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Mana (series)

The Mana series, known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu (聖剣伝説), is a high fantasy action role-playing game series created by Koichi Ishii, with development formerly from Square, and is currently owned by Square Enix. The series began in 1991 as Final Fantasy Adventure, a Game Boy handheld side story to Square's flagship franchise Final Fantasy. The Final Fantasy elements were subsequently dropped starting with the second installment, Secret of Mana, in order to become its own series. It has grown to include games of various genres within the fictional world of Mana, with recurring stories involving a world tree, its associated holy sword, and the fight against forces that would steal their power. Several character designs, creatures, and musical themes reappear frequently.

Four games were released in the series between 1991 and 1999: the original Seiken Densetsu (1991)—Final Fantasy Adventure in North America and Mystic Quest in Europe—for the Game Boy, Secret of Mana (1993) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Trials of Mana (1995) for the Super Famicom, and Legend of Mana for the PlayStation. A remake of the original game, Sword of Mana (2003), was published for the Game Boy Advance. All of the original games were action role-playing games, though they included a wide variety of gameplay mechanics, and the stories of the games were connected only thematically.

In 2006 and 2007, four more games were released as part of the World of Mana subseries, an attempt by Square Enix to release games in a series over a variety of genres and consoles. These were Children of Mana (2006), an action-oriented dungeon crawler game for the Nintendo DS; Friends of Mana (2006), a Japan-only multiplayer role-playing game for mobile phones; Dawn of Mana (2006), a 3D action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2; and Heroes of Mana (2007), a real-time strategy game for the DS. Children was developed by Nex Entertainment and Heroes by Brownie Brown, founded by several developers of Legend, though Ishii oversaw development of all four games. Three more games have been released since the World of Mana subseries ended: Circle of Mana (2013), a Japan-only card battle game for the GREE mobile platform, Rise of Mana (2014), a Japan-only free-to-play action role-playing game for iOS, Android, and PlayStation Vita, and Adventures of Mana (2016), a 3D remake of Final Fantasy Adventure for the PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android. In addition to the games, four manga series and one novelization have been released in the Mana franchise.

In December 2023, a new mainline installment in the series titled Visions of Mana, was announced.

The Mana series reception has been very uneven, with early games rated higher by critics than more recent titles. Secret of Mana has been regarded as one of the best 2D action role-playing games ever made, and their music has inspired several orchestral concerts, while the games from the World of Mana series have been rated considerably lower. By 2021, the series had sold over 8 million copies.

History
Square trademarked Seiken Densetsu in 1989, intending to use it for a game project subtitled The Emergence of Excalibur, and led by Kazuhiko Aoki for the Famicom Disk System. According to early advertisements, the game would consist of an unprecedented five floppy disks, making it one of the largest titles developed for the Famicom up until that point. Although Square solicited pre-orders for the game, Kaoru Moriyama, a former Square employee, affirms that management canceled the ambitious project before it advanced beyond the early planning stages. In October 1987, customers who had placed orders were sent a letter informing them of the cancellation and had their purchases refunded. The letter also suggested to consider placing an order on another upcoming Square role-playing game in a similar vein: Final Fantasy.

In 1991, Square reused the Seiken Densetsu trademark for an unrelated Game Boy action role-playing game directed by Koichi Ishii. Originally developed under the title Gemma Knights, the game was renamed Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden (published in North America as Final Fantasy Adventure and in Europe as Mystic Quest).

Beginning with the 1993 sequel, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu was subsequently "spun off" into its own series of action role-playing games distinct from Final Fantasy, named the Mana series outside Japan. Four titles in the series were released between 1993 and 2003. Secret of Mana was originally intended to be a launch title for the Super NES CD-ROM Adapter, but when the add-on was cancelled it was cut down into a standard Super NES cartridge, with many of the cut ideas appearing in other Square titles. Hirō Isono provided artwork for the game including forest landscapes. It was followed in 1995 by the then Japan-only Trials of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 3 in Japan); the game was originally planned to be released in English as Secret of Mana 2, but technical issues and localization costs prohibited the release. The final new game in the series' initial run is the 1999 Legend of Mana, developed for the PlayStation. Legend is a 2D game like its predecessors, despite the PlayStation's 3D focus, because the console could not handle the full 3D world Ishii envisioned where one could interact with natural shaped objects. 2003 saw the release of Sword of Mana, a remake of the original Seiken Densetsu for the Game Boy Advance. The remake was outsourced to Brownie Brown, which was composed of many of the Square employees who had worked on Legend.

In 2003, Square, now Square Enix, began a drive to begin developing "polymorphic content", a marketing and sales strategy to "[provide] well-known properties on several platforms, allowing exposure of the products to as wide an audience as possible". The first of these was the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and Square Enix intended to have campaigns for other series whereby multiple games in different genres would be developed simultaneously. Although no such project for the Mana series had been announced by this point, it was announced in late 2004 that an unnamed Mana game was in development for the upcoming Nintendo DS platform. In early 2005, Square Enix announced a World of Mana project, the application of this "polymorphic content" idea to the Mana franchise, which would include several games across different genres and platforms. These games, as with the rest of the series, would not be direct sequels or prequels to one another, even if appearing so at first glance, but would instead share thematic connections. The first release in this project and the sixth release in the Mana series was announced in September 2005 as Children of Mana for the DS. Four games were released in 2006 and 2007 in the World of Mana subseries: Children of Mana, Friends of Mana, and Dawn of Mana in 2006, and Heroes of Mana in 2007.

Each game in the World of Mana series was different, both from each other and from the previous games in the series. Children is an action-oriented dungeon crawler game for the DS, developed by Nex Entertainment; Friends is a Japan-only multiplayer role-playing game for mobile phones; Dawn is a 3D action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2; and Heroes is a real-time strategy game for the DS, developed by Brownie Brown. While Ishii was the designer for all four games, he served as the director and producer for Dawn, which was considered the main game of the four and was released as Seiken Densetsu 4 in Japan. The theme of the subseries for Ishii, especially Dawn, was about exploring how to add "the feeling of touch" to a game. He had held off on designing new Mana games after Legend was unable to meet his desires, until he felt that technology had improved enough to let him create what he envisioned. A fifth game for the subseries was considered for the Wii in 2006, but did not enter development. In April 2007, a month after the release of the final game of the World of Mana, Ishii left Square Enix to lead his own development company, named Grezzo.

The Mana series was put on hiatus until 2013, when Square Enix released Circle of Mana, a Japan-only card battle game for the GREE mobile platform. It was followed in 2014 by Rise of Mana, a Japan-only free-to-play action role-playing game for iOS, Android, and PlayStation Vita, and in 2016 by Adventures of Mana, a 3D remake of Final Fantasy Adventure for the PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android. On August 25, 2017, a 3D remake of Secret of Mana was announced for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Windows, for release on February 15, 2018. A 3D remake of Trials of Mana and localization of the original game (as part of the Collection of Mana) were announced via Nintendo Direct in 2019.

During the series' 30th anniversary stream, Square Enix announced a new mobile spin-off game, Echoes of Mana, as well as the new console game with involvement from the series creator Koichi Ishii. Titled Visions of Mana, it was formally announced at The Game Awards 2023, and is considered the first mainline installment since Dawn of Mana. The project was headed by producer Masaru Oyamada, while Ishii worked on the updated creature designs.

Creation and design
The Mana series is the result of Koichi Ishii's desire to create a fictional world. In Ishii's opinion, Mana is not a series of video games, but rather a world which is illustrated by and can be explored through video games. When working on the series, Koichi Ishii draws inspiration from abstract images from his memories of childhood, as well as movies and fantasy books that captivated him as a child. Ishii takes care to avoid set conventions, and his influences are correspondingly very wide and non-specific. Nonetheless, among his literary influences, he acknowledges Tove Jansson's Moomin, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

While some titles of the World of Mana series do share direct connections with other installments, the games of the series have few concrete links. There is no overall explicit in-game chronological order. Further, according to Koichi Ishii in 2006 the games do not take place in exactly the same world, and characters or elements who appear in different titles are best considered alternate versions of each other. Instead, the connections between each title are more abstract than story-based, linked only on the karmic level. Complicating this assertion, Ishii has also said in an interview that Children is set ten years after Dawn, while Heroes is set one generation prior to Trials of Mana.

Common elements
A common element of the series is its seamless, real-time battle system. The system was developed by Koichi Ishii and improved upon by Hiromichi Tanaka, out of a desire to create a system different from the one featured in the first few Final Fantasy titles. While action-based, the Mana battle system is intended to be playable even by newcomers as well as veterans. The system is coupled with the distinctive hierarchical "Ring Command" menu system, featured prominently in Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana, and to a lesser extent in later installments. Each ring is a set of icons with a textual infobox explanation which, upon selection, allow the player to use an item, cast a spell, look up in-game statistics, or change the game's settings. Navigation within a menu is achieved by rotating the ring through the cursor left or right, while switching to a different menu is achieved by pressing the up or down buttons. Although not part of the series, the spin-off Secret of Evermore, developed by the North American Square Soft, was also built upon the "Ring Command" system.

The Mana series features several recurring characters and beings, including the Final Fantasy creatures Chocobos in Final Fantasy Adventure and Legend of Mana, and Moogles in Secret of Mana and as a status ailment in Trials of Mana and Sword of Mana. Watts is a dwarf blacksmith wearing a horned helmet who upgrades the player's weaponry. Usually, an anthropomorphic cat merchant is found outside of town areas and allows a player to save the game and buy supplies at high prices. Neko plays this role in Secret of Mana, and Niccolo in Legend of Mana and Sword of Mana. In the Japanese games these merchants share the name Nikita. The Mana Tree and the Mana Sword, called Excalibur in Final Fantasy Adventure's English version, are recurring plot devices that have been featured in every game of the series. The mystical Mana Tree is a source of magic that sustains the balance and nature of the series' world. The Mana Sword is typically used to restore this balance when it becomes lost in the games. Final Fantasy Adventure explains that if the Mana Tree dies, a member of the Mana Family will become the "seed" of a new Tree. A sprout of the Mana Tree is called a Gemma, while protectors of the Tree, who wield the Mana Sword, are called Gemma Knights. In Trials of Mana, a Goddess is said to have turned into the Mana Tree after creating the world with the Mana Sword. The Mana Tree is destroyed near the game ending in Final Fantasy Adventure and Secret of Mana, but a character becomes the new Mana Tree in the former game.

Elemental Spirits, also called Mana Spirits, are beings who govern the magic elements of the series' world, and are at the core of the games' magic system as they are used to cast magic spells. Eight types of spirits have appeared in the series since Secret of Mana, and each embodies a different element. Their names are homonyms of mythological beings or phenomena. In Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana, usage of their power is enabled upon the main characters' meeting with them. In Legend of Mana, the spirits serve as factors in the Land Creation System. In Legend of Mana and Sword of Mana, multiple spirits of the same elemental type appear. In terms of storyline, in Trials of Mana and Heroes of Mana, the spirits are charged to protect the Mana Stones in which the Mana Goddess sealed eight elemental benevodons (God-Beasts in the fan-translation of SD3). In Dawn of Mana ' s North American version, each spirit speaks with a particular European accent, such as French or Scottish.

Rabites, known as Rabi (ラビ) in the Japanese versions of the games, are cute, fictional, rabbit-like creatures appearing as a common enemy in the series since its beginning. The Rabite has become a sort of mascot for the Mana series, much the same way as the Chocobo represents Final Fantasy, and is one of its most recognizable icons. The Rabite resembles a bodiless, one-toothed rabbit with large ears that curve upward and form a point at the tip, and a round, puffy pink tail that moves by hopping along the ground. It is most commonly yellow colored, but also pink, lilac, black, and white, and are variously minor enemies, "superboss" characters and even friendly units and pets. Rabites are also mentioned in Final Fantasy X-2 with an accessory comically named "Rabite's Foot", which increases a character's luck statistics. Additionally, they appear in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in the description of one of the game's optional missions as an endangered species due to being poached for good luck charms. Rabites have appeared prevalently in several pieces of Mana merchandise, including plush dolls, cushions, lighters, mousepads, straps, telephone cards, and T-shirts.

Flammie, sometimes spelled Flammy, is the name of a fictional species of flying dragons, as well as the proper name of some its members, featured in several games of the series. A Flammie's appearance is a mixture of draconian, mammalian, and reptilian features, and its coloring has varied throughout the series. Flammies typically serve as a means of transportation in the game by allowing a player's characters to ride on a Flammie's back to different locations in the game's world. In Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana, the Super NES's Mode 7 graphic capabilities allows the player to control a Flammie from either a "behind the back" third-person or top-down perspective, and fly over the landscape as it scrolls beneath them. In terms of story, the Flammies were created by the Moon Gods, and are part of an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth as the stronger versions of Flammies—becoming part of a category of creature known as Mana Beasts (Benevodons in Trials of Mana), or God Beasts (神獣) in Japanese—destroy the world and the Mana Sword and Tree restore the world.

Music
The Mana series has had several different composers. Final Fantasy Adventure was composed by Kenji Ito; it was his second original score. Ito's music is mainly inspired by images from the game rather than outside influences. The scores for Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana were both composed by Hiroki Kikuta. Despite difficulties in dealing with the hardware limitations, Kikuta tried to express, in the music of Secret of Mana, two "contrasting styles", namely himself and the game. This was to create an original score which would be neither pop music nor standard game music. Kikuta worked on the music for the two games mostly by himself, spending nearly 24 hours a day in his office, alternating between composing and editing to create an immersive three-dimensional sound. Kikuta considers the score for Secret of Mana his favorite creation. His compositions for Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana were partly inspired by natural landscapes. In 1995, Kikuta released an experimental album of arranged music from the two installments, titled Secret of Mana +, which features one 50-minute-long track.

Legend of Mana's score was composed by Yoko Shimomura, and of all her compositions, she considers it the one that best expresses herself. Kenji Ito returned to the series with Sword of Mana. He also composed roughly one third of the Children of Mana soundtrack, while the rest was composed by Masaharu Iwata and Takayuki Aihara. Ito was the main composer for Dawn of Mana, assisted by Tsuyoshi Sekito, Masayoshi Soken, and Junya Nakano, as well as main theme composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. In North America, purchasers of Dawn of Mana from participating retailers were offered a sampler disc, titled Breath of Mana, which features a selection of tracks from the game. Shimomura has returned to the series with Heroes of Mana, while also contributing one song to Rise of Mana.

Printed adaptations
A five-volume manga based on Legend of Mana was drawn by Shiro Amano and published in Japan by Enterbrain between 2000 and 2002. It features a comedic story about the game's main character, here named Toto. A German version was published by Egmont Manga & Anime in 2003. A collection of four-panel comic strips, drawn by various authors and titled Sword of Mana Yonkoma Manga Theatre, was published in Japan by Square Enix on January 16, 2004. It included a questionnaire that, if sent back, allowed participants to win illustrations signed by Koichi Ishii and Shinichi Kameoka, as well as special T-shirts. Enterbrain also published a Sword of Mana manga adaptation in Japan on February 25, 2004, drawn by a collaboration of authors led by Shiro Amano. Two days later, Square Enix published a two-volume novelization of Sword of Mana in Japan written by Matsui Oohama. An original manga, named Seiken Densetsu: Princess of Mana, taking place 300 years after Children of Mana and starring the descendant of Ferrick, was drawn by Satsuki Yoshino and published in the Japanese magazine Gangan Powered from July 22, 2006, to May 27, 2010 and collected into five volumes.

Reception
The Mana series has been mostly well received, though each title has seen varied levels of success. RPGFan called Final Fantasy Adventure one of the best things to happen to the Game Boy, while IGN considered it the best action RPG on the console after The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. GameSpot referred to Secret of Mana as "one of Square's masterpieces on the SNES". The game has appeared on several list of top games, including ranked number 97 on Famitsu's top 100 games of all time. Trials of Mana was called "easily one of the best RPGs to come out of the 16-bit era" by Nintendo Life. Famitsu rated Legend of Mana at 31/40 and Heroes of Mana at 32/40. The NPD Group ranked Legend of Mana as the top seller the week of its release, and in 2006 was re-released as part of the Ultimate Hits series.

Many of the World of Mana titles have not been as critically successful as the original five games in the series, and though the franchise has been praised for their attempts at trying new ways of experiencing the games' fictional world, there have been various gameplay design flaws that have hindered the later games. 1UP.com commented that despite the game's excellent presentation and storytelling, Dawn of Mana did not match the level of gameplay of the early Mana games. Prior to the World of Mana games, RPGamer called the series a "treasured favorite". After the release of Heroes of Mana, they commented that the World of Mana series is "cursed", and the future of the series looked "bleak".

The music of the Mana series, especially Secret of Mana, has received wide acclaim and fan enthusiasm. The Secret of Mana soundtrack was one of the first official soundtracks of video games music released in the United States and thus before fully mainstream interest in RPGs. The Secret of Mana's opening theme, "Angel's Fear", was rated at number 7 on IGN's Top Ten RPG Title tracks, calling it a "magical title song that captures our hearts". It was also featured in the third Orchestral Game Concert. Secret of Mana is also the number 6 most remixed soundtrack on the popular video game music site OverClocked ReMix, with Trials of Mana tied at 18. The music of the other titles have also been well received. RPGFan called the music to Final Fantasy Adventure "addictive", despite its low, MIDI-like quality. GameSpy called Children of Mana's music some of the best Nintendo DS music yet and referred to it as "beautiful". Game Informer complimented Dawn of Mana's music, calling it good. IGN referred to Legend of Mana's music as "beautiful" and stated the background music brought "intensity", "suspense", and "subtle nuance" to the game. Other reviewers echoed similar praise to GameSpot, calling the music "excellently orchestrated" and RPGFan calling it one of the game's good points.

The Mana series has sold well overall, and as of March 2011, series titles have sold over 6 million units. The original Seiken Densetsu sold over 700,000 units, and its remake Sword of Mana sold over 277,000 copies in Japan. Secret of Mana has shipped over 1.83 million copies worldwide. Legend of Mana sold over 400,000 units in its first week alone as the highest-selling release that week in Japan, and over 700,000 copies in Japan by the end of the year. Children of Mana sold over 281,000 copies in Japan, and Dawn of Mana sold over 410,000 copies worldwide. Heroes of Mana sold over 178,000 copies worldwide. The PlayStation Vita version of Rise of Mana downloaded over 100,000 times. By 2021, the game series had sold over 8 million copies.

title: Mana (series)


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Pacific Community

The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and it has regional offices in Suva, Pohnpei, and Port Vila, as well as field staff in other locations in the Pacific. Its working languages are English and French. It primarily provides technical and scientific advice, and acts as a conduit for funding of development projects from donor nations. Unlike the slightly smaller Pacific Islands Forum, PaciCom is not a trade bloc, and does not deal with military or security issues.

PaciCom's regional development issues include climate change, disaster risk management, fisheries, food security, education, gender equality, human rights, non-communicable diseases, agriculture, forestry and land use, water resources, and youth employment.

History
The Pacific Community was founded in 1947 as the South Pacific Commission by six developed countries with strategic interests and territories in the region: Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The SPC's founding charter is the Canberra Agreement. In the aftermath of World War II, the six colonial powers which created the SPC arguably intended it to secure Western political and military interests in the postwar Pacific. Two founding members, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have since withdrawn from the SPC as the Pacific territories they controlled either gained independence or the right to represent themselves in the organization.

From the start, the SPC's role was constrained. The invitation from Australia and New Zealand to the US, France, the Netherlands and the UK to participate in a South Seas Commission Conference in 1947 included the statement that "the [South Pacific] Commission to be set up should not be empowered to deal in any way with political matters or questions of defense or security". This constraint on discussion (particularly the constraint on discussing nuclear weapons testing in the region) led to the 1971 creation of the South Pacific Forum (now Pacific Islands Forum), which not only excluded the more distant "metropolitan" powers of France, UK and US, but also at the time their Pacific island territories.

In 1949, the Pacific Community established its permanent headquarters in Nouméa, New Caledonia, at a former American military base. In 1995, a new headquarters was constructed close to the same location and the military base was demolished. A monument and plaque commemorating SPC's original headquarters location can be found on site of the Le Promenade complex at Anse Vata.

In 1962, the Pacific Community created the South Pacific Games Council with the goal of holding a regular Pacific wide sporting event. The first games Games were held in Suva, Fiji in 1963, with 646 participants from 13 Pacific territories taking part. Initially the Games were held at three-year intervals although this was subsequently expanded to four following the Tumon Games in Guam.

Dutch New Guinea, formerly represented in the SPC by the Netherlands, was transferred to United Nations authority in 1962 and to Indonesia the following year. Without any territory remaining in the region, the Netherlands withdrew from the SPC in 1962.

Governance of the SPC reflected the changing political environment. At inception, each member had equal representation and a single vote. When Western Samoa joined as newly independent state in 1965 the rules were changed to ensure that the Western foundation nations would maintain firm control over the organization. Australia was given five votes, France, Britain, New Zealand, and the United States four and Western Samoa just one.

In 1972, the first South Pacific Arts Festival was convened by SPC in Suva, Fiji. The event drew more than 1000 participants from 14 countries. In 1975 SPC created a Council of Pacific Arts, permanently making culture issues a part of the SPC mandate and establishing the Festival of Pacific Arts as a regular event.

In response to demand to rapid development of the Pacific regions media industry, SPC established a Regional Media Center in 1973 in collaboration with the recently created University of the South Pacific. The center produced audio material for the regions radio stations and provided training in video production.

With decolonization efforts expanding, newly independent states and nonindependent territories were also allowed to apply for membership. "As its membership grew, the character and scope of the SPC evolved to incorporate the indigenous peoples of the Pacific."

In 1983, at the Saipan Conference, unequal voting was abandoned, once again establishing a "one member, one vote" principle for SPC. However, this decision did not come without criticism as some pointed out that the combination of allowing membership to non-independent territories and establishing a one-vote per member principle effectively provided additional votes to France and the United States who continued to maintain control over Pacific territories. It was also during the Saipan Conference that the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA) was established, creating the only Pacific regional organization that was both fully representative of the Pacific, and fully governed by its membership.

In 1988, the SPC become a founding member of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific or CROP (formerly the South Pacific Organisations Coordinating Committee, SPOCC) "to improve cooperation, coordination, and collaboration among the various intergovernmental regional organisations to work toward achieving the common goal of sustainable development in the Pacific region".

The United Kingdom withdrew from the organisation in 1996 and rejoined in 1998. The UK withdrew a second time in 2004. The UK's interests in the Pacific Community were prior to Brexit primarily managed through the European Union, although the UK also is a direct donor for some projects. The UK rejoined in 2021 after reopening its high commissions in Tonga, Samoa and its embassy in Vanuatu in the past two years.

In 1996, the Pacific Heads of Agriculture and Livestock Programmes asked "to put in place, both in their countries and through regional cooperation, policies to conserve, protect and best utilize their plant genetic resources". As these resources were considered a shared regional responsibility, it made sense for a regional organization to respond to this need. SPC established the Regional Germplasm Centre (RGC) in 1998. The facility grew rapidly and in 2007 was renamed Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT). It currently holds more than 2000 varieties of genetic material on Pacific strains of taro, banana, breadfruit and others, and has been instrumental in helping to rebuild island agriculture after disasters.

In 2000, SPC became the first CROP organization to be headed by a woman, Lourdes Pangelinan of Guam, who served in the role from 2000 to 2006.

Pacific Way television series
The SPC began producing a television program, known as The Pacific Way, in 1995. Supported by UNESCO as a trial for exchanging news stories, the first season was shared freely with just one tape circulated between TV stations in several Pacific Island nations. The programs' regional and local focus made it popular addition to local television schedules and at its height was producing and distributing 26 annual episodes to 21 TV stations around the region. Since 2017, the Pacific Way has been developing 10 episodes per season for television and has been reintroduced to radio through its complementary podcasts. The half-hour show shares development stories about the Pacific for the Pacific. It covers important topics and key issues, such as climate change adaptation, health, youth employment, innovation in agriculture, fisheries management and the protection of cultural heritage.

Name and logo
While the acronym "SPC" has been consistent since the organization's founding in 1947, the name and logo have evolved over the years. The organization's original name was the South Pacific Commission, which represented the limited nature of its membership and activities. The name was changed in 1997 to the Pacific Community, reflecting the growth of membership across the entire Pacific region. The current logo was officially adopted in 2015.

Present
The Pacific Community today includes 22 Pacific island countries and territories, which were all previously territories (or, in the case of Tonga, a protectorate) of the original founding members of the SPC, along with the developed countries of Australia, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States:

The SPC is concentrated on providing technical and scientific advice to its member governments and administrations, particularly in areas where small island states lack the wherewithal to maintain purely national cadres of expertise, or in areas where regional co-operation or interaction is necessary.

The operational budget of the Pacific Community in 2018 was approximately €82 million. The organization is financially supported through a combination of membership fees and donor funding. Its major funding partners include the European Union, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the governments of France and the United States. Additional funding and knowledge partners include:

• Australian Bureau of Statistics

• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

• Australian Council for Educational Research

• Conservation International

• Food and Agriculture Organization

• French Development Agency

• French Facility for Global Environment

• German Corporation for International Cooperation

• Global Environment Facility

• Government of Sweden

• International Atomic Energy Agency

• International Foundation for Aids to Navigation

• International Fund for Agricultural Development

• International Labour Organization

• International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

• Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology

• Melanesian Spearhead Group

• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

• UN Women

• UNICEF

• United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• United Nations Development Programme

• United Nations Population Fund

• United States Agency for International Development

• Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission

• World Bank

• World Health Organization

Divisions
The SPC works across more than 25 sectors. It is involved in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, statistics and education. Using a multi-sector approach in responding to its members' development priorities, SPC draws on skills and capabilities from around the region and internationally, and supports the empowerment of Pacific communities and sharing of expertise and skills between countries and territories.

SPC currently has nine divisions:

 * Climate Change and Environmental Stability (CCES)
 * Educational Quality and Assessment Program (EQAP)
 * Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems (FAME)
 * Geoscience Energy and Maritime (GEM)
 * Land Resources Division (LRD)
 * Public Health Division (PHD)
 * Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT)
 * Social Development Program (SDP)
 * Statistics for Development (SDD)

CROP agencies

 * Pacific Islands Forum
 * Pacific Regional Environment Programme
 * University of the South Pacific
 * Forum Fisheries Agency
 * South Pacific Tourism Organisation
 * Pacific Aviation Safety Office

Others

 * Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees
 * Festival of Pacific Arts
 * Pacific Games
 * Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network (PIFON)
 * Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO)
 * Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC)
 * Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
 * International organization

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Pacific Community


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Mergus

Mergus is the genus of the typical mergansers fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird.

The common merganser (Mergus merganser) and red-breasted merganser (M. serrator) have broad ranges in the northern hemisphere. The Brazilian merganser (M. octosetaceus) is a South American duck, and one of the six most threatened waterfowl in the world, with possibly fewer than 250 birds in the wild. The scaly-sided merganser or "Chinese merganser" (M. squamatus) is an endangered species. It lives in temperate East Asia, breeding in the north and wintering in the south.

The hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus, formerly known as Mergus cucullatus) is not of this genus but is closely related. The other "aberrant" merganser, the smew (Mergellus albellus), is phylogenetically closer to goldeneyes (Bucephala).

Although they are seaducks, most of the mergansers prefer riverine habitats, with only the red-breasted merganser being common at sea. These large fish-eaters typically have black-and-white, brown and/or green hues in their plumage, and most have somewhat shaggy crests. All have serrated edges to their long and thin bills that help them grip their prey. Along with the smew and hooded merganser, they are therefore often known as "sawbills". The goldeneyes, on the other hand, feed mainly on mollusks, and therefore have a more typical duck-bill.

Mergus ducks are also classified as "diving ducks" because they submerge completely in looking for food. In other traits, however, the genera Mergus, Lophodytes, Mergellus, and Bucephala are very similar: uniquely among all Anseriformes, they do not have notches at the hind margin of their sternum, but holes surrounded by bone.

Taxonomy
The genus Mergus was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The genus name is the Latin word for an unidentified waterbird mentioned by Pliny the Elder and other authors; some sources have identified the original mergus as referring to either a cormorant or Scopoli's shearwater. The type species was designated as the common merganser (Mergus merganser) by Thomas Campbell Eyton in 1838.

Recent species
The genus contains four living species and two recently extinct species.

Fossil species
Some fossil members of this genus have been described:
 * Mergus miscellus is known from the Middle Miocene Calvert Formation (Barstovian, c.14 million years ago) of Virginia, USA.
 * Mergus connectens lived in the Early Pleistocene about 2–1 million years ago, in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Early Oligocene booby "Sula" ronzoni was at first mistakenly believed to be a typical merganser. A Late Serravallian (13–12 million years ago) fossil sometimes attributed to Mergus, found in the Sajóvölgyi Formation of Mátraszőlős, Hungary, probably belongs to Mergellus. The affiliations of the mysterious "Anas" albae from the Messinian (c. 7–5 million years ago) of Hungary are undetermined; it was initially believed to be a typical merganser too.

title: Mergus


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Petronius Maximus

Petronius Maximus (c. 397 –31 May 455) was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman magister militum, Aëtius, and the Western Roman emperor, Valentinian III.

After the assassination of the Western Roman magister militum, Aëtius, and the subsequent death of the Western Roman emperor, Valentinian III, Maximus secured the support of the Senate and utilized bribery to gain the favor of palace officials, enabling him to ascend to power. He strengthened his position by forcing Licinia Eudoxia, Valentinian's widow, to marry him and forcing her daughter Eudocia to marry his son, cancelling her betrothal to the son of the Vandal king Genseric. This infuriated both Eudocia and Genseric, who sent a fleet to Rome. Maximus failed to obtain troops from the Visigoths and he fled as the Vandals arrived, became detached from his retinue and bodyguard in the confusion, and was killed by fellow Romans. The Vandals thoroughly sacked Rome in their retaliatory invasion.

The reign of Petronius Maximus marked a significant period of instability and decline for the Western Roman Empire. His brief and controversial rule reflected the political fragmentation and lack of centralized authority that plagued the empire during its final years. The invasion and sacking of Rome by the Vandals underlined the growing vulnerability of the Western Roman Empire, which would ultimately culminate in its collapse in 476.

Early career
Petronius Maximus was born about 397. Although he was of obscure origin, it is believed that he belonged to the Anicius and Petronius families. Related to the later Emperor Olybrius, Maximus was the son of Anicius Probinus, and the grandson of Anicia Faltonia Proba and Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, who was prefect of Illyricum in 364, prefect of Gaul in 366, prefect of Italy from 368 to 375 and again in 383 and consul in 371.

Maximus had a remarkable early career. His earliest known office was praetor, held in about 411; around 415 he served as a tribunus et notarius, which was an entry position to the imperial bureaucracy and led to his serving as comes sacrarum largitionum (count of the sacred largess) between 416 and 419. From January or February 420 to August or September 421, he served as praefectus urbi of Rome, granting him executive authority for much of the municipal administration of Rome; he held the office again sometime before 439. During his tenure as praefectus, he undertook the restoration of the Old St. Peter's Basilica. Additionally, He was also appointed praetorian prefect, a leading military and judicial position, sometime between 421 and 439. It was either while holding this post or during his second urban prefecture that he was appointed consul for the year 433. Attaining the position of consul was considered the highest honor in the Roman state. From August 439 to February 441 he held the praetorian prefecture of Italy, the most important administrative and judicial non-imperial position in the Western Empire. He was awarded a second consulship in 443. In 445, he was granted the title of patrician, the empire's senior honorific title, which was limited to a very small number of holders. During this year he was briefly the most honoured of all non-imperial Romans until the third consulate of Flavius Aëtius, generalissimo, or magister militum, of the Western Empire, the following year. Between 443 and 445 Maximus built a forum, the Forum Petronii Maximi, in Rome, on the Caelian Hill between the via Labicana and the Basilica di San Clemente.

Murder of Valentinian III and accession of Maximus
According to the historian John of Antioch, Maximus poisoned the mind of the Emperor against Aëtius, resulting in the murder of his rival at the hands of Valentinian III. John's account has it that Valentinian and Maximus placed a wager on a game that Maximus ended up losing. As he did not have the money available, Maximus left his ring as a guarantee of his debt. Valentinian then used the ring to summon to court Lucina, the chaste and beautiful wife of Maximus, whom Valentinian had long lusted after. Lucina went to the court, believing she had been summoned by her husband, but instead found herself at dinner with Valentinian. Although she initially resisted his advances, the Emperor managed to wear her down and succeeded in raping her. Returning home and meeting Maximus, she accused him of betrayal, believing that he had handed her over to the Emperor. Although Maximus swore revenge, he was equally motivated by ambition to supplant "a detested and despicable rival", so he decided to move against Valentinian.

According to John of Antioch, Maximus was acutely aware that while Aëtius was alive he could not exact vengeance on Valentinian, so Aëtius had to be removed. He therefore allied himself with a eunuch of Valentinian's, the primicerius sacri cubiculi Heraclius, who had long opposed the general, with the hope of exercising more power over the emperor. The two of them convinced Valentinian that Aëtius was planning to assassinate him and urged him to kill his magister militum during a meeting, which Valentinian did with his own hands, with the help of Heraclius, on 21 September 454.

Once Aëtius was dead, Maximus asked Valentinian for Aëtius's now-vacant position, but the Emperor refused; Moreover, Heraclius had advised the Emperor not to allow anyone to possess the power that Aëtius had wielded. According to John of Antioch, Maximus was so irritated by Valentinian's refusal to appoint him as his magister militum that he decided to have Valentinian assassinated as well. He chose as accomplices Optilia and Thraustila, two Scythians who had fought under the command of Aetius and who, after the death of their general, had been appointed as Valentinian's escort.

Maximus easily convinced them that Valentinian was the only one responsible for the death of Aetius, and that the two soldiers must avenge their old commander, while at the same time also promising them a reward for the betrayal of the Emperor. On 16 March 455 Valentinian, who was in Rome, went to Campus Martius with some guards, accompanied by Optilia, Thraustila and their men. As soon as the Emperor dismounted to practice with the bow, Optilia came up with his men and stabbed him in the temple. As Valentinian turned to look at his attacker, Optila finished him off with another thrust of his blade. At the same moment, Thraustila killed Heraclius. The two Scythians took the imperial diadem and robe and brought them to Maximus.

The sudden and violent death of Valentinian III left the Western Roman Empire without an obvious successor to the throne. Several candidates were supported by various groups of the imperial bureaucracy and the military. In particular, the army's support was split among three main candidates: Maximianus, the former domesticus (bodyguard) of Aëtius, who was the son of an Egyptian merchant named Domninus who had become rich in Italy; the future emperor Majorian, who commanded the army after the death of Aetius and who had the backing of the Empress Licinia Eudoxia; and Maximus himself, who had the support of the Roman Senate and who secured the throne on 17 March by distributing money to the officials of the imperial palace.

Reign and death
After gaining control of the royal palace, Maximus consolidated his hold on power by immediately marrying Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of Valentinian. She married him reluctantly, suspecting that he had been involved in the murder of her late husband; and indeed Maximus treated Valentinian III's assassins with considerable favour. The eastern court at Constantinople refused to recognise his accession. To further secure his position Maximus quickly appointed Avitus as magister militum and sent him on a mission to Toulouse to gain the support of the Visigoths. He also proceeded to cancel the betrothal of Licinia's daughter, Eudocia, to Huneric, the son of the Vandal king Geiseric, and married her to his own son. Again he anticipated that this would further his and his family's imperial credentials. This repudiation infuriated the Vandal king, who only needed the excuse of Licinia's despairing appeal to the Vandal court to begin preparations for the invasion of Italy.

By May, within two months of Maximus gaining the throne, news reached Rome that Geiseric was sailing for Italy. As the news spread, panic gripped the city and many of its inhabitants took to flight. The Emperor, aware that Avitus had not yet returned with the expected Visigothic aid, decided that it was fruitless to mount a defence against the Vandals. So he attempted to organise his escape, urging the Senate to accompany him. However, in the panic, Petronius Maximus was abandoned by his bodyguard and entourage and left to fend for himself.

As Maximus rode out of the city on his own on 31 May 455, he was set upon by an angry mob, which stoned him to death (another account has it that he was killed by "a certain Roman soldier named Ursus"). His body was mutilated and flung into the Tiber. He had reigned for only 75 days. His son from his first marriage, Palladius, who had held the title of caesar between 17 March and 31 May, and who had married his stepsister Eudocia, was probably executed.

Aftermath

On 2 June 455, three days after Maximus' death, Geiseric captured the city of Rome and sacked it for two weeks. Amidst the pillaging and looting of the city, and in response to the pleas of Pope Leo I, the Vandals are said to have refrained from arson, torture, and murder. Some modern historians assert that temples, public buildings, private houses and even the emperor's palace were destroyed. The Vandals also shipped many boatloads of Romans to North Africa as slaves, destroyed works of art and killed a number of citizens. The Vandals' activities during the sack gave rise to the modern term vandalism. Geiseric also carried away the empress Licinia Eudoxia and her daughters Placidia and Eudocia.

title: Petronius Maximus


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Vireo

The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. The family contains 62 species and is divided into eight genera. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migratory bird, perhaps the female golden oriole, possibly the European greenfinch.

They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills. They range in size from the Chocó vireo, dwarf vireo and lesser greenlet, all at around 10 cm and 8g, to the peppershrikes and shrike-vireos at up to 17 cm and 40g.

Distribution and habitat
Most species are found in Middle America and northern South America. Thirteen species of true vireos occur farther north, in the United States, Bermuda and Canada; of these all but Hutton's vireo are migratory. Members of the family seldom fly long distances except in migration. They inhabit forest environments, with different species preferring forest canopies, undergrowth, or mangrove swamps.

A few species in the genus Vireo have appeared on the eastern side of the Atlantic as vagrants to the Western Palearctic.

Behaviour
The resident species occur in pairs or family groups that maintain territories all year (except Hutton's vireo, which joins mixed feeding flocks). Most of the migrants defend winter territories against conspecifics. The exceptions are the complex comprising the red-eyed vireo, the yellow-green vireo, the black-whiskered vireo, and the Yucatan vireo, which winter in small wandering flocks.

Voice
Males of most species are persistent singers. Songs are usually rather simple, monotonous in some species of the Caribbean littoral and islands, and most elaborate and pleasant to human ears in the Chocó vireo and the peppershrikes.

Breeding
The nests of many tropical species are unknown. Of those that are known, all build a cup-shaped nest that hangs from branches. The female does most of the incubation, spelled by the male except in the red-eyed vireo complex.

Feeding
All members of the family eat some fruit but mostly insects and other arthropods. They take prey from leaves and branches; true vireos also flycatch, and the gray vireo takes 5 percent of its prey from the ground.

Systematics
The six genera of these birds make up the family Vireonidae, and are believed to be related to the crow-like birds in family Corvidae and the shrikes in family Laniidae. Recent biochemical studies have identified two babbler genera (Pteruthius and Erpornis) which may be Old World members of this family. Observers have commented on the vireo-like behaviour of the Pteruthius shrike-babblers, but apparently no-one suspected the biogeographically unlikely possibility of vireo relatives in Asia.

The family can be conveniently though perhaps inaccurately categorised by genus as the true vireos, the greenlets, the shrike-vireos and the peppershrikes. Preliminary genetic studies by Johnson et al. revealed large interspecific genetic distances between clades within Vireo and Hylophilus of a similar magnitude to differences between Cyclarhis and Vireolanius. Furthermore, some vireo and greenlet species may be closer to the peppershrikes than to their respective congeners. A more comprehensive study may reveal this family to be considerably undersplit at both the generic and species level.

title: Vireo


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Demetrius of Phalerum

Demetrius of Phalerum (also Demetrius of Phaleron or Demetrius Phalereus; Δημήτριος ὁ Φαληρεύς; c. 350 – c. 280 BC) was an Athenian orator originally from Phalerum, an ancient port of Athens. A student of Theophrastus, and perhaps of Aristotle, he was one of the first members of the Peripatetic school of philosophy. Demetrius had been a distinguished statesman who was appointed by Cassander, the King of Macedon, to govern Athens, where Demetrius ruled as sole ruler for ten years. During this time, he introduced important reforms of the legal system, while also maintaining pro-Cassander oligarchic rule.

Demetrius was exiled by his enemies in 307 BC. He first went to Thebes, and then, after 297 BC, went to the court of Alexandria. He wrote extensively on the subjects of history, rhetoric, and literary criticism. He is not to be confused with his grandson, also called Demetrius of Phaleron, who probably served as regent of Athens between 262 and 255, on behalf of the Macedonian King Antigonos Gonatas.

Life
Demetrius was born in Phalerum, c. 350 BC. He was the son of Phanostratus, a man without rank or property, and was brother to the anti-Macedonian orator Himeraeus. He was educated, together with the poet Menander, in the school of Theophrastus. He began his public career about 325 BC, at the time of the disputes concerning Harpalus, and soon acquired a great reputation by the talent he displayed in public speaking. He belonged to the pro-oligarchic party of Phocion, and he acted in the spirit of that statesman. When Xenocrates was unable to pay the new tax on metics (foreign residents) c. 322 BC, and the Athenians threatened him with slavery, he was only saved (according to one story) when Demetrius purchased his debt and paid his tax. After the death of Phocion in 317 BC, Cassander placed Demetrius at the head of the administration of Athens. He filled this office for ten years, instituting extensive legal reforms. The Athenians conferred upon him the most extraordinary distinctions (almost all of which were revoked after his later expulsion from Athens), and no fewer than 360 statues were erected to him. However, Demetrius was unpopular with the lower classes of Athenians and with pro-democratic political factions, who resented the limitations he placed on the democratic franchise and viewed him as little more than a pro-Macedonian puppet ruler.

According to Stephen V. Tracy, the story about the statues was not historical; also he argues that Demetrius later played a big role in the foundation of the Library of Alexandria.

He remained in power until 307 BC when Cassander's enemy, Demetrius Poliorcetes captured Athens, and Demetrius was obliged to take to flight. It was claimed that during the latter period of his administration he had abandoned himself to every kind of excess, and we are told he squandered 1200 talents a year on dinners, parties, and love affairs. Carystius of Pergamum mentions that he had a lover by the name of Theognis, of whom all the Athenian boys were jealous. After his exile, his enemies contrived to induce the people of Athens to pass the death sentence upon him, in consequence of which his friend Menander nearly fell victim. All his statues, with the exception of one, were demolished.

Demetrius first went to Thebes, and then (after Cassander's death in 297 BC) to the court of Ptolemy I Soter at Alexandria, with whom he lived for many years on the best terms, and who is even said to have entrusted to him the revision of the laws of his kingdom. During his stay at Alexandria, he devoted himself mainly to literary pursuits, ever cherishing the recollection of his own country.

On the accession of Ptolemy Philadelphus, Demetrius fell into disfavour (he apparently supported the wrong candidate, Ptolemy Keraunos), and was sent into exile to Upper Egypt. According to one account a statue at Memphis Saqqara was attributed to him. He is said to have died from the bite of a venomous snake and was buried in Diospolis Kato. His death appears to have taken place soon after the year 283 BC.

Literary works
Demetrius was the last among the Attic orators worthy of the name, after which the activity went into a decline. His orations were characterised as being soft, graceful, and elegant, rather than sublime like those of Demosthenes. His numerous writings, the greater part of which he probably composed during his residence in Egypt, embraced a wide range of subjects, and the list of them given by Diogenes Laërtius shows that he was a man of the most extensive acquirements. These works, which were partly historical, partly political, partly philosophical (e.g. Aisopeia, a collection of Aesopic Fables), and partly poetical, have all perished. The work On Style (Περὶ ἑρμηνείας) which has come down under his name, is the work of a later writer, c. 2nd century AD.

Education and arts
The performance of tragedy had fallen into disuse in Athens, on account of the great expense involved. In order to afford the people less costly and yet intellectual amusement, he caused the Homeric and other poems to be recited on the stage by rhapsodists.

According to Strabo, Demetrius inspired the creation of the Mouseion, the location of the Library of Alexandria, which was modelled after the arrangement of Aristotle's school. The Mouseion contained a peripatos (covered walkway), a syssition (room for communal dining) and a categorized organization of scrolls.

According to the earliest source of information, the pseudepigraphic Letter of Aristeas composed between c. 180, the library was initially organized by Demetrius of Phaleron, under the reign of Ptolemy I Soter (c. 367). Other sources claim it was instead created under the reign of his son Ptolemy II (283–246 BC).

Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laërtius devotes a section of his The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers to Demetrius Phalereus.

Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, in the Lectures on the History of Philosophy, says of Demetrius Phalereus that "Demetrius Phalereus and others were thus soon after [Alexander] honoured and worshipped in Athens as God." What the exact source was for Hegel's claim is unclear. Diogenes Laërtius does not mention this.

Apparently, Hegel's error comes from a misreading of Plutarch's Life of Demetrius which is about Demetrius Poliorcetes and not Demetrius Phalereus. But Plutarch describes in the work how Demetrius Poliorcetes conquered Demetrius Phalereus at Athens. Then, in chapter 12 of the work, Plutarch describes how Demetrius Poliorcetes was given honours due to the god Dionysus. Somehow this account by Plutarch was confusing not only for Hegel but for others as well.

title: Demetrius of Phalerum


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Procopius (usurper)

Procopius (Ancient Greek: Προκόπιος; 326 – 27 May 366) was a Roman usurper against Valens.

Life
Procopius was a native of Cilicia and born in Corycus around the year 326. On his mother's side, Procopius was a maternal cousin, to Emperor Julian, since their maternal grandfather was Julius Julianus. His first wife was probably Artemisia. The Roman general of the 5th century Procopius and his son, the Emperor Anthemius, were among his descendants, the first being the son of his son Procopius.

During the reign of Constantius II, he served as tribunus et notarius for a long period of time. By 358, the emperor trusted him enough to send him with Lucillianus as an envoy to the Sassanid court. His career granted him the opportunity to build many important connections, as well as to help him understand the structure of the imperial government.

Procopius entered Julian's retinue and took part in his campaign against the Sassanids in 363. Together with Sebastianus he was entrusted with controlling the upper Tigris with 30,000 men and, if possible, joining King Arsaces II of Armenia and marching southward, to reach Julian's army in Assyria. However, Julian died and, when Procopius reached the main Roman army near Thilsaphata, between Nisibis and Singara, he met the new emperor, Jovian.

Though Julian had died without naming a successor, a rumor spread that he had ordered Procopius to take the purple in case of his death. Fearing Jovian's wrath, which had caused the death of another army candidate to the throne (Jovianus), Procopius went into hiding, but later supervised the transport of Julian's body to Tarsus and its subsequent burial, and only later went to Caesarea with his family.

After Jovian's death, the new emperors, Valentinian I and Valens, sent some soldiers to arrest Procopius. He surrendered, but asked to meet his family; he had his captors dine and drink, and then seized the opportunity to flee with his family, first to the Black Sea and later to the Tauric Chersonese, where they hid. However, Procopius lived in constant fear of betrayal or exposure, and decided to go to Constantinople, the Empire's capital, to ask Strategius for help.

Becoming aware of discontent caused by the policies of Valens’ praetorian prefect and father-in-law, Petronius, Procopius decided to declare himself Emperor. He bribed two legions which were then resting at Constantinople to support his efforts, and took control of the imperial city. Shortly after this he proclaimed himself Emperor on 28 September 365, and quickly took control of the provinces of Thrace, and later Bithynia. Procopius promoted himself as an educated philosopher, well versed in the Greek language of the Eastern Empire, and highlighted Valens' weakness in this area, to gain the support of the Hellenized Eastern aristocrats. He also emphasized his link to the Constantinian dynasty by appearing in public with Constantius II’s widow Faustina and their daughter Constantia, an act which Ammianus considered to have earned him greater support.

Though Valens initially despaired of subduing the rebellion, and was inclined to come to terms with the usurper, he quickly rallied, guided by the counsels of Salutius and Arintheus, and the superior ability of his generals prevailed in two battles at Thyatira and Nacolia where Procopius' forces were defeated. He fled the battlefield, and was for a while a fugitive in the wilds of Phrygia, but was soon betrayed to Valens due to the treachery of his two generals Agilonius and Gomoarius, he was captured. Valens had his rival executed on 27 May 366 through beheading. His head was then sent to Valens’ elder brother and co-emperor Valentinian I.

title: Procopius (usurper)


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Henry Williamson

Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history, ruralism and the First World War. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book Tarka the Otter.

He was born in London, and brought up in a semi-rural area where he developed his love of nature, and nature writing. He fought in the First World War and, having witnessed the Christmas truce and the devastation of trench warfare, he developed first a pacifist ideology, then fascist sympathies. He moved to Devon after the Second World War and took up farming and writing; he wrote many other novels. He married twice. He died in a hospice in Ealing in 1977, and was buried in North Devon.

Early years
Henry Williamson was born in Brockley in south-east London to bank clerk William Leopold Williamson (1865-1946) and Gertrude Eliza (1867-1936; née Leaver). In early childhood his family moved to Ladywell, and he received a grammar school education at Colfe's School. The then semi-rural location provided easy access to the Kent countryside, and he developed a deep love of nature throughout his childhood.

First World War
On 22 January 1914, Williamson volunteered as a rifleman with the 5th (City of London) Battalion of the London Regiment, part of the British Army's Territorial Force, and was mobilised when war was declared upon Imperial Germany on 5 August 1914.

In November 1914, he went to France with the London Rifle Brigade's 1st Battalion, entering the Western Front's trenches in the Ypres Salient, where he witnessed the Christmas Truce between British and German troops. In January 1915, he was withdrawn from the winter trenches with trench foot and dysentery and evacuated back to Britain. After convalescence, he was commissioned on 10 April 1915 as a second lieutenant with the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment. In May 1915, he was attached for training to the 2/1st Cambridgeshire Regiment at Newmarket. In October 1915, he was transferred to the 25th Middlesex Regiment at Hornchurch. He volunteered to specialise in machine-gun warfare, and in January 1916, joined No. 208 Machine Gun Company of the Machine Gun Corps at Belton Park, Grantham. In May 1916, he entered hospital in London with anaemia, and was granted two months' medical leave. He rejoined No. 208 MGC and in February 1917 departed Britain with it for the Western Front, the unit taking the field with the 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. Williamson acted as his company's transport officer and, in June 1917, he was gassed while transporting ammunition up to the front line. He was returned to the UK, spending the next few months in military convalescent hospitals. In September 1917, he was attached for garrison duty as the adjutant of the 3rd Bedfordshire Regiment at Felixstowe. Classed B1 by an Army Medical Board, from the effects of the gas, he was judged to be unfit for active service. After a year at Felixstowe, and frustrated at the nature of garrison life, Williamson attempted to get back to front-line action in September 1918 with an application to be transferred to the Royal Air Force, but this was rejected due to his medical classification. He then applied for a transfer to the Indian Army, which was granted, but the war was ending and the order was cancelled. He spent a year afterwards on administrative duties demobilising soldiers from military camps on the south east coast of England, and was discharged from the army himself on 19 September 1919.

Williamson became disgusted with what he considered to be the pointlessness of the war, blaming its causation on greed and bigotry. He became determined that Germany and Britain should never go to war again. Williamson was also powerfully influenced by the camaraderie that he had experienced in the trenches, and what he saw as the bonds of kinship that existed between the ordinary British and German soldiers.

Early writing
He told of his war experiences in The Wet Flanders Plain (1929), The Patriot's Progress (1930) and in many of his books in the semi-autobiographical 15-book series A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight (1951–1969).

After the war, he read Richard Jefferies' book The Story of My Heart and this inspired him to begin writing seriously. In 1921, he moved to Georgeham, Devon, initially living in Skirr Cottage there. He married Ida Loetitia Hibbert in 1925; they had six children. One daughter, Margaret, was the first wife of the guitarist and lutenist Julian Bream.

In 1927 Williamson published his most acclaimed book, Tarka the Otter; it won him the Hawthornden Prize in 1928, and made him enough money to pay for the wooden hut near Georgeham where he wrote many of his later books, often sitting alone there for 15 hours a day. The wooden writing hut was granted Grade II listed status by English Heritage in July 2014 because of its "historical interest". Tarka also sparked a friendship with T. E. Lawrence who had similar views about the need for a lasting peace settlement in Europe. Lawrence died in May 1935 shortly after receiving a telegram from Williamson, which has sparked some conspiracy theories.

In 1936 he bought a farm in Stiffkey, Norfolk. The Story of a Norfolk Farm (1941) is his account of his first years of farming there.

Politics
In 1935, Williamson visited the National Socialist German Workers Party Congress at Nuremberg and was greatly impressed, particularly with the Hitler Youth movement, which he viewed as having a healthy outlook on life compared with the London slums. He had a "well-known belief that Hitler was essentially a good man who wanted only to build a new and better Germany." Opposed to war and believing that wars were caused by Jewish "usurial moneyed interests", he was attracted to Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists and joined it in 1937. Mosley became Hereward Birkin in Williamson's Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight (possibly a reference to Hereward the Wake and Freda May Birkin, or possibly a reference to Chattie Wake who married Michel Hewitt Salaman who became master of the Exmoor Hunt 1908-11-see Piers P Read's biography of Alec Guinness).

On the day of the British declaration of war, Williamson suggested to friends that he might fly to Germany to speak with Hitler to persuade him away from war. Following a meeting with Mosley later that day, however, he was dissuaded from his plan. At the start of the Second World War, Williamson was briefly held under Defence Regulation 18B for his political views. Visiting London in January 1944, he observed with satisfaction that what he perceived as the ugliness and immorality represented by its financial and banking sector had been "relieved a little by a catharsis of high explosive" and somewhat "purified by fire". In The Gale of the World, the last book of his Chronicle, published in 1969, Williamson has his main character Phillip Maddison question the moral and legal validity of the Nuremberg Trials.

Williamson initially retained a close relationship with Mosley in the immediate aftermath of the war, but when he brought Mosley as his guest to the Savage Club, the former BUF leader was asked to leave. Williamson refused Mosley's invitation that he join the newly established Union Movement and indeed, his suggestion to Mosley that Mosley should instead join him in abandoning politics altogether led to the two men falling out. Nonetheless, Williamson would write for the Mosleys' theoretical journal The European. He also continued to express admiration after the war for aspects of Nazi Germany.

Post-war life and writing
After the war, the family left the farm. In 1946 Williamson went to live alone at Ox's Cross, Georgeham in North Devon, where he built a small house in which to write. In 1947 Henry and Loetitia divorced. Williamson fell in love with a young teacher, Christine Duffield, and they were married in 1949. He began to write his series of fifteen novels collectively known as A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight. In 1950, the year his only child by this marriage Harry Williamson was born, he edited a collection of poems and short stories by James Farrar, a promising young poet who had died, at the age of 20, in the Second World War. From 1951 to 1969 Williamson produced almost one novel a year while contributing regularly to the Sunday Express and The European magazine, edited by Diana Mosley. He also contributed a number of reviews and articles to The Sunday Times.

In 1964 he had a short affair with the novelist Ann Quin, who was nearly forty years his junior (he had previously had an affair with his secretary Myfanwy Thomas, daughter of poet Edward Thomas). All this put great strain on his marriage and, in 1968, Christine and he were divorced after years of separation.

In 1974 he began working on a script for a film treatment of Tarka the Otter, but it was not regarded as suitable to film, being 400,000 words long. Filming went on, unbeknownst to him, and the film of Tarka the Otter, narrated by Peter Ustinov, was released in 1979.

Death
After a general anaesthetic for a minor operation, Williamson's health failed catastrophically; one day he was walking and chopping wood, the next day he was unrecognisable and had forgotten who his family were. Suffering from senile dementia, he moved into a hospice at Twyford Abbey in Ealing. He died there on 13 August 1977, by coincidence on the day that the death scene of Tarka was being filmed. His body was buried in the graveyard of St George's Church, Georgeham, North Devon. At a service of thanksgiving in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Ted Hughes delivered the memorial address.

Henry Williamson Society
The Henry Williamson Society was founded in 1980. His first wife, Loetitia, supported the society until her death in 1998 and his son, Richard, is its president.

The Flax of Dream
A tetralogy following the life of Willie Maddison.
 * The Beautiful Years (1921)
 * Dandelion Days (1922)
 * The Dream of Fair Women (1924)
 * The Pathway (1928)

A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight
A sequence of fifteen novels following the life of Phillip Maddison from his birth in the late 1890s till the early 1950s. The books were based loosely on Williamson's own life and experiences. If considered as one novel, it is one of the longest in English.

 * The Dark Lantern (1951)
 * Donkey Boy (1952)
 * Young Phillip Maddison (1953)
 * How Dear Is Life (1954)
 * A Fox Under My Cloak (1955)
 * The Golden Virgin (1957)
 * Love and the Loveless (1958)
 * A Test to Destruction (1960)
 * The Innocent Moon (1961)
 * It Was the Nightingale (1962)
 * The Power of the Dead (1963)
 * The Phoenix Generation (1965)
 * A Solitary War (1967)
 * Lucifer Before Sunrise (1967)
 * The Gale of the World (1969)

Other Works

 * The Lone Swallows (1922)
 * The Peregrine's Saga, and Other Stories of the Country Green (1923)
 * The Old Stag (1926)
 * Tarka the Otter (1927)
 * The Linhay on the Downs (1929)
 * The Ackymals (1929)
 * The Wet Flanders Plain (1929)
 * The Patriot’s Progress (1930)
 * The Village Book (1930)
 * The Labouring Life (1932)
 * The Wild Red Deer of Exmoor (1931)
 * The Star-born (1933)
 * The Gold Falcon or the Haggard of Love (1933)
 * On Foot in Devon (1933)
 * The Linhay on the Downs and Other Adventures in the Old and New Worlds (1934)
 * Devon Holiday (1935)
 * Salar the Salmon (1935)
 * Goodbye West Country (1937)
 * The Children of Shallowford (1939)
 * The Story of a Norfolk Farm (1941)
 * Genius of Friendship: T. E. Lawrence (1941; reprinted by the Henry Williamson Society 1988; e-book 2014)
 * As the Sun Shines (1941)
 * The Incoming of Summer (undated)
 * Life in A Devon Village (1945)
 * Tales of a Devon Village (1945)
 * The Sun in the Sands (1945)
 * The Phasian Bird (1948)
 * The Scribbling Lark (1949)
 * Tales of Moorland and Estuary (1953)
 * A Clear Water Stream (1958)
 * In The Woods, a biographical fragment (1960)
 * The Scandaroon (1972)

Writings published posthumously by the Henry Williamson Society

 * Days of Wonder (1987; e-book 2013)
 * From a Country Hilltop (1988; e-book 2013)
 * A Breath of Country Air (2 vols, 1990–91; e-book 2013)
 * Spring Days in Devon, and Other Broadcasts (1992; e-book 2013)
 * Pen and Plough: Further Broadcasts (1993; e-book 2014)
 * Threnos for T.E. Lawrence and Other Writings (1994; e-book 2014)
 * Green Fields and Pavements (1995; e-book 2013)
 * The Notebook of a Nature-lover (1996; e-book 2013)
 * Words on the West Wind: Selected Essays from The Adelphi (2000; e-book 2013)
 * Indian Summer Notebook: A Writer's Miscellany (2001; e-book 2013)
 * Heart of England: Contributions to the Evening Standard 1939-41 (2003; e-book 2013)
 * Chronicles of a Norfolk Farmer: Contributions to the Daily Express 1937-39 (2004; e-book 2013)
 * Stumberleap, and other Devon Writings: Contributions to the Daily Express and Sunday Express, 1915-1935 (2005; e-book 2013)
 * Atlantic Tales: Contributions to the Atlantic Monthly 1927-1947 (2007; e-book 2013)

title: Henry Williamson


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Talk:Drainage basin

Watersheds in the curriculum
Does this section really belong in an encyclopedia article? Which curriculum? Which country? And surely the vast majority of articles in Wikipedia cover topics that are present in the curriculum of some educational establishment, somewhere in the world? --Lancevortex 23:01, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * I do not think it does belong here, and so I've been bold and removed it. Worldtraveller 11:34, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Another Word
Is the word 'river catchment' also used as a name for a drainage basin? Watch Atlas791 (talk) 21:40, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

APPLICATION OF SWAT MODEL FOR ESTIMATING RUNOFF AT JIGJIGA DRY RIVER WATERSHED, SOMALI REGION, ETHIOPIA. FOR ESTIMATING RUNOFF AT JIGJIGA DRY RIVER WATERSHED, SOMALI REGION, ETHIOPIA.
APPLICATION OF SWAT MODEL FOR ESTIMATING RUNOFF. Addow.AT (talk) 15:09, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Drainage basin


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User:Sugarfish

User:Sugarfish/Sandbox >

title: User:Sugarfish


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Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by providing fuel and stores through replenishment at sea, transporting Royal Marines and British Army personnel, providing medical care and transporting equipment and essentials around the world. In addition the RFA acts independently providing humanitarian aid, counter piracy and counter narcotic patrols together with assisting the Royal Navy in preventing conflict and securing international trade. They are a uniformed civilian branch of the Royal Navy staffed by British merchant sailors. The RFA is one of five RN fighting arms.

RFA personnel are civilian employees of the Ministry of Defence and members of the Royal Naval Reserve and Sponsored Reserves. Although RFA personnel wear Merchant Navy rank insignia with naval uniforms, they are part of the Royal Navy. RFA vessels are commanded and crewed by these sailors, augmented with regular and reserve Royal Navy personnel who perform specialised functions such as operating and maintaining helicopters or providing hospital facilities. Royal Navy personnel are also needed to operate certain weapons, such as the Phalanx; however, other weapons (such as the DS30B 30 mm cannon) are operated by RFA personnel. The RFA counts an aviation support vessel and dock landing ships amongst its assets.

History
The RFA was established in 1905 to provide logistical support for the Navy. Since the Royal Navy of that era possessed the largest network of bases around the world of any fleet, the RFA at first took a relatively minor role.

The RFA first became heavily relied upon by the Royal Navy during World War II, when the British fleet was often far from available bases, either due to the enemy capturing such bases, or, in the Pacific, because of the sheer distances involved. World War II also saw naval ships staying at sea for much longer periods than had been the case since the days of sail. Techniques of replenishment at sea (RAS) were developed. The auxiliary fleet comprised a diverse collection, with not only RFA ships, but also commissioned warships and merchantmen as well. The need for the fleet to be maintained was unambiguously demonstrated by World War II.

After 1945, the RFA became the Royal Navy's main source of support in the many conflicts that the Navy was involved in. The RFA performed important service to the Far East Fleet off Korea from 1950 until 1953, when sustained carrier operations were again mounted in Pacific waters. During the extended operations of the Konfrontasi in the 1960s, the RFA was also heavily involved. As the network of British bases overseas shrank during the end of the Empire, the Navy increasingly relied on the RFA to supply its ships during routine deployments.

The RFA played an important role in the largest naval war since 1945, the Falklands War in 1982 (where one vessel was lost and another badly damaged), and also the Gulf War, Kosovo War, Afghanistan Campaign and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In July 2008, the RFA was presented with a Queen's Colour, an honour unique to a civilian organisation.

Fleet
Ships in RFA service carry the ship prefix RFA, standing for Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and fly the Blue Ensign defaced with an upright gold killick anchor. All Royal Fleet Auxiliaries are built and maintained to Lloyd's Register and Department for Transport standards.

As of 2024, there are 13 ships in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary with a total displacement of approximately 341,000 tonnes. These figures exclude the merchant navy vessels under charter to the Ministry of Defence performing sealift and fuel provisioning roles.

Underway replenishment
The most important role provided by the RFA is replenishment at sea (RAS), therefore the mainstay of the current RFA fleet are the replenishment ships. Three classes of vessel are in service as of 2024: RFAUX Fort Victoria (A387), the Tide-class tanker and the Wave-class tanker.

The Wave class are called 'Fleet Tankers', which primarily provide under way refuelling to Royal Navy ships, but can also provide a limited amount of dry cargo. The Tide class are designated 'Fast Fleet Tankers' that were ordered in February 2012. The four tankers were ordered from DSME, South Korea with design support from Britain's BMT Defence Services, the first of which RFAUX Tidespring (A136) entered service in 2017. From 2022, only the Tide class were to be active with both Wave-class vessels being placed in extended readiness (uncrewed reserve). As of April 2024, RFA Tiderace was also reported to be in extended readiness, primarily owing to serious personnel shortages in the RFA.

RFA Fort Victoria is a 'one-stop' replenishment ship, capable of providing under way refuelling and dry cargo (i.e. rearming, victualling and spares). Until 2011, she had a sister ship in RFAUX Fort George (A388) until she was decommissioned as a result of defence cuts. Two ships of the Fort Rosalie-class replenishment ship also provided dry stores replenishment but were placed into extended readiness in 2020. The two ships were later decommissioned, leaving Fort Victoria the only fleet solid support ship in service. In 2023, Fort Victoria was reported to be in "reduced readiness" but available for deployment in an emergency. A class of three new fleet solid support ships are expected to arrive starting in 2031 under the Fleet Solid Support Ship Programme. The manufacturing contract for this acquisition, valued at £1.6 billion, was signed in January 2023.

The Wave class, Tide class and Fort Victoria incorporate aviation facilities, providing aviation support and training facilities as well as vertical replenishment capabilities. They are capable of operating and supporting Merlin and Lynx Wildcat helicopters, both of which are significant weapons platforms. The presence of aviation facilities on RFA ships allows for them to be used as 'force multipliers' for the task groups they support in line with Royal Navy doctrine.

Amphibious warfare
The RFA is tasked with the role of supporting Royal Navy amphibious operations through its three Bay-class landing ship dock landing ships (LSD). Typically one Bay-class vessel (as of 2023 RFAUX Cardigan Bay) is also assigned as a permanent 'mothership' for Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels in the Persian Gulf. The 2021 defence white paper proposed the acquisition of a new class of up to six Multi-Role Support Ships (MRSS) to support littoral strike operations. These vessels are to replace the Bay-class ships, and other vessels, starting in the 2030s. In the interim, the white paper had proposed to upgrade one of the Bay-class vessels with permanent hangar facilities in order to carry out the littoral strike role. However, in July 2022 it was reported that the future littoral strike role would in fact be assumed by RFAUX Argus (A135) after a refit to convert her to this role.

Argus is a unique support ship in the RFA and has served in various aviation support roles. On active operations, she can deploy as a Primary Casualty Receiving Ship (PCRS); essentially a hospital ship. She cannot be described as such – and was not afforded such protection under the Geneva Convention – as she is armed. Argus completed a refit in May 2007 intended to extend her operational life to 2020. Prior to the announcement that she would take on the Littoral strike role, Defence Procurement Minister Jeremy Quin indicated that it was planned to retain the ship in service beyond 2030 rather than retiring her in 2024 as previously planned. The 2021 defence white paper did not specifically mention her replacement. However, Minister Quinn indicated that her functions are projected to be taken over by the new MRSS vessels, approved for acquisition in the 2021 defence white paper.

Ocean surveillance/survey
The RFA has acquired a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship to protect undersea critical national infrastructure, such as gas pipelines and undersea cables. In February 2023, the vessel identified for this role - MV Topaz Tangaroa - was acquired and in October 2023 entered service as RFA Proteus. She was purchased for some £70 million and was converted to act as a mothership for autonomous systems and have military communications and light defensive armament added.

It is reported that a second MROS ship is envisaged, which may be a new build vessel and, as of 2023, is in the concept stage. Service entry is envisaged likely in the early 2030s.

Mine countermeaures
In December 2022, it was reported that a commercial vessel was being sought for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary which would act as a trials vessel to further develop the concept of deploying autonomous minehunting systems from command and support motherships. The new vessel, to be named RFA Stirling Castle, is the former offshore support vessel MV Island Crown which, after her entry into service, is likely to be based at the Clyde naval base to operate with the Mine Threat and Exploitation Group which deploys the Royal Navy's autonomous vessels. The ship was purchased for £40 million and arrived at HMNB Devonport in January 2023. Her conversion was not anticipated to be lengthy. Full service entry took place in April 2024.

Up to three additional ships are also planned for eventual acquisition in the mine countermeasures command and support role, one of which is intended to replace RFA Cardigan Bay and some of the other vessels in 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain. The new vessels may either be conversions of existing commercial vessels or, as reportedly preferred by the navy, new-build ships. Cardigan Bay would then be returned to a primary amphibious operations role.

Sealift and fuel provisioning
The Point-class sealift ships were acquired in 2002 under a £1.25bn private finance initiative with Foreland Shipping known as the Strategic Sealift Service. These ships are Merchant Navy vessels leased to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as and when needed and as such are not part of the RFA. However, they are listed here due to their role in expeditionary military operations and in provisioning U.K. military bases and facilities. Originally six ships were part of the deal, allowing the MoD use of four of the ships with two being made available for commercial charter, these latter two were released from the contract in 2012.

The MoD also contracts to secure fuel supplies for facilities overseas. For sometime this requirement was maintained through charter of the vessel MV Maersk Rapier. The ship was tasked with supplying fuel to the United Kingdom's various naval establishments at home and overseas, as well as providing aviation fuel to RAF stations at Cyprus, Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands. The MoD chartered the vessel to commercial companies during periods where she was not in use for defence purposes. Since the end of the contract for the use of Maersk Rapier, a further contract for the use of another tanker, renamed the Raleigh Fisher, has been secured.

Ministry of Defence sealift/supply vessels

 * Not part of the RFA, under charter to the MoD

Officers
Rank insignia of RFA officers differ from the Royal Navy as the RFA makes use of the diamond used by some British merchant shipping companies, rather than the executive curl used by the RN. The rank of commodore is the most senior in the RFA. Department Colours

The RFA uses distinction cloth to distinguish the branch of its officers. The Royal Navy ceased this practice for most officers in 1955, with the exception of medical and dental officers who are denoted by red and orange cloth respectively.

Although the Marine Engineering distinction cloth is generally described as being purple, it is in practice closer to maroon.

Uniforms
Officers and Ratings of the RFA wear similar uniforms to the regular navy with RFA distinguishing marks.

No. 1 Dress
This is the formal uniform worn on ceremonial occasions. For all officers it consists of a double-breasted, navy blue reefer jacket with four rows of two RFA buttons; matching trousers; white shirt and black tie; peaked cap; and black leather shoes. Rank insignia is denoted on the lower sleeve. RFA officer cap badges, although similar in style to those used by RN officers, feature a ring with letters ‘RFA’ surrounding the fouled anchor at the centre.

For ratings below the rank of Petty Officer, this uniform is a single breasted tunic fastened with four RFA buttons, with flapped chest pockets and hip pockets; white shirt and black tie, and a dark blue beret and black leather shoes. Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers wear a double breasted navy blue reefer jacket similar to the Officers version but with three rows of two RFA buttons. They wear a beret with an RFA badge, formerly a pantone blue, now the same colour as the RN Navy Blue. Rank insignia is denoted on the lower sleeve.

No. 2 Dress
Number 2A dress is the formal evening dress for ceremonial dinners; it consists of a navy blue mess jacket with a white waistcoat (black cummerbund for female officers) with miniature medals. 2B is "mess undress" for other mess functions, and is worn with either a black cummerbund or navy blue waistcoat and miniature medals. 2C, "red sea rig", is worn for informal evening wear on board ship; it consists of a white short sleeved shirt, worn with shoulderboards, without medals and with black trousers, black shoes and a black cummerbund. It is unusual to see a black cummerbund worn with red sea rig as it is traditional to have personalised cummerbunds. These are usually in the branch colours of the wearer and commonly have either a branch insignia or a ship's badge embroidered in the centre. This tradition is also prevalent in the RN.

No. 3 Dress
This is worn all year round for general duties. It consists of a white shirt with rank insignia on the shoulders, and appropriate headgear. For officers 3A dress includes a long-sleeved shirt and tie, while 3B includes a short-sleeved shirt worn with hard shoulder boards. 3C is the same in all respects as 3A but with the addition of a navy blue woollen jersey. This is the same as for Officer's No. 3 dress but with the relevant rate insignia and beret. Junior rates are only issued with short-sleeve shirts and are not issued with ties. Thus No.3 dress is divided into 3B (without jersey) and 3C dress (navy-blue jersey worn over the shirt with the shirt collar out). There is no equivalent of 3A dress for junior ratings.

No. 4 Dress
Number 4 dress is the working uniform of the RFA. It is referred to as Royal Fleet Auxiliary Personal Clothing System (RFAPCS); it consists of a navy blue fire-retardant jacket, navy blue baseball cap and beret, navy blue stable belt, navy-blue fire-retardant trousers, dms boots, black T-shirt and an optional navy-blue microfleece. Number 4R dress is the same only without the jacket and with an optional baseball cap. RFAPCS is distinguished from its RNPCS counterpart by the RFA blue ensign and 'ROYAL FLEET AUXILIARY' tape replacing the white ensign and 'ROYAL NAVY' tape worn on the left arm and left chest pocket respectively. Junior ratings may also wear an RFA badged baseball cap in this order of dress, whilst undertaking courses at Royal Navy establishments.

No. 5 Dress
Number 5 dress is the collective category for all specialist working uniforms. They are worn as required for duties.

Recruitment and training
As of 2022–23, the RFA was reported to be facing considerable recruiting challenges. Manpower was said to have dropped by 5 per cent from 2021 to 2022, contributing to the reduced availability, and even potential redundancy, of some vessels.

The RFA recruits ratings either directly from industry (or where they are suitably trained to allow direct entry), or as apprentices whilst undertaking training.

Officers are recruited in one of three ways:
 * direct from industry (or where they are suitably trained to allow direct entry)
 * via the RTO (rating-to-officer) programme
 * as cadets

All new officers take part in a 10-week Initial Naval Training Officers (INT-O) course at BRNC Dartmouth that is designed to familiarise new officers to the RFA and develop leadership skills.

List of Commodores Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The post of Commodore of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (COMRFA) was created in 1951, known as Commodore RFA and Deputy Director Royal Navy Afloat Support since 2020, is the senior officer of the RFA. The following people have served as COMRFA:

 * 1951–1954: Stanley Kent
 * 1954–1955: William Browne
 * 1955–1957: Thomas Card
 * 1957–1962: Thomas Elder
 * 1962–1964: Albert Curtain
 * 1964–1966: Eric Payne
 * 1966–1968: Griffith Evans
 * 1968–1971: Joe Dines
 * 1971–1972: Henry L'Estrange
 * 1972–1977: George Robson
 * 1977–1983: Samuel Dunlop
 * 1983–1985: James Coull
 * 1986–1989: Barry Rutterford
 * 1989–1994: Richard Thorn
 * 1994–1999: Norman Squire
 * 1999–2003: Peter Lannin
 * 2003–2008: Robert Thornton
 * 2008–2013: Bill Walworth
 * 2013–2015: Rob Dorey
 * 2015–2020: Duncan Lamb
 * 2020–present: David Eagles

Lists of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships by role

 * List of amphibious warfare ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
 * List of replenishment ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
 * List of miscellaneous ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Lists of ships operated by or in support of His Majesty's Naval Service

 * List of active Royal Navy ships
 * List of active Royal Marines military watercraft
 * List of ships of Serco Marine Services

Related articles

 * His Majesty's Naval Service
 * List of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship names
 * Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)
 * Royal Research Ship
 * Military Sealift Command – the United States Navy's analogue to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
 * Solid Support Ship

title: Royal Fleet Auxiliary