Cobblestone articles from May 2006

Cobblestone archives from May 2006

Editor's note.
May 1, 2006... To protect America on land and sea and in the air, the U.S. government established three distinct military departments. All report to the U.S. Department of Defense. In the air, the U.S. Air Force keeps the skies safe. On the sea, the U.S....

You're in the army now!(armies training methods)
May 1, 2006... On graduation day, the soldiers stand at attention. Parents sometimes do not even recognize their own children in the rows of soldiers in front of them. These young men and women have endured nine weeks of Basic Combat Training (BCT), and the...

Let's get organized: if you were to look at an organizational chart of the U.S. Army, you would see that it is made up of many small units. When joined together to form larger units, the Army works as a cohesive whole. Take a look at how the sum of the Army's parts operates as a powerful military machine.
May 1, 2006... SQUAD A squad is the smallest unit in the Army. It comprises nine soldiers and is commanded by a staff sergeant (see the sidebar on page 41 for chain of command information). Three to four squads make up a platoon. PLATOON A...

Marching through history: an army time line.(Chronology)
May 1, 2006... An issue on the U.S. Army would not be complete without some information on the conflicts in which it has participated. Following are brief descriptions of the major wars in American history. If you would like more in-depth information about...

An awesome arsenal: from muskets to missiles.(U.S. Army undergoes transformations in sophisticated weapons )
May 1, 2006... The U.S. Army has undergone major transformations in its arsenal over the years. In fact, today's highly sophisticated weapons would be unrecognizable to America's first soldiers, who served in Colonial times. Personal Firearms The...

An eye on the future: opportunities in the army.
May 1, 2006... Think of visiting a typical city. You probably see police officers controlling traffic, and construction workers bringing buildings to life. Offices buzz with clerks typing at computers. Kitchens bubble with cooks whipping up meals. It is...

Pick a career, any career.
May 1, 2006... The U.S. Army is a huge outfit to organize. It does so successfully by placing occupations into the following categories. Administrative Support jobs range from clerks to supervisors. Like any large institution, the Army depends on support...

Progress for the people.(Army's technology of satellite communications )
May 1, 2006... Did you know that the ability to predict the weather, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and the technology of satellite communications all were developed first for and by the U.S. Army? The Army has been responsible for creating a number of objects...

Did you know?(President Gerald Ford ranked George Washington as the highest-ranking officer)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In 1976, President Gerald Ford signed a law making George Washington the highest-ranking officer in the history of the U.S. Army. Although the Army started using radios to communicate during World War I, the U.S. Army Pigeon Service--part...

Making adjustments: a changing army.
May 1, 2006... From its beginning as small groups of independent militias, the U.S. Army has come a long way to achieve the international fighting force status it proudly owns today. Over the years, this military organization has had to make a number of...

Long gray line: the U.S. military academy.
May 1, 2006... It was 1783, and the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was over. Yet General George Washington worried about the future of America. He did not want the new nation to ever again rely on foreign experts to build its forts and position its artillery...

Whose army is it, anyway?(United States Army has the most powerful armies)
May 1, 2006... You know by now that the United States has one of the largest and most powerful armies in the world. Did you know that the Vatican--an independent state within Italy, and home to the pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church--takes the title...

Not just a fighting force: the Army's Corps of discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, explored and opened the West of the United States in the early 1800s.
May 1, 2006... In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson needed explorers to cross the American West. A century later, President Theodore Roosevelt was determined to build the Panama Canal. In September 2001, George W. Bush's presidency strove to recover from the...

A commanding presence interview with with Colonel Michael J. Davis.(Interview)
May 1, 2006... The destructive power of an improvised explosive device can be awful. Colonel Michael J. Davis, Commander, 52nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Group, explains his work in these words: "The EOD Group is basically the Army's bomb squad....

Chain of command.
May 1, 2006... This list provides a quick glance at the U.S. Army's chain of command, including rank abbreviations, from lowest to highest. ENLISTED Private (PVT/PV2) Private First Class (PFC) Specialist (SPC) Corporal (CPL) ...

The Tree.(Your Letters)(Poem)
May 1, 2006... THE TREE I look up at rungs on a ladder. I see green, poking needles sprouting from brown, rough arms that reach for the sky and peek back down at me. Krissy Covault Coldwater, Ohio

Something Called Cursive.(Your Letters)(Poem)
May 1, 2006... SOMETHING CALLED CURSIVE Swirling and twirling as I make words that seem as if they are from another planet! It feels as if my pencil is drowning in these words! I try to write ...

Echo.(Your Letters)(Poem)
May 1, 2006... ECHO I hear the echo of the forest. I see sadness in the trees. I feel the roughness of the bark. I hear loneliness in the breeze, as it rustles the leaves. I hear the echo of the forest, and the rumbling of...

A Very Special Tree.(Your Letters)(Poem)
May 1, 2006... A VERY SPECIAL TREE There once was a tree I walked by every day. I chose to walk down there than any other way. I took time to watch it as it swayed in the breeze. And I told it my secrets--that ...

FDR.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States. He was in office from 1933 to 1945, which was the longest time any president has ever served. FDR introduced the New Deal in 1933. The New Deal attempted to improve the...

The Typical Year.(YOUR LETTERS)(Poem)
May 1, 2006... THE TYPICAL YEAR It's spring, and plants are blooming, baby calves are mooing, the grass is tickling, and trees are budding. With children swinging, and friends mingling, the summer days go by, ...

The Flowers.(YOUR LETTERS)(Poem)
May 1, 2006... THE FLOWERS The cluster of purple cotton balls sits on top of green straws. Then comes a bee, as the flowers sway, that slurps the sweet nectar and gently flies away. Ben Siefring Coldwater,...

Flowers.(YOUR LETTERS)(Poem)
May 1, 2006... FLOWERS Flowing with the breeze is a little pink blossom with a crown in the center, on a bright green stand-- waiting there to be worn in a little girl's hair. Megan Stose Coldwater, Ohio

U.S. Army: A Complete History.(BOOKS TO READ)(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... U.S. Army: A Complete History edited by Colonel Raymond K. Bluhm (Westport, Connecticut: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 2005, www.hlla.com) was written with the aid of the Army Historical Foundation and is the resource for a complete history of...

The U.S. Army.(BOOKS TO READ)(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... The U.S. Army by Tom Moron (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publishing Group, 1990, www.lernerbooks.com) is part of a series on the armed forces. This book focuses on the Army and its history and function, as well as the types of training and...

Fix Bayonets: The U.S. Infantry From the American Civil War to the Surrender of Japan.(BOOKS TO READ)(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Fix Bayonets: The U.S. Infantry From the American Civil War to the Surrender of Japan by John P. Longellier (New York: Chelsea House, 2000, www.chelseahouse.com) combines excellent visuals with text to convey the life, weapons, and uniforms of...

The U.S. Army by Heny I. Kurtz.(BOOKS TO READ)(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... The U.S. Army by Henry I. Kurtz (Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press, 1993, www.lerner books.com) provides a good introduction to the Army, including a description of officers and enlisted personnel, what it means to be combatant and...

Places to visit.(museums travel)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Use this link from the United States Army Military History Web site--www.army.mil/ cmh/Museums/links.htm--to obtain a list of U.S. Army museums (from the 1st Cavalry Division Museum at Fort Hood, Texas, to the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe,...

Battle Dress.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... BATTLE DRESS by Amy Efaw (New York: HarperCollins, 2000, www.harpercollins.com) tells the story of Andi Davis--fresh out of high school and a little insecure about herself. Hoping to escape her dysfunctional family, she decides to attend the...

From the archives.(Cobblestone Publishing archives)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... If you are into military history, Cobblestone Publishing has quite a selection of issues from which to choose. Many of the following titles offer a more in-depth look at the wars that are mentioned briefly elsewhere in this issue: Contest for...

The great bicycle experiment.(Nelson Miles opinion)
May 1, 2006... Toward the end of the 19th century, the U.S. Army was looking for a way to replace the horse in military transportation. General Nelson Miles suggested the bicycle. He said that it was quiet and reliable, and unlike the horse, it did not have...

Brain ticklers.
May 1, 2006... GIVE YOUR, BRAIN A LITTLE TICKLE TO SEE HOW WELL YOU READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS ISSUE ON THE U.S. ARMY. IF YOU BELIEVE THE ANSWER, TO BE FALSE, GIVE YOURSELF THE ULTIMATE TEST AND SEE WHETHER, YOU CAN EXPLAIN WHY IT IS FALSE. ANSWERS BELOW. ...

A final word.
May 1, 2006... THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO SERVE OVERSEAS ARE GRATEFUL FOR LETTERS FROM HOME. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EXPRESSING YOUR APPRECIATION FOR THE JOB SOLDIERS DO, THIS LINK ON THE U.S. ARMY'S WEB SITE--WWW.ARMY.MIL/HOWYOUCANHELP/--CAN...

Cartoon connection: with Ebenezer & the Colonel.(Cartoon)
May 1, 2006... Well, humans aren't the only ones doing their part. Plenty of ANIMALS have served in the armed forces as well. Do you think I could be in the Army? That's RIGHT! Have I told you about my great-great-great-GREAT-uncle who fought in the...