Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan or CJSOTF-A is a task force unit lead by US Army Special Forces. It's headquartered at Bagram Airfield and is part of the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan / NATO Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan. The core tasks of CJSOTF-A include advising the Afghan National Army’s special operations forces and local police, and training forces associated with the Village Stability Operations (VSO) and counterinsurgency (COIN) - a strategy that establishes expanding security and stability in rural villages. The unit also controls highly specialized battalion-level task forces built around US Army Special Forces, Infantry, Marine Special Operators and Navy SEALs. JOINT TASK FORCES CONCEPT. The concept of Combined Joint Task Forces (CJTF) provides flexible and efficient means to enable the Alliance to generate forces at short notice, providing rapidly deployable, multi-national, multi- service task forces with appropriate command and control arrangements. The Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) is the United States component of the NATO Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan (NSOCC-A). The commander of NSOCC-A is also the commander of SOJTF-A - a dual-hat command arrangement. 1. This division-level headquarters is commanded by a two-star general and encompasses all in-country NATO special operations forces and assets. The SOJTF-A mission spans the entire spectrum of special operations in a counterterrorist and a counterinsurgent environment. The missions range from direct action to capacity-building to Security Force Assistance. Personnel Strength. In mid-2013 the number of personnel assigned to SOJTF-A/NSOCC-A was close to 13,000 special operators, staff, and support personnel from over 25 different nations. It is estimated that the combined NATO / U.S. military force at the start of Resolute Support in January 2015 will be about 12,000 troops; of which a fraction (25%?) will be SOF associated units. In December 2014 the CJSOTF-A was downsized and replaced by a Special Operations Task Force of battalion strength commanded by a LTC. Afghan Partner Units. The special operations forces work with a variety of Afghan units from the police and army to include the Afghan National Army Special Forces (ANASF), Afghan National Army Commandos, Special Mission Wing (SMU), Provincial Response Companies (PRCs), General Directorate Special Police Units (GDSPU), Afghan Local Police (ALP), and other lesser known highly-specialized direct action units. Uniting the "Tribes". SOJTF-A is a newly formed organization. Prior to 2012 the various U.S. and NATO SOF components were answering to different bosses. There was the Combined Joint Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan (CFSOCC-A) that had command of most of the 'white SOF' (most under the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan or CJSOTF-A). There was ISAF SOF who worked with various elite Afghan police units like the GDPSU and the Provincial Response Companies. And then there were some other chaps that did a lot of direct action stuff at night (as in night raids). SOJTF-A Commanders. The first commander of the SOJTF-A was Major General Tony Thomas. He changed command with Major General Scott Miller in the summer of 2013 (a former CFSOCC-A commander). MG Miller was replace in the summer of 2014 with MG Ed Reeder (also a former CFSOCC-A commander). In the summer of 2015 MG Sean P. Swindell replaced Reeder. Like all good SOF units the SOJTF-A has a commander's challenge coin.
The Betsy Ross Flag is a reconstructed early design for the flag of the United States, which is conformant to the Flag Act of 1777 and has red stripes outermost and stars arranged in a circle. These details elaborate on the 1777 act, passed early in the American Revolutionary War, which specified 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and 13 white stars in a blue canton. Its name stems from the story, once widely believed, that shortly after the 1777 act, upholsterer and flag maker Betsy Ross produced a flag of this design. Betsy Ross (1752–1836) was an upholsterer in Philadelphia who produced uniforms, tents, and flags for Continental forces. Although her manufacturing contributions are documented, a popular story evolved in which Ross was hired by a group of Founding Fathers to make a new U.S. flag. According to the legend, she deviated from the 6-pointed stars in the design and produced a flag with 5-pointed stars, instead. The claim by her descendants that Betsy Ross contributed to the flag's design is not generally accepted by modern American scholars and vexillologists. Ross became a notable figure representing the contribution of women in the American Revolution, but how this specific design of the U.S. flag became associated with her is unknown. An 1851 painting by Ellie Sully Wheeler of Philadelphia displayed Betsy Ross sewing a U.S. flag.[4][5] The National Museum of American History suggests that the Betsy Ross story first entered into American consciousness about the time of the 1876 Centennial Exposition celebrations.
Samurai (侍) were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in the late 1870s during the Meiji era. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo, the great feudal landholders. They had high prestige and special privileges.
Following the passing of a law in 1629, samurai on official duty were required to practice daishō (wear two swords). Samurai were granted kiri-sute gomen: the right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations. Some important samurai and other figures in Japanese history wanted others to believe all of them engaged combatants using bushido codes of martial virtues and followed impractical cultural ideals about what samurai should act like.
Though they had predecessors in earlier military and administrative officers, the samurai truly emerged during the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from c.1185 to 1333. They became the ruling political class, with significant power but also significant responsibility. During the 13th century, the samurai proved themselves as adept warriors against the invading Mongols. During the peaceful Edo period, 1603 to 1868, they became the stewards and chamberlains of the daimyo estates, gaining managerial experience and education.
In the 1870s, samurai families comprised 5% of the population. As modern militaries emerged in the 19th century, the samurai were rendered increasingly obsolete and very expensive to maintain compared to the average conscript soldier. The Meiji Restoration ended their feudal roles, and they moved into professional and entrepreneurial roles. Their memory and weaponry remain prominent in Japanese popular culture.
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