Archaeologists excavate land Feb. 9, 2012, at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in order to make way for a solar array the base is planning to build. The excavation team has found thousands of artifacts dating back to 3,000 B.C. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Sandra Welch
U.S. Air Force
by Senior Airman C.J. Hatch
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Archaeologists here recently unearthed an ancient dwelling — just one of thousands of artifacts found here that date back as far as 3,000 B.C.
The excavation was part of the site preparation, including mitigation of surface archaeology and testing for subsurface archaeology, for a large solar array on the south side of the base, (more…)
From 1812 to 1815, the United States fought Great Britain, its colonists in Canada and its Native American allies. New York State was at the center of the struggle, with both land and sea borders with Canada and seacoast on the Atlantic Ocean. The bicentennial begins in 2012 and will include events in and around the state.
June 18, 1812 – Congress declares war on Great Britain.
July 19, 1812 – USS Oneida drives off several British vessels attempting to attack Sackets Harbort, NY.
October 18, 1812 – Maj. Gen. Stephen van Rensselaer fords the Niagara River near Lewiston, NY, with nearly 1,300 troops. An attempt to take the Canadian town of Queenston fails. 300 Americans are killed and 1,000 taken captive.
August 7-10, 1813 – naval battle at the mouth of the Niagara River. British capture two U.S. ships.
September 11, 1813 – inconclusive naval battle off the mouth of the Genesee River
September 28, 1813 – naval battle in York Bay. Storm forces the two sides apart.
November 1813 – British bombard U.S. positions near French Creek, Clayton, NY. U.S. Army artillery forces one British vessel to scuttle.
November 11, 1813 – British troops pursue Americans south from Sackets Harbor and are met in battle at Crysler’s Field. Americans lose 120 men and are forced to abandon hopes of attacking Montreal.
July 1814 – American troops cross the Niagara again. They recapture Fort Erie. In a battle with British regulars at Chippewa Creek, the American force their retreat.
July 24, 1814 – the invading Americans meet British and Canadian forces at Lundy’s Lane. One of the largest battles of the war, both sides claimed victory. The cost was steep, some 1,600 casualties on both sides, and the Americans retreated to Fort Erie.
September 6-11, 1814 – British troops advance to the village of Plattsburgh, N.Y. The two sides fought a naval battle on Lake Champlain which the British lost. The British troops retired to Canada without further combat.
February 18, 1815 – President James Madison signs the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war of 1812.
On the morning of September 12, 1814, a British force of 9,000 men landed at North Point, Maryland, with the intention of marching inland and capturing Baltimore. Brig. Gen. John Stricker, commander of the 3d Brigade of the Maryland militia, was ordered to delay the British advance so that the defensive entrenchments around the city could be completed. The 5th Regiment was assigned the task of holding the American right flank. Despite two hours of artillery and rocket fire, the 5th Maryland stood their ground. After inflicting some 300 casualties, the 5th was ordered to fall back to a new position in front of the Baltimore trenches. The British army, exhausted by the fighting and surprised by the stubborn defense of the Maryland militia, withdrew, while the British navy failed to silence the guns of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. Thwarted on land and sea the British force sailed away
On land and at sea, the United States and Great Britain struggled for three years in a war that many historians see as the final chapter of the American Revolution. From 1812 to 1815, the U.S. Navy was on the front lines worldwide as it fought the Royal Navy. At home, Canada and the U.S. were both battlegrounds as capitals burned and the tides of war flowed back and forth. The War of 1812 settled the issue, once and for all, of America’s relationship with Great Britain and established the new nation as quite thoroughly independent.
The approaching bicentennial of the War of 1812 is being commemorated by the United States and Canada in a series of events to be held all along the East Coast, through the Great Lakes and down in New Orleans. The U.S. Navy sees these events as a way to highlight the events of the time and to also feature the modern Navy with its current missions and capabilities.
The first event on the 1812 calendar is a visit to the last battlefield of the war, New Orleans. From January 6-8, 2012, the National Parks Service will remember the 197th anniversary of the battle immortalized by singer Johnny Horton.
As events are developed, they will appear on the Official War of 1812 Bicentennial website. The Navy has assisted in the development of an online game titled A Sailor’s Life for Me! which allows the player to experience the life and times of a sailor in 1812.
1932 picture of the north side of the George Washington Bridge. From the Library of Congress collection
The George Washington Bridge was dedicated on Oct. 24, 1931 and opened for traffic the next day. The Port Authority, which operates the bridge, claims it is the busiest in the world, handling 106 million vehicles a year. Originally just one level, in 1962 a lower level was opened to increase the capacity of the structure by 75 percent.
Size
* 107,000 miles of steel wire used to suspend the bridge
* The bridge’s main span is 3,500 feet in length
* The towers supporting the main span are 604 feet high
* The bridge is 213 feet above the Hudson River
* The bridge is 119 feet wide
Traffic
* Originally was six lanes on one level
* In 1946, two lanes added
* In 1962, six lanes on a lower level added
* 300,000 vehicles per day
Records
* World’s longest suspension bridge from 1931 to 1937
* World’s only 14-lane suspension bridge
* Display’s the largest free flying American flag in the world on special occasions
The George Washington Bridge was an engineering marvel when it was constructed and remains so today. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has followed much of the original planning with the addition of the lower level and other changes over the last 80 years. It has also renovated the bridge, ensuring both user safety and prolonging the life of the structure.
There is a toll for drivers using the bridge from New Jersey to New York. The drive from Manhattan to New Jersey is toll free for passenger vehicles. It is estimated that the bridge generates $1 million per day in tolls. The south walkway of the bridge is open for pedestrians and cyclists, and there is no toll.
The George Washington Bridge bus terminal opened in 1963. In 2010 over 4 million bus passengers passed through the terminal from buses using the bridge.
Security concerns after the attacks of September 11 have resulted in restrictions on the lower level. Only automobiles are allowed, and at night only cars with an E-Z pass. The north walkway is closed because of safety concerns and lack of handicapped accessibility.
Shindand Air Base is under construction. It is slated to be the primary training site for the Afghan Air Force, as well as a key base for regional Afghan security forces.
An Afghan worker throws a rock into a well to test for water in a collapsed karez on Shindand Air Base in Herat province that provides water to a thousand families in a nearby village on March 7, 2010. Coalition forces hired workers from the village to dig out the karez to provide work for the families in addition to the restoration of their water supply. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen Hickok
Coalition forces and local Afghan villagers worked together to reconnect access to an underground karez that supplies water for over 1000 families in a village just outside of Shindand Air Base in Herat province on March 7, 2011.
The 300-year-old karez, an underground aqueduct, runs through the air base and collapsed after heavy rains flooded the area in February.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Steve King, deputy commander for the 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group at Shindand Air Base, says that the accessibility of Commander’s Emergency Response funds has financed the hiring of Afghans from the village to work on the Karez.
“Through the CERP funds, we were able to hire those villagers to come in and fix the situation,” King said. “It was a win-win situation. We were able to get their drinking water and the water for their crops and fields back flowing again, and at the same time being able to offer them work, so the counterinsurgency [COIN] effect is huge.”
Afghan workers dig out the dirt with their bare hands. The process isn’t how coalition forces usually do this kind of work but it is the traditional way for Afghans who have been maintaining the karez for generations.
Afghan workers hoist up a worker from a collapsed karez on Shindand Air Base in Herat province that provides water to a thousand families in a nearby village on March 7, 2010. Coalition forces hired the workers from the village to repair the karez in order to provide work for the families in addition to the restoration of their water supply. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen Hickok
“We would never consider being lowered into a karez hole via a manual wheel where it is actually perfect for this environment and the work that needs to be done,” said King.
Safety is a main concern for all involved in the project.
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert Hilker, 838th AEAG fire department assistant chief of operations, heads up the effort to keep everyone involved in the repair project safe.
“Because the operations that are going on are between 25 and 35 feet below the ground, there is a high probability for collapse,” Hilker said. “We are on point to provide immediate entry to pull out Afghans in the event of an emergency.”
Supplies and safety equipment are also being provided.
“We have provided them with hard hats, flashlights, better rope than they had, D-rings and carabiners, anything that we had that would make what they do safer,” said Hilker.
The reconstruction effort and employment of Afghans has had a mutual benefit.
“We are learning as much from them as they are from us.” King said. “It has dramatically increased the goodwill amongst ISAF, the Afghan air force and the local villagers.”
DVIDS
Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen Hickok
