in the north of Uganda and delivered a healthy baby boy about 90 minutes later. (Photo credit Maj. Corey Schultz, Army Reserve Communications.)
Full Story:
Army Reserve Nurse Delivers Baby in Rural Uganda
By Maj.Corey Schultz, U.S. Army Reserve Command
KITGUM, Uganda -- When 1st Lt. Victoria Lynn Watson deployed to Uganda for Natural Fire 10, she never imagined using her labor and delivery nursing skills during the exercise.
But when a Ugandan woman, Linda, arrived in labor at Pajimo medical clinic, where the Army Reserve's 7225th Medical Support Unit was partnering with East African medics to offer healthcare to the Kitgum community, Watson sprang into action.
She checked her watch. It was nearly 2:30 pm when medics hurried the 19-year-old expectant mother from the clinic gates where hundreds had gathered to receive care.
During the 10-day exercise, the medics run a daily clinic to treat upwards of 700 Ugandans a day for ailments such as arthritis, minor wounds, skin infections --and dental and optometry care. Soldiers from Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi are working alongside U.S. troops on medical, dental and engineering projects in the Kitgum region. Meanwhile, each nation is also taking part in security training and a simulated disaster relief exercise.
While pregnancy was not a planned treatment, the Pajimo clinic staffs a midwife and Watson was eager to assist. If the U.S. Army Reserve officer were back home in Abilene, Texas, she would do the same.
"This is what I do. I'm a labor and delivery nurse in my civilian job," Watson said, hurrying past Ugandan families clutching medicines and awaiting dental checks, "This is what I live for."
Watson serves with the 7231st Medical Support Unit in Lubbock, Texas, but volunteered to augment the 7225th for Uganda.
Once in the clinics maternity ward, Watson and Pfc. Kendra Hinds, a U.S. Army Reserve medic from Lubbock, Texas, joined Stella, the Ugandan midwife. Stella asked the lieutenant to work with her to deliver the child.
Stella and her Ugandan assistant prepared the delivery room. Watson's examined the woman - nine centimeters and having contractions. Her watch read 3 p.m.
Hinds never helped a woman give birth. So, Watson talked her through the exam as they felt the mother's stomach to see where the baby was.
"You can feel the contractions," Watson said to Hines. "Her sides and belly get hard. Feel here...that's the head. It's in the right place, that's good. The baby is aligned right."
The midwife, Stella Betty Lamono – who goes by Stella, produced a Pinnard Horn - a wooden listening device not often seen in America that is used to hear the baby's heartbeat. Watson and Hinds took turns listening.
Then Stella posed a question.
"You are delivering," Stella said. "You should name the baby."
"OK, I'll name the baby," Watson said, in a light-hearted way. "How about, let's see...Gracie for a girl? Yes, I like Gracie."
"And a boy?" asked Stella.
"Okay, for a boy...Cage. I like Cage."
Stella translated. The mother smiled, amused despite her obvious discomfort. It was nearly 3:30 p.m., the baby was coming but the delivery team still had things to do. They tried to start an intravenous drip.
There was a problem, they couldn't find a vein. They spoke with the mother and found she had not eaten anything for two days.
"She's dehydrated, she needs something with sugar," Watson said.
Soldiers offered sweet powdered drink pack from their daily rations - MRE's, such as lemon-flavored ice tea and a lemon-lime electrolyte drinks.
Watson stirred each drink in a green plastic cup and gave it to the mother, who drank thirstily.
The team then found a vein for an IV, the mother tried to relax. From time to time, she would lift a pink curtain and gaze through the window into the dusty yard. Things quieted.
Meanwhile, her sister arranged swaddling clothes on the receiving table at the other side of the room.
"How many weeks is she?" Hinds asked.
"Thirty-eight," Stella said, confidently.
Ugandan midwives determine the duration of the pregnancy by feeling the stomach for the size of the baby's head versus the height of the fundus -- how high the uterus has pressed upwards into the diaphragm.
"This is amazing," Watson said. "In the States, doctors run a sonogram over the belly, ask for the date of the last menstrual period, and go from there. We learn the 'old school' way, but we never actually do it like Stella has."
Certified Ugandan midwifes attend a three-year school, Stella said, herself a midwife with seven years experience who delivers up to 28 babies each month -- often in rural clinics.
The contractions continued. The mother remained stoic despite the lack of any pain medicine. Sweat beaded on her face, veins throbbed along her neck. She would lay calm more moments, the moan softly and slap the nearby wall. Hinds grabbed a cloth and patted her face and held her hands through contractions.
"Most girls in the States would be yelling and hollering by now," Watson said.
Unlike in the States, the clinic had no monitors, electrical gadgetry or air conditioning. It did have clean water, sterilized equipment and a trained midwife, plus her U.S. counterparts.
It was around 4 p.m., when the mother groaned and slapped the wall again.
"She's in second stage," Watson said. "All she has to do now is push."
A few minutes passed, the mother began to push – Hinds held her hand and continued to comfort her. Then came a loud cry from a healthy baby boy. It was 4:30 p.m.
Watson wiped him down. He waved his tiny hands and stared around the room with large, alert eyes. Stella tied up the stump of the umbilical cord
"You delivered the baby, what name did you pick for a baby boy,” Stella said, reminding Watson.
“Cage," Watson replied. "But I can't name her baby. It's her baby!"
Hinds placed the infant into his mother's arms. The new mom smiled.
"What is she going to name him?" Watson asked. Stella translated. The mother answered --and Stella began to laugh.
"What did she say?" Watson asked.
"She decided she liked the name you picked," Stella said. "She named her little boy 'Cage'."
Outside, U.S. and East African medics were closing up for the day, handing out the final doses of vitamins and routine medications, when they learned the good news. An officer took out the records reflecting the number of people treated, changing 714 to 715, to add Cage - Kitgum's newest resident.
"It's pretty amazing there's a little one out here that I named and that I helped bring into this world," Watson said. "Pretty amazing."
To learn more about United States Army Africa or Natural Fire 10, visit us online at www.usaraf.army.mil
YOKOSUKA, Japan (May 23, 2018) Operations Specialist Seaman David Llerena heaves line aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missle destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) during sea and anchor detail. Benfold is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th fleet Area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anna Van Nuys/Released)