Empowerment of the American Noncommissioned Officer Essay Example for Free

Empowerment of the American Noncommissioned Officer Essay The American Noncommissioned Officer of today is held in high esteem by the Military. The Military considers the American Noncommissioned Officer as the backbone of the Army. The Military also considers the Noncommissioned Officer as a Professional Soldier, a soldier with special skills and an experienced leader. The Noncommissioned Officer is a soldier that makes a career of the Military more so than the Commissioned Officers. The Noncommissioned Officer of today can be found beside their Commanding Officer or other Commissioned Officers. But this was not always so (Cited in Gates, Vuonon Introduction 1775). Individuals outside the Military consider the Noncommissioned Officer as lazy, not worth the time to educate or even to train. And they don’t have the same skills as a Commissioned Officer. A stigma they still carry today with those outside the Military. Most non-military individuals have no idea what the noncommissioned officer education status is or what their career goals are. In order to understand the evolution of the Noncommissioned Officer, let’s go back to the beginning and move forward. The History of the Noncommissioned Officer is long and spans from the Revolutionary War to Present day. The Revolutionary War is where they held the status of the regular enlisted man. The Noncommissioned Officers status would change somewhat during this War. Their worth would be tested on and off the field of battle. Revolutionary War In 1775 all Noncommissioned Officers were as regular enlisted men until, a change in regulation was constituted, (Cited in Hogan, Fisch, Wright 2005, p. 24). Baron Fredrick Wilhelm Steuben’s Contribution Baron Fredrick Wilhelm Steuben joined the Revolutionary Army as a volunteer. He possessed considerable military knowledge. He wrote the new regulation for the Noncommissioned Officer, â€Å"The regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States 1779†. Noncommissioned Officers were selected by and responsible to the Commanding Officer and subject to the Battalion or Regiment Commander. Steuben’s regulation aided the Noncommissioned Officer’s evolving role as Care Taker of Soldiers. Steuben found this area weak in the Revolutionary Army. Steuben’s regulation also introduced a new emphasis on the Noncommissioned Officers battlefield role. Enhancing his status and further distinguishing him from his British counterpart. Steuben’s system provided training the Noncommissioned Officer in leadership skills. Under this new regulation the Noncommissioned Officer now stood behind the Commissioned Officer. He did not fire Volleys, but saved his ammunition for the protection of the Captain or Lieutenant. Noncommissioned Officers thus became essential figures in linear tactics that survived until the Civil War (cited in Hogan, Fisch, Wright 2005). Battle of 1812 The professional military was viewed by the civilians as dregs and too lazy to grasp the opportunities of a civil way of life. Professional education was unknown beyond rudimentary on the job instruction by the company or regiment. Noncommissioned Officer’s in Artillery, engineers, medical, and signal corps received specialized training (cited in Hogan, Fisch, Wright 2005). Major General Anthony Wayne and Secretary of War Jefferson Davis Contributions Major General Anthony Wayne and Secretary of War Jefferson Davis made sure Noncommissioned Officers were not disciplined in front of their men. Davis supported the commissioning of officers from Noncommissioned Officers that could pass the exam. Not withstanding their comparative low status the Noncommissioned Officers played a very critical role in the Army of the New Nation (cited in Hogan, Fisch, Wright 2005 p. 26). The Civil War The dynamics of the Noncommissioned Officer changes during the Civil War in a lot of different ways. The Army of the Union looses a quarter of its Commissioned Officers to sympathy with the Confederacy and leave to serve in the Confederacy. Providing an opportunity for the Noncommissioned Officer’s to elevate their status on the battlefield. Another change they will have to overcome is the advancement in weapons, and a change in battlefield tactics. Muskets were replaced with the rifle musket. With better aim and accuracy casualties were horrendous. Linear tactics were outdated with the advancement of these weapons. Even more powerful weapons were introduced late in the Civil War, breech-loading rifle, Calvary carbine and the Gatlin Gun. This underscored the need for more open formations than were called for during the Revolutionary War. Unit Commanders gradually introduced such formations to reduce the vulnerability of their men, due to the volume and accuracy of enemy fire. Bvt. Major General Emory Upton prepared a manual, greater emphasis upon simplicity of maneuver. His instruction could be taught more easily by the Noncommissioned Officers to the new troops, shortening training time and increasing the soldier’s effective term of service. The gradual elimination of linear tactics after the Civil War redefined the Noncommissioned Officers combat leadership roles†. (p. 28-29) Technology revolution continued to sweep all the Armies, supplying both the infantry and artillery weapons with greater lethality. These weapons finally broke the use of close masses types of battle to a more open order of combat. As the aim and accuracy improved with these newer weapons close massed combat was no longer feasible. Open combat brought the Noncommissioned Officer the opportunity of small unit leadership. Now the Noncommissioned Officer is maintaining order in a more complex battlefield (Cited Hogan, Fisch, Wright 2005 p. 30). 1898-1902 Upton states a warning of the inadequacy of the Noncommissioned Officers training. These years till the end of the Century bring changes to the Noncommissioned officer. The need for better training is ignored and would have to wait until World War I (Cited Hogan, Fisch, Wright 2005). The United States is now becoming a super power. The Government and its Citizens now have interests overseas. World War I II to Present day World War I opens the landscape of the modern warfare. This war produces massive changes in weapons and technology. The weapons are the Springfield rifle, submachine gun and the automatic machine gun. The combustion engine is introduced to the battlefield. With this engine a new type of dynamics are introduced late in the war. With the invention of the combustion engine comes the airplane and the gas powered truck and later the armored Tank. During the World Wars, were the wars of the NCO’s of the specialized divisions. These NCO’s show their skills as specialists in Artillery and weapons. Trench fighting combat takes its toll on the NCO’s and to generate more personnel they enlist the help of the retired NCO’s to train stateside, to produce already efficient soldiers with experience. This trend continues through World War II. Closing The Empowerment of the Noncommissioned Officer has been throughout history, from the different battlefields that they have fought on to the advancement of weapons to new technologies. All these have contributed to their empowerment on, and off the fields of battle. And new regulations and new reforms in their status have also aided them. Here history must speak for itself. The Noncommissioned officers were trained and educated and were prepared for their empowerment throughout history. The NCO’s of today have earned their right to be called the professional soldier. Non military individuals will continue to think of the NCO’s as shiftless and lazy, until they have read what has been accomplished by the NCOs. But history will speak for them. In my opinion this trend of empowerment will continue well into the future as long as there are wars to be fought and new battlefields to conquer you can count on the Noncommissioned Officer will be there to fight for our freedom.

Manipulation of Lyrics in Shakespeares As You Like It Essay -- Shakes

Manipulation of Lyrics in As You Like It   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While it is a comedy of the turmoil of love and the experimentation with gender roles and identity, William Shakespeare's As you Like It is a historical preservation of Renaissance music. The play is fraught with spontaneous song and poetry, yet Shakespeare strategically manipulates these musical elements. Specifically, the lyrics and poetry of the play function to establish a soundtrack and a direct appeal to their Elizabethan audience, while providing Shakespeare with a valuable shorthand for character development.    It is necessary to understand that music in Shakespeare's time functions as a complete renovation of sound, voice, and function. Paul Brian emphasizes that "whereas the music of the middle ages is predominately sacred, there is a great flourishing of ideas dedicated to secular topics, predominantly love, in the 15th through early 17th centuries" (1). From this comment, we can understand that the demand for love music and poetry in Shakespeare's time is indeed influential on As You Like It's musical content. In addition, Mason proffers that "the chief glory of Elizabeth's age was [...] the development of its secular vocal music, which reached a high degree of artistry. It did so, of course, because Elizabethans received perhaps even more enjoyment from singing together socially then they did from singing psalms together in church" (3). In this development of secular music and emphasis on communal singing, the numerous musicians and singers who painfully extend Shakespeare's cast of ch aracters should be seen as symbols of music's booming popularity in the Elizabethan age.    In scenes of As You Like It, we can see the influence of communal music on... ... As You Like It chooses a few individuals to symbolize the importance of music to an entire society, whether it is the merrymakers of the Forest of Ardenne or the inhabitants of Renaissance England.    Works Cited Brian, Paul. "Renaissance Love Songs Study Guide". 6 June 1997. Online. http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/love-in-the-arts/renaissance.html. 7 November 2002. Elson, Louis C. Shakespeare in Music. Boston: LC Page & Company, 1900. Long, John H. Shakespeare's Use of Music. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1955. Mason, Dorothy E. Music in Elizabethan England. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1958. Pattison, Bruce. Music and Poetry of the English Renaissance. (2nd ed). London: Methuen and Company, 1970. Seng, Peter J. The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare: A Critical History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967.   

Corporations today Essay

In the United States today there are millions of corporations in many different industries. All of them must abide by the current taxation rules and regulations that have been set by IRS and congress. The Internal Revenue Code, which was originally founded in 1939, set the foundation for the codification that we have in place today. The code arranged all Federal Tax provisions in a logical order and placed them in a separate part of the federal status. Over the years, congress has updated and amended the tax code in 1954, in 1986 Tax Reform Act, and is constantly updating the code due to its importance in assessing judicial and administrative decisions. The arrangement of the code is broken down starting with a Subtitle, broken down into chapter, subchapter, part, and then section (2). It is extremely important for Corporations today to make sure they understand the tax code so they can be aware of the benefits and consequences that may arise in daily business transactions. Asset and property transactions are a large of certain corporations day-to-day operations. Normally property and asset transactions will produce tax consequences if a gain or loss is realized. A transfer of property to a corporation in exchange for equity creates the grounds for a taxable sale and the amount to be recognized but there are exceptions to the rule (4). The code does provide exceptions to the rule and allows ways around recognizing a gain or loss upon the transfer of property to a corporation. Section 351(a) is one exception to the rule. The general rule states, â€Å"No gain or loss shall be recognized if property is transferred to a corporation by one or more persons solely in exchange for stock in such corporation and immediately after the exchange such person or persons are in control (as defined in section 368(c)) of the corporation†, according the internal revenue code (1). The idea and principal behind the rule is based on the transfer of property and isn’t a closed transaction because a transferor has not cashed in the position in the transferred property. Instead, the person continues to own the transferred property throughout ownership of the transferee corporation stock and there has just been a change in the form of ownership. Congress believes that tax rules should not hinder firms from making business decisions, hence why section 351 was written (10). In order for section 351 to be used and applied there are 3 items that must be met for the transaction to be considered for the non- recognition treatment. The first requirement is that there must be a transfer of â€Å"property† to a corporation. It is very important that corporations understand the definition of property because in the past issues have arose. Plant, Property, Equipment, installment obligations, and unrealized receivables of cash basis are all considered as property. The main property exclusion in the code is that services are not considered as property (6)(11). Another requirement is that the transferors must receive common or preferred stock that is not qualified preferred stock of the transferee corporation. Non-qualified preferred stock is not permitted because it has similarities to debt instruments. Stock warrants and stock rights are also excluded and would be treated as boot (7)(11). The third requirement that must be met in order for a corporation to use section 351 is that once the transfer is complete, the transferors must be in control of the transferee corporation within the meaning of section 368(c). Control means that the people involved must own a minimum of 80 percent of the total combined voting power and numbers of shares of stock. The two criteria for control both must be satisfied as per Rev. Ruling 59-259. Section 351 is a mandatory transaction if a transaction meets the provisions requirements as per Gus Russell, Inc. v. Commissioner, 36 T.C. 965 (1961)(8). If and when all of the section 351(a) requirements are met, the transferor will not recognize a gain or loss on the transfer property to the corporation. During the transaction, if the transferor receives boot, section 351(b) requires them to recognize the gain (capital, long-term, or short-term) equal to the lessor of the gain that would be recognized under section 1001 if the transferor were treated as selling property transferred and the fair market value of the boot received. Under section 351(b)(2), no such loss of any realized loss to be recognized (4)(8). There are situations where once the 351(a) factors are met, a transferor will transfer stock received to someone outside of the control group, and then the requirement after might not be met. A transferor might distribute some of the control received to the shareholders after the requirement based on 351(c). This type of distribution can be taxable to both the shareholders and the distributing corporation. Section 351(c) also relates to situations where there has been a transfer of stock to a corporation in a section 355 transactions (7). Section 351(c)(2) allows shareholders to dispose of all or part of the transfers stock without preventing the corporations Section 351 transaction from satisfying the â€Å" control immediate after† requirement (4). Section 351(d) states that there are times when services, certain indebtedness, and accrued interest not treated as property as per James v. Commissioner, 53 T.C. 63 (1969); cf. Hospital Corporation of America v. Commissioner, 81 T.C. 520 (1983). An example of this would be receiving stock for legal services (11). Even though there are major benefits to meeting the requirements of section 351, one of them being the ability to permit shareholders of a corporation to defer recognition of a gain or loss on the transfer of assets to the corporation, there are also times that it will be advantageous for a corporation to avoid using Section 351 for tax planning purposes (9). A transferor might want to be able to recognize the gain if it will not negatively affect them. If a transferor is in a low tax bracket or the gain could be a beneficial capital gain that could be offset with capital losses, they might not want to use section 351. Another scenario where it could be an advantage not to use section 351 would be if the transferor wanted to allow for immediate loss recognition. There are alternatives for a transferor who would like to recognize the loss (3). Back in March of 2005, the IRS and treasury department proposed a â€Å"net value† regulation to address the application of several non-recognition provisions to the code. The idea behind the proposal was to add the concept of â€Å"exchange of net value† requirement to Sections 332, 351, and 368(6). The reason being that a â€Å"net value† is appropriate because a transfer of property in exchange for the assumption of liabilities resembles a sale and should not be afforded. For the purposes of section 351, stock would not be treated as issued property unless the fair market value of the assets of the transferor corporation exceeds the amount of its liability immediately after the transfer (5). In conclusion, corporations need to make sure that they understand the tax codes and regulations that are set in place by the internal revenue code. Section 351 is a very interesting section and should be used in tax planning with corporations that are involved with property and asset transactions will that will produce tax consequences if a gain or loss is realized (2). In order for a corporation to use the section, all three preliminary requirements must be met. Just like any code section there are advantages and disadvantages of meeting the requirements and applying the code section to a corporation. Going forward it will be interesting to see if there will be any changes or amendments in the near future based on new court rulings. Works Cited Page (1) 26 USC Treas. Reg.  § 1.351 (2) Hoffman, Raabe, Smith, and Maloney. Corporations, Partnerships, Estates and Trusts. N.p.: South-Western, 2012. Print. (3) Richardson, William M. â€Å"Opportunities and Pitfalls Under Sections 351 and 721.† Opportunities and Pitfalls Under Sections 351 and 721. Willam and Mary, n.d. Web. (4) â€Å"Internal Revenue Code Section 351.† Www.bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Endnotes/IRC_Section_351.pdf. Bradford Tax Institute, n.d. Web. (5) Silverman, and Johnson. â€Å"Assessing the Value of the Proposed â€Å"No Net Value† Regulations.† Steptoe and Johnson LLP, 6 Oct. 2006. Web. (6) Jegen. â€Å"Section F-2033 – Income Taxation Of Corporations And Shareholders – Income Tax Effects.† Www.iupui.edu/†¦Tax/F-2033-EH.C&S.Tax.Effs.Of.Incorp.Pro.pdf. N.p., n.d. Web. (7) Leong, Lisa. â€Å"Section 351.–Transfer to Corporation Controlled by Transferor.† Associate Chief Counsel, n.d. Web. (8) Wells -Hall, C. â€Å"Tax Considerations of Transfers to and Distributions from the C or S Corporation.† Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw LLP, n.d. Web. (9) M&A Tax Report. â€Å"Thinking the Unthinkable: Recognizing Gain on a 351 Transfer.† Panel Publishers, n.d. Web. (10) â€Å"Corporate Formation.† Ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of†¦/15†¦/session11.pdf. N.p., n.d. (11) â€Å"Code of Federal Regulations.† Http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2005-title26-vol4/xml/CFR-2005-title26-vol4-sec1-351-1.xml. Title 26 – Internal Revenue. CHAPTER I, n.d. Web.

Greek Mythology A Belief Of Ancient Civilizations Essay

Greek Mythology Have you ever wondered why the seasons change? Why there’s thunder? Where the stars come from? The Greeks created their own beliefs to answer their questions. Greek mythology is a belief of ancient civilizations. Greek mythology gives information on the Olympians, Heracles, origin of Greek mythology, and more. They made up stories called myths to explain why things were the way they are. They called these collections of Greek stories, Greek mythology. Greek mythology was the religion and beliefs of the ancient Greeks. Greek mythology consisted of a collection of ancient myths. The myths were about how the Greeks believed natural events and phenomenon occurred. These stories were performed orally, by art, dance, and even music. Greek myths involved the origin of time, space, and places. Greek myths differ from folktales and legends because they provide information on how things came about. Greek myths have many different versions because of when tribes migrated and moved from place to place. They’ve been passed down through many years with modifications. Though changes have been made they survived from ancient civilizations. The location and form of Greece contributed to the people and myths of Greek mythology. Most Greek mythology stories connect with each other. Various myths include how some traditions started. Because Greek mythology is considered a religion, it conflicts with science about several things. The Greeks wer e the first to give their gods andShow MoreRelatedGreek Mythology And Its Impact On Modern Culture1055 Words   |  5 PagesGreece civilization has its origins from Greek Mythology and has had a significant impact on our history and mythology helped shed light to it’s culture, religion, and government of ancient Greece. 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