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Kadena Air Base

Kadena Air Base (嘉手納飛行場) (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highly strategic location. It is located 650 km off the coast of China and at a distance of 770 km from Shanghai, a major economic hub. It is home to the USAF's 18th Wing, the 353rd Special Operations Wing, reconnaissance units, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and a variety of associated units. Over 20,000 American servicemembers, family members, and Japanese employees live or work at Kadena Air Base. It is the largest and most active U.S. Air Force base in East Asia.

History
Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named Yara Hikojo near the village of Kadena. The airfield, used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, was one of the first targets of the Tenth United States Army 7th Infantry Division. The United States seized it from the Japanese during the battle.

World War II
What the Americans captured was a 4600 ft strip of badly-damaged coral runway. "The initial work at Kadena was accomplished by the 1901st Aviation Engineer Battalion 7th U.S. Infantry Division and Naval Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit CBMU 624 on 4 April", by nightfall the same day, the runway could accept emergency landings. Eight days later, and after some 6 inch of coral were added, the airfield was declared operational and put into immediate service by artillery spotting aircraft. Additional construction was performed by the 807th Engineering Aviation Battalion to improve the airfield for USAAF fighter and bomber use with fuel tank farms, a new 6500 ft bituminous runway, and a 7500 ft runway for bomber aircraft, by August.

Kadena airfield was initially under the control of Seventh Air Force, however on 16 July 1945, Headquarters Eighth Air Force was transferred, without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to the town of Sakugawa, near Kadena from RAF High Wycombe England. Upon reassignment, its headquarters element absorbed the command staff of the inactivated XX Bomber Command. Kadena was used by the headquarters staff for nationalists' requirements.

Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S. Army Strategic Air Forces with a mission to train new B-29 Superfortress bomber groups arriving from the United States for combat missions against Japan. In the planned invasion of Japan, the mission of Eighth Air Force would be to conduct strategic bombing raids from Okinawa. However, the atomic bombings of Japan led to the Japanese surrender before Eighth Air Force saw action in the Pacific theater.

The surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September. General Joseph Stilwell accepted the surrender in an area that would later become Kadena's Stearley Heights housing area.

Known World War II units assigned to Kadena were:
 * 319th Bombardment Group (Light) (July–November 1945) (A-26 Invader) Assigned to Seventh Air Force and flew missions to Japan and China, attacking airdromes, shipping, marshalling yards, industrial centers, and other objectives.
 * 317th Troop Carrier Group (August–September 1945) (C-46 Commando, C-47 Skytrain) Assigned to Seventh Air Force in the Philippines. Deployed aircraft to Kadena and flew courier and passenger routes to Japan, Guam, Korea, and the Philippines, and transported freight and personnel in the area.
 * 333d Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (August 1945 – May 1946) (B-29) Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. For a time after the war the group ferried Allied prisoners of war from Japan to the Philippines. Inactivated May 1946.
 * 346th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (August 1945 – June 1946) (B-29) Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. After the war the group participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan and for a time ferried Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to the Philippines. Inactivated June 1946.
 * 316th Bombardment Wing (September 1945 – June 1948) Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. Reassigned to U.S. Far East Air Forces January 1946. Redesignated as 316th Composite Wing in January 1946, and 316th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) in May 1946. Inactivated June 1948.
 * 413th Fighter Group (November 1945 – October 1946) (P-47N) Assigned to Eighth Air Force and served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war. Inactivated October 1946.

On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to MacDill AAF, Florida. It was replaced by the 1st Air Division which directed fighter reconnaissance, and bomber organizations and provided air defense for the Ryukyu Islands until December 1948.

Twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949.

Korean War
The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence on Okinawa. On 15 February 1951, the U.S. Naval Facility, Naha, was activated and later became commissioned on 18 April. Commander Fleet Activities, Ryukyus was commissioned on 8 March 1957. On 15 May 1972, upon reversion of Okinawa to Japanese administration, the two organizations were combined to form Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa. With the relocations of Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa to Kadena Air Base on 7 May 1975, the title then became Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa/US Naval Air Facility, Kadena.

Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955. Fifth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena. Known major postwar USAAF/USAF units assigned to Kadena have been:
 * 6th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (June 1947 – October 1948) (B-29) Participated in show-of-force flights over Japan and dropped food and other relief supplies to newly freed Allied prisoners of war. Inactivated October 1948.
 * 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (August 1948 – October 1948) (F-5, F-6, RF-51, RF-61) Equipped with reconnaissance aircraft, flew aerial photographing missions over Japan and southern Korea. Inactivated October 1948. The 71st Air Base Group provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena.
 * 32d Composite Wing (August 1948 – April 1949) (RB/SB-17G, C-46, RB/SB-29) Replaced 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. Provided photographic reconnaissance and search and rescue support. The 32d Air Base Group provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena.
 * 6332d Air Base Group (April 1949 – January 1950) (redesignated 6332d Air Base Wing (January 1950 – May 1955), 6313th Air Base Wing (October 1957 – December 1964)) Provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena.
 * 19th Bombardment Group (Medium) (July 1950 – May 1954) (B-29) Deployed from Andersen AFB, Guam. Flew combat missions over Korea. Reassigned May 1954 to Pinecastle AFB, Florida.
 * 22d Bombardment Group (Medium) (July 1950 – October 1950) (B-29) Deployed from March AFB, California. Flew combat missions over Korea
 * 307th Bombardment Group (Medium) (September 1950 – February 1951) (B-29) Deployed from MacDill AFB Florida to engage in combat operations during the Korean War. While on Okinawa, the 307th was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for its air strikes against enemy forces in Korea. It was also awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation and several campaign streamers. The 307th BG returned from deployment during February 1951, however elements of the group remained deployed on Okinawa on a semi-permanent basis until 1954.
 * 581st Air Resupply Group (September 1953 – September 1956) (B-29) reassigned from the inactivating 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing at Clark AB, Philippines. Performed unconventional warfare and counterinsurgency psychological operations. Inactivated and mission transferred to U.S. Navy.

At the end of the Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.

18th Wing
On 1 November 1954, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing arrived from Osan Air Base, South Korea. Under changing designations, the wing has been the main USAF flying force at Kadena for over 50 years. The wing has maintained assigned aircraft, crews, and supporting personnel in readiness to respond to orders from Fifth Air Force and Pacific Air Forces. The wing initially was flying three squadrons of North American F-86 Sabre: the 12th, 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons. The wing flew tactical fighter sorties from Okinawa, and made frequent deployments to South Korea, Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines. In 1957, the wing upgraded to the F-100 Super Sabre and the designation was changed to the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing. In 1960, a tactical reconnaissance mission was added to the wing with the arrival of the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo and the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.

Vietnam War era
Beginning in 1961, the 18th TFW was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to South Vietnam and Thailand, initially with its RF-101 reconnaissance jets, and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the Vietnam War. In 1963, the F-105 Thunderchief replaced the Super Sabres. During the Temporary duty assignment (TDY) deployments to Southeast Asia, the 12th TFS lost four aircraft, the 44th TFS lost one F-105D, and the 67th TFS lost nine aircraft, including three on the first day of Operation Rolling Thunder. The deployments to Southeast Asia continued until the end of United States involvement in the conflict.

The RF-4C Phantom II replaced the RF-101 in the reconnaissance role in 1967. An electronic warfare capability was added to the wing in late 1968 with the attachment of the 19th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron from Shaw AFB South Carolina flying the EB-66 Destroyer. The B-66s remained until 1970, flying daily over the skies of Southeast Asia.

During the 1968 Pueblo crisis, the 18th deployed between January and June to Osan AB, South Korea following the North Korean seizure of the vessel. Frequent deployments to South Korea have been performed ever since to maintain the air defense alert mission there.

In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing. The squadron was reassigned in 1978. The reconnaissance mission ended in 1989 with the retirement of the RF-4Cs, and the inactivation of the 15th TRS.

Post-Vietnam
The F/RF-4C Phantom II replaced the F-105s in 1971, and a further upgrade to the F-15 Eagle was made in 1979.

On 6 November 1972, the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing dispatched the McDonnell Douglas F-4C / D Phantom II fighter jets of the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron and the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron to the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan until 31 May 1975. Assist Taiwan ’s air defense against threats from China.

The designation of the wing changed on 1 October 1991 to the 18th Wing with the implementation of the Objective Wing concept. With the objective wing, the mission of the 18th expanded to the Composite Air Wing concept of multiple different wing missions with different aircraft. The mission of the 18th was expanded to include aerial refueling with KC-135 Stratotanker tanker aircraft; and surveillance, warning, command and control E-3 Sentry, and communications. Added airlift mission in June 1992 with the C-12 Huron, transporting mission critical personnel, high-priority cargo and distinguished visitors. In February 1993, the 18th Wing gained responsibility for coordinating rescue operations in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Arrival of Patriot unit
In November 2006, the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, a Patriot PAC-III unit, deployed to Kadena from Fort Bliss Texas. Originally assigned to 31st ADA Brigade of Fort Bliss, they were reassigned to the 94th AAMDC, USINDOPACOM. The move was part of the BRAC consolidation of U.S. Army bases and security agreements between the U.S. and Japan. The battalion's mission is to defend the base against tactical ballistic missiles from North Korea. The deployment was controversial on Okinawa, being greeted with protests.

Potential F-15EX deployment
In late 2023, Nikkei Asia reported that the US Air Force would permanently station Boeing F-15EX Eagle II jets at Kadena Air Base. That total would be down from the 48 F-15C Eagle jets which were previously permanently stationed there.

Foreign units
Other U.S. allies who had expressed intention with the approval of both the Japanese government and the United States Air Force to host units in the air base to further impose united cooperation against regional threats; North Korea, Russian Siberia, Russian Far East and the growing influence of China in the Asia Pacific.

Australia and New Zealand
In early September 2018, Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters stated that it was in their interest to aid both Japan and the United States against North Korea with patrol aircraft. These units would provide additional capability to prevent North Korean vessels conducting illegal trading out at sea in violation of UN sanctions. The Royal Australian Air Force deployed two AP-3C aircraft, along with a P-3K2 Orion from the RNZAF. RAAF P-8 Poseidons have subsequently been periodically deployed to Kadena as part of Operation Argos. RNZAF Orions also periodically operate from Kadena, with four such deployments having been made as of April 2021.

Other units
Other major units assigned to Kadena since 1954 have been:
 * 313th Air Division (March 1955 – October 1991) Assumed responsibility for air defense of the Ryukyu Islands and tactical operations in the Far East, maintaining assigned forces at the highest possible degree of combat readiness. In addition, it supported Fifth Air Force in the development, planning, and coordination of requirements for future Air Force operations in the Ryukyu Islands. The division also supported numerous exercises such as Cope Thunder, Cope Diamond, Team Spirit and Cope North. Provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena (May 1955 – October 1957, December 1964 – October 1974). The newly-considated 18th Wing replaced the 313th Air Division in 1991.
 * Kadena Task Force (Provisional) (SAC) (May 1955 – May 1958) (RB/ERB-47H) Performed Electronic Reconnaissance and Countermeasures activities.
 * 498th Tactical Missile Group (February 1961 – October 1969) (TM-76B/CGM-13B) Equipped with the TM-76B, renumbered in 1963 to CGM-13B Mace guided cruise missile, four hard site launch sites.
 * 4252d Strategic Wing (SAC) (January 1965 – April 1970) 376th Strategic Wing (SAC) (April 1970 – August 1973) (B-52, KC-135, EC-135) Activated by SAC at Kadena. Replaced 4252nd Strategic Wing. Conducted B-52 combat operations in Southeast Asia from January 1965 to September 1970, when Arc Light Missions from the base were terminated. The distance to targets in South Vietnam resulted in reduced payload and greater air-refueling demands for Kadena and Guam based B-52s and from April 1967 the USAF began basing B-52s at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, this together with Japanese opposition to the war led to reducing B-52 operations from Kadena. Conducted KC-135 air refueling and RC-135 electronic reconnaissance from April 1970 to 1991. Conducted airborne radio relay operations, April–November 1970, February–June 1971 and March 1972 – August 1973. Until 1991, the wing controlled the 909th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135A/Q/R) and supported rotational reconnaissance aircraft (TR-1, SR-71) after the inactivation of the 9th SRW in 1974. The Wing was inactivated at Kadena on 30 October 1991 with the drawdown of strategic forces. Its mission was absorbed by the 18th Wing.
 * 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SAC) (1968–1974) (A-12, SR-71) Deployed from Beale Air Force Base, California, Performed strategic reconnaissance over North Vietnam and Laos. In March 1968 SR-71's began arriving at Kadena from Beale AFB. On 15 March Det OL-8 was declared Operational Ready for SR-71 sorties. The SR-71s averaged approximately one sortie a week for nearly two years. By 1970, the SR-71s were averaging two sorties per week. By 1972, the SR-71 was flying nearly one sortie every day. While deployed on Okinawa, the SR-71s and their aircrew members gained the nickname Habu (as did the A-12s preceding them) after a southeast Asian pit viper which the Okinawans thought the plane resembled. With the completion of each mission a "Habu" was painted on the bird.  The SR 71 mission on Okinawa ended in 1990.
 * 18th Combat Support Wing (1985–1991) The 18 CSW was originally the 18th Combat Support Group of the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing before being elevated to a Wing in 1985. It acted as the installation management command and controlled all the services requried to run the installation.  With the consolidation of numerous missions into the 18th Wing in 1991, the 18 CSW was downgraded and redesignated the 18th Support Group.  It was redesignated again as the 18th Mission Support Group in 2002.

Beacon

 * The USAF is responsible for maintenance.

Role and operations
The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena AB. In addition, the base hosts associate units from five other Air Force major commands, the United States Navy, and other Department of Defense agencies and direct reporting units. Associate units operate more than 20 permanently assigned, forward-based or deployed aircraft from the base on a daily basis.

18th Wing
The 18th Wing is the Air Force's largest and most diverse combat wing. The Wing is broken down into five groups: the 18th Operations Group, the 18th Maintenance Group, the 18th Mission Support Group, the 18th Civil Engineer Group, and the 18th Medical Group. Kadena's fleet of F-15C/D Eagle (the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadron); KC-135R/T Stratotanker (the 909th Air Refueling Squadron); E-3B/C Sentry (the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron); and HH-60 Pave Hawks (the 33rd Rescue Squadron).

353rd Special Operations Wing
The 353rd Special Operations Wing is an element of the Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida. The 750 Airmen of the group are organized into the 1st Special Operations Squadron, the 21st Special Operations Squadron, the 353rd Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the 753rd Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, and the 353rd Special Operations Support Squadron. The flying squadrons operate the MC-130J Commando II and the CV-22B Osprey.

733rd Air Mobility Squadron
This 733rd Air Mobility Squadron manage all passengers and cargo traveling by air in and out of Kadena. This Air Mobility Command unit supports about 650 aircraft arrivals and departures every month, moving more than 12,000 passengers and nearly 3,000 tons of cargo.

82nd Reconnaissance Squadron
Air Combat Command's 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron maintains aircraft; prepares combat-ready aircrews; and analyzes, processes, and disseminates intelligence data launch in support of RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, RC-135U Combat Sent and WC-135 Constant Phoenix missions flown in the Pacific Theater.

390th Intelligence Squadron
This Air Intelligence Agency squadron conducts information operations by providing tailored combat intelligence and assessing the security of friendly command, control, communication and computer systems to enhance warfighting survivability, situation awareness and targeting.

US Army
The U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, assigned to the 94th AAMDC is a Patriot PAC-3 battalion. It consists of four Patriot missile batteries (Alpha through Delta), a maintenance company (Echo) and a headquarters battery (HHB).

Housing Management Office
The Air Force Housing Management Office (HMO) manages Military Family Housing (MFH) for all service members assigned to Okinawa. Kadena Air Base contains nearly 4,000 family housing units, in apartment, townhouse, and single family home styles.

Other units

 * American Forces Network Detachment 11, AFNEWS
 * Det 3, PACAF Air Postal Squadron
 * Det 3, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine
 * 525 EMXS, Support Center Pacific
 * Det 3, Wr-Alc Air Force Petroleum Office
 * Det 624, Air Force Office of Special investigations
 * Det 233, Air Force Audit Agency
 * Field Training Detachment Det 15, 372nd Training Squadron
 * Det 1, Okuma Recreation Facility
 * Defense Commissary Agency
 * DoDEA Pacific Director's Office
 * Department of Defense Education Activity Pacific-Okinawa District
 * Marine Wing Liaison Kadena
 * American Red Cross

Based units
Flying and notable non-flying units based at Kadena Air Base.

Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Kadena, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force
Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)

 * Fifth Air Force
 * 18th Wing (Host Wing)
 * Headquarters 18th Wing
 * 18th Comptroller Squadron
 * 18th Operations Group
 * 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron
 * 18th Operations Support Squadron
 * 31st Rescue Squadron
 * 33rd Rescue Squadron – HH-60G Pave Hawk
 * 44th Fighter Squadron – F-15C/D Eagle
 * 67th Fighter Squadron – F-15C/D Eagle
 * 623rd Air Control Squadron
 * 909th Air Refueling Squadron – KC-135R Stratotanker
 * 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron – E-3B/C Sentry
 * 18th Civil Engineer Group
 * 18th Civil Engineer Squadron
 * 718th Civil Engineer Squadron
 * 18th Maintenance Group
 * 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 * 18th Component Maintenance Squadron
 * 18th Equipment Maintenance Squadron
 * 18th Munitions Squadron
 * 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 * 18th Medical Group
 * 18th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
 * 18th Dental Squadron
 * 18th Medical Operations Squadron
 * 18th Medical Support Squadron
 * 18th Mission Support Group
 * 18th Contracting Squadron
 * 18th Communications Squadron
 * 18th Force Support Squadron
 * 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron
 * 18th Security Forces Squadron
 * 718th Force Support Squadron
 * 18th Air Expeditionary Wing
 * 5th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron – E-8C J-STARS
 * Pacific Air Forces Air Postal Squadron
 * Seventh Air Force
 * 554th RED HORSE Squadron
 * Detachment 1 (GSU)

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)

 * 353rd Special Operations Wing
 * 1st Special Operations Squadron – MC-130J Commando II
 * 21st Special Operations Squadron – CV-22B Osprey (Based at Yokota Air Base)
 * 320th Special Tactics Squadron
 * 353rd Special Operations Support Squadron
 * 353rd Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 * 753rd Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Air Mobility Command (AMC)

 * 55th Wing
 * 55th Operations Group
 * 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron (GSU) – RC-135
 * 390th Intelligence Squadron (GSU)
 * United States Air Force Expeditionary Center
 * 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing
 * 515th Air Mobility Operations Group
 * 733rd Air Mobility Squadron (GSU)

Air Combat Command (ACC)

 * Sixteenth Air Force
 * 363rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing
 * 361st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group
 * 43rd Intelligence Squadron
 * Detachment 1 (GSU)

Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
 * Overseas Group
 * Okinawa Cadet Squadron (NHQ-100)

United States Army
U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC)

 * 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command
 * 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade
 * 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment – MIM-104 Patriot

United States Marine Corps
Marine Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC)

 * III Marine Expeditionary Force
 * 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
 * Marine Wing Liaison Kadena

Naval Communications Detachment Okinawa
The mission of NAVCOMM Det Okinawa is to provide communications support for the Seventh Fleet and supporting units, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, Defense Information Systems Agency and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. The detachment has four work centers:
 * 1) TSCCOMM provides telecommunications support for Patrol Wing ONE Det Kadena, deployed patrol squadrons and Marine Wing Detachment
 * 2) CMS provides communications security (COMSEC) materials and cryptographic equipment to Patrol Squadrons and detachments, and to Commander Amphibious Group One/CTF76, located at White Beach
 * 3) Naval Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF) Awase provides HF transmitter support to the fleet and area commanders and LF transmitter support for submarines operating in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
 * 4) SURTASS supports command and control functions to SURTASS ships operating in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.

Major commands to which assigned

 * Tenth United States Army, 1 April 1945
 * Eighth Air Force, 16 July 1945
 * Pacific Air Command, United States Army (PACUSA), 6 December 1945
 * Redesignated: Far East Air Force, 1 January 1947
 * Redesignated: Pacific Air Forces, 1 July 1957

Base facilities

 * Gate 5 Park
 * Kadena Passenger Terminal
 * Kadena Base Exchange
 * Schilling Community Center
 * Rocker Enlisted Club
 * Officers Club
 * EDIS (Early Developmental Intervention Services)
 * Kadena Aeroclub
 * Banyan Tree Golf Course
 * Jack's Place Restaurant (originally Skoshi KOOM – Kadena Officers Open Mess)
 * The Asian Division of University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
 * Kadena Commissary

Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools include:
 * Bob Hope Elementary School
 * Kadena Elementary School
 * Ralph F. Stearley Primary School
 * Amelia Earhart Intermediate School
 * Kadena Middle School
 * Ryukyu Middle School
 * Kadena High School

Environmental concerns
In June 2013, the government of Japan discovered 22 barrels buried on former base property that tests showed had previously contained dioxins and herbicides. Tests on the surrounding soils found dioxin levels at 8.4 times and groundwater at 280 times the legal limit. The land in question is a soccer field bordering the base's Bob Hope Primary School and Amelia Earhart Intermediate School. Angry parents accused base officials, under base commanders Brigadier General Matt H. Molloy and Brigadier General James B. Hecker, of failing to notify them of the toxins near the school and not investigating into the matter. After the issue was reported in the Japan Times and Stars and Stripes, USAF officials tested the soil and water at the schools and said that no excessive toxic substances were found.

Soil on the base tested positive for very high levels of polychlorinated biphenylchemicals (PCBs), in the thousands of parts per million, much higher than most other contamination sites in the world, according to a report issued in 1987 after an investigation prompted by a small unrelated spill of transformer oil.

Accidents and incidents

 * 30 June 1959: an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire. The pilot successfully ejected and suffered no harm, but the aircraft crashed into a local elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents of the nearby neighborhood, and injuring 210.
 * 19 November 1968: B-52 of the 4252d Strategic Wing broke up and caught fire after the aircraft aborted takeoff on an Arc Light bombing mission to South Vietnam. 2 crewmen died of their injuries.
 * 20 July 1972: SR-71 61-7978 ran off the runway on its second landing approach due to high crosswinds ahead of Typhoon Rita, severely damaging the underside of the plane. Both crewmembers were uninjured. The plane was salvaged for usable parts and the rest scrapped in Okinawa.
 * 2 November 1987: RF-4C 66-0416 (15 TRS / 18 TFW) entered a spin at 16,500 feet in a Whiskey area approximately 95 miles Northeast of Kadena.  Both crew members ejected.  One crewmember’s body was never recovered. The other crew member survived.
 * 28 May 2013: F-15C of the 44th Fighter Squadron crashed into the ocean off Okinawa. The pilot ejected and was rescued by the Air Rescue Wing Naha Detachment of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
 * 11 June 2018: F-15C from the 44th Fighter Squadron crashed into the sea off Okinawa. The pilot was rescued by the JASDF Air Rescue Wing Naha Detachment.

title: Kadena Air Base


text:
Michelangelo Carducci

Michelangelo Carducci was a 16th-century Italian painter of the Renaissance period active in Umbria. He was born in Norcia. Extant works include:
 * Resurrection of Lazarus, fresco in the Basilica of San Benedetto, Norcia (signed and dated 1560)
 * Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John, fresco in the church of Santa Maria della Misericordia, Spello (1562)

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

title: Michelangelo Carducci


text: Category:Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics


text: Category:Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics


text:
Whitefish Point

Whitefish Point is a cape of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, United States, marking the entry point of Whitefish Bay. It is 11 mi north of the unincorporated community of Paradise, Michigan.

Whitefish Point is known for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, its Lake Superior shoreline, the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and as a prime birding area. Whitefish Point is a designated Important Bird Area. The Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, an affiliate of the Michigan Audubon Society, operates a research and education facility at Whitefish Point.

At 17 miles away, Whitefish Point is the nearest navigation mark to the wreckage of the ore freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in 1975. Whitefish Point remains one of the most dangerous shipping areas in the Great Lakes, Known as the graveyard of the Great Lakes, more vessels have been lost in the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior.

The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve protects the shipwrecks in a portion of the bay for future generations of sports divers.

The Point is a popular place for rock collectors, ship watchers, and bird watching. Whitefish Point's land and water provides a natural corridor for birds that makes it a migratory route of world significance. It is a designated Important Bird Area where the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory conducts important research.

Whitefish Point is the home of a former United States Coast Guard station.

title: Whitefish Point


text: Category:Speed skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics


text:
Rajaton Rakkaus

"Rajaton Rakkaus" (Borderless Love in Finnish) is perhaps one of the most known songs released by Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus. It was released on the album Itku Pitkästä Ilosta and as a single. The song tells about an unspecified man who lives in Finland and has married a woman in Estonia. The woman refuses to move to Finland with his husband and the man doesn't like Estonia. The man realizes he will never meet his wife and hangs himself near the end of the song ("The roof is too low and the rope is too thick")

Track listing

 * 1) "Rajaton Rakkaus"
 * 2) "Viimeinen Päivä Taivaan?" (Finnish cover of Barathrum's "Last Day in Heaven")

title: Rajaton Rakkaus


text:
Category:Luce County, Michigan

Articles related to Luce County in the U.S. state of Michigan.

title: Category:Luce County, Michigan


text:
Talk:Sima Qian

Radically altering
This page needs radically altering.

Reading the posts below, it was done by students for an assignment on a journalism course (?). One of them is absolutely correct; it reads like a fragmented undergraduate essay on the topic of journalism, not an encyclopaedia entry.

More importantly it utterly misrepresents the purpose of Han historiography: Sima Qian did not have "the truth" as a primary aim - it would be more accurate to say his purpose was to construct a historical narrative that denounced Han Wudi.

If anybody objects to me rewriting it, shout now... Gaobei

Hi groupmates,

Well, interestingly there's a lot of background stuff already done here on sima qian. Unfortunately, I found out quite a few are blatantly cut and pasted from another website. And I'll rephrase them later.

Well, nice meeting u guys.

Btw, since we already got the background stuffs, now we go straight to research topic related to our topic right? Any good suggestions? (we allowed to talk about them right?)

Forgot to login. the above is messaged by me. I'm Heyson.

Good. Please keep communicating with your groupmates on this page. Best, Olga. TA

Hello all my groupmates,

so happy to have a chance to work with you all. As regards the already existed information, I've checked that the content is accurate, but I think we can better organize it, like adding back the titles or dividing it into different sections. To begin with, maybe we can first decide how many sections we should have in our page.

I also hope that we can all communicate and exchange the ideas through this page.

Please sign off on your messages with your name and time stamp! Lfcho 15:49, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)lfcho

Hi again, Nice work guys. Keep it up!

Hi all. Sorry I am late. I am working on Sima Qian as well. Currently I am reading the articles about Qian. --0101NGks 04:09, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)NGks

Hello groupmates,

So happy to see that our page is now better organized. However, one point I would like to raise is that Sima Qian is actally not a journalist in a strict sense. Though Shiji had important impact on journalism, it is not a journalistic publication, at least,it is not the intention of Sima Qian. Therefore, I just wonder would it be better if we focus on the impact of Sima Qian and Shiji on journalism and change the headings a little bit so that not to make it to subjective?

Hope all of you can post your opinion here regarding this.05:58, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)~0101CHEUNGKH2:00 p.m. 12 oct

In reply to the post a bit far back, here are some of the topics that i can think of..

Cultural Hero

Impacts to Historical Texts AND LITERATURE

More details to the Lingli incident: linking that to his post as an imperial official.

Literature IN HIS TEXT: an appraisal

etc..

These are the standard ones, appreciated if anyone have better suggestions..

From some raedings i did, Sima Qian was actually grew up inside the emperor's inner court, instead of the rural settings as mentioned in the wikipedia. So maybe you guys can try to verify this in your research. Thanks^^

Oh yea.. and regarding to my previous discussion post(the first post).. about finding that there was a source similiar to this.. it was a mistake.. cuz the websites i found out, surprisingly were all from the wikipedia..

Anyway there are more to improve on this article...

cheers

--0101YOUNGhy 06:03, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)

HI, groupmates,

I have some suggestions and comments regarding our existing page. First of all, I appreciate the pictures that our grouopmate found as they make the page seems more "pro". However, regarding the content, I have make a few amendments such as changing the word"journalistic publication",for Taichuoli was not an journalistic article and Shiji was actually an histriography. I have asked Li, our teacher assistant on this and she suggested that it is unnecessary for us to "pretend" Sima Qian was a journalist and Shiji was an "journalisic article" as both were not applicable to Sima Qian's time!and we should all remember that "journalism's first obligation is to the truth".

I hope we all can improve on the page and think carefully what information we should keep in the page.

Hope we can do a best page.~0101CHEUNGKH

Dear groupmates,

I just found out that there is a mistake in our page. I have checked the book about the biography of Sima Qian, regarding the Li Ling Affair. Wudi actually asked him to use money to atone his fault or castration, but not execution or castration. Besides, Qian choose the latter was not because he wanted to finish Shiji (as at that time Sima Qian had not yet started to write Shiji!!!) Therefore, I have make an amendment on this.0101CHEUNGKH0101CHEUNGKH

Hi guys, Sorry I'm late. Anyway when I first read the article, it tasted like, indeed, a piece of assignment instead of an article that should be appeared in an encyclopedia. Why should we eye on his contribution to Journalism? I know we're doing a project for our course of Journalism but it'd be a bit strange to outsiders. Your thought. (by Almond, --0101WONGfm 04:49, 13 Oct 2004 (UTC))

It is time for us to choose an editor for this page
Hello, i had found some interesting pictures. hope you will like it.

Also Thank you for contributing the project, right now, we got enough information, but our page isn't very well organized. thus, i would like to ask volunteer, who is good at english , to try to make it consistent in the style of writing. (I feel sorry that I am not proficient in writing english >.< )

More, I would like to delete some para, which is related to the journalism, coz our project is supposed to be seen by the world, and they are not taking a journal class. (by LO, --0101LOcw)

Hi groupmates,

I also think it's a difficult problem in making a balance regarding the proportion of journalism in this project. However, the required research questions are also predominately regarding on journlaism. So do we need to answer all those suggested questions? Does anyone has any suggestion on this? Pls feel free to comment on this.0101CHEUNGKH0101CHEUNGKH

Hi~ groupmates, sorry for coming late. I think the article has covered most of the required research questions. Since the topic of this project is 'Journalists as Great Authors', I think we should include some literary component in the article. SO I added something about literature in the article.0101CHANYP

Hi groupmates,

I agree with groupmate Chan, since this project is titled "Journalists as Great Authors". It is no doubt that our focus should be put on " as a journalist" and "as an author". Besides, the research questions also addressed the contributions of the character on journalism and literature as well as the elements of journalism that he met. I hope we can on the right track. So happy we can communicate through this page.0101CHEUNGKH0101CHEUNGKH

Hi guys I agree that this page of Sima Qian is open to the public and will be read by people who do not study journalism.

It seems that we are putting too much emphasis on the link between Sima Qian and Journalism. Imagine if you are the user of the internet, i am sure that you dont know what "level 1, level 2, and level 3" mean.

And also, too many pictures in our page will surely distract the readers. We should delete some of them.

-- Hello fellows, Could you sign off your message with your signature and timestamp. Try the button right above the editing window. Thanks. (by Almond, --0101WONGfm 19:55, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC))

Hi groupmates,

I understand your concerns about the proportion of 'journalism' in our page. It is because Sima Qian is a historical figure and 'journalism' has not yet emerged during his time and so we'll feel strange in linking him to journalism.(which other groups won't encounter this problem as the person they do is definitely a journlaist) However, since the topic is "journalist as great author" and our course is indeed a journalism course, it is obvious that we need to make some linkage between the two. so I think we can now keep the stuff in our page first and edit them finally before we think carefully about the proportion.0101CHEUNGKH

Hi groupmates, I've just checked the e-mail sent bu Professor Chan, which stated that this project will be graded on the emphasis on journalism. Hope this will help us to reconsider how much should we focus on this aspect.0101CHEUNGKH Hello, I got some suggestions about the proportion of "journalism". Since journalism has not appeared yet in the Han dynasty as Cheung mentioned, it is odd if we say Sima qian was a journalist, thus,

First, we should bear in mind that Sima qian only make great contribution on the later development of Journalism. This is our stance.

Second, we can figure out how Sima qian writing's attitude, style and method meeting the elements of journalism. While giving examples, we can mention some comtemporary journalists who are strongly influenced by Sima qian and always uphold his principle.

Lastly, remember to give neutral point of views, only the facts, no personal comments.(by LO, --0101LOcw)

Hi groupmates,

I agree with Lo that we should interlock our page with journalism by stating how Sima Qian influence the later development of journalism. By stating how Sima Qian meeting the three levels of journalism, the main point is not only linking to journalism but to give more details about Shiji.

I have no intention to delete the journalism thingy from this article (though it's rather odd showing the rest of the world that it's, indeed, a piece of assignment). But I did delete few sentences like "this valuable experience made him...". Because this is not "fact/history" but "how we interpret the fact/history" and seems we'll never find a way to prove that there's such a cause-and-effect. (by Almond, --0101WONGfm 10:22, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC))

Hello, groupmates, do you think that we should add more words on the historial achievements? since sima qian is a grand historian..... and i have just made some sub-headings under the "a literar yauthor ",but i think it doesn't look pretty, how can i change it so as to look better?

Hi
I added 2 new paragraphs on history and literature influences. Also added a paragraph on the level 3 reporting abt the Grand Historian Remark. So maybe you can see if that suffice (in response to the previous dropin message).

Moreover, I don't know the Chinese translation for some names and I need you guys help me translating them.

I think it's almost time for us to edit. (And a lot of things to do on that, which i'm not able to do in these 2 days) So add oil la, group mates!!! --0101YOUNGhy 06:08, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Element of Journalism number 8
Element eight: Journalists must keep the news in proportion and make it comprehensive.

Hi Guys, so good to see such vibrant discussions. There is no need for you to strech the truth about Sima Qian in order to answer the research questions. I completely agree with your teammate "?":

"First, we should bear in mind that Sima qian only make great contribution on the later development of Journalism. This is our stance.

Second, we can figure out how Sima qian writing's attitude, style and method meeting the elements of journalism. While giving examples, we can mention some comtemporary journalists who are strongly influenced by Sima qian and always uphold his principle.

Lastly, remember to give neutral point of views, only the facts, no personal comments."

Use your best judgment, but whatever his connection to journalism is, it should be mentioned in the lead paragraph.

be sure to sign off your discussion message with 4 tilde signs (~) at the end like this:Lfcho 14:13, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)to include your name, time and date.

(JMSC0101 TA) - Li Lfcho 14:13, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Suggest some of us to do this and some that, and stop adding things. I'm afraid we've been doing something similiar like verifying figures/numbers, checking grammar, finetuning, etc. To avoid changing the same material back and forth, perhaps we can do it in this way: groupmate A to check the tense, B to check the spelling, C to check the capitilization, D to check the numbers... etc (a bit tedious so please suggest). Think we should let go and not that greedy to rectify all the things by oneself, without knowing what the others are doing. I'm checking the spelling now. Your thought? (by Almond, --0101WONGfm 18:14, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC))

Hello While editing, I suggest visiting other group's web sites so that we can make comparison and learm from the other. ^.^ Work hard! I hope that our we site would be easy to read, thus, i am now trying to make some sub-title? Is there any good suggection?

I have added some no. to the topic.....but the "content", which is pink in color, looks strange at the same time, how can I do? Can anyone edit the "content"? (by LO, --0101LOcw 22:23, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC))

Re: Comments after Editing
Questions while editing.

Does anyone know what barbarian tribes exactly that was referred when he went west to perform military roles.

There are many words which i doubt whether we need to make links. Such as 'eclipse', 'sun'.

I think 'Feng Sacrifice' should have a link instead.

In terms of the influence, there should be more support on specifically how things/authors were influenced. There is thin materials on that.

Remember that we agreed that we should not refer him as a journalist

What is with the phrase from 'literature' - 'skillful depiction' - 'a large proportion conservation'?? May the contributor please check on what it means cuz i have no idea..

Add oil ma team-mates~

Cheers

0101YOUNGhy

Re: Smething to add
Also may also someone verify how we suppose to praise our sources. thx.

I have made some changes to the lit. part and I think some pictures ,not to many, will be better for the project. that is sufficed now .(by LO, --0101LOcw

i have deleted some analysis of information, coz it is not so much related and the para is too long

IMPORTANT: REFERENCE
We have not mentioned our references!!! Pls add your reference material for our site! If you don't know how, this is the way http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cite_your_sources

Add oil! One more day to go~

--0101YOUNGhy 18:25, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

important: chinese translation
can some please do some translation for me Ban Gu’s [Pan Ku’s] History of the Han (Han Shu) --- to make it consistent, can someone change Pan Ku to Chinese characters please. Thx!

0101YOUNGhy

note
A question:

I really think our arguement is quite thin for saying that sima qian effected the later development of journalism.

I tried to search but there is no direct linkage to the two.

In our section on "Contribution to the development of Journalism"

It's basically about how his writing fulfulls the 3 levels of reporting.

I suggest to change the title and the intro paragraph of that section.

Title something like: Sima Qian as a Role Model to Journalist

Any questions please raise in the discussion

cheers--0101YOUNGhy 20:00, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Hello Groupmates,

I agree that the argument of saying Sima Qian meeting the three levels = contributions is quite weak. Thus, I 've change the wordings a little bit. Besides, I've also change the wordings like "good" because "good" is too subjective and is too vague in meaning which is not a journalistic tone.

Although Sima Qian had no direct connection with journalism, I think he and Shiji really have influence in this sphere for his writing method and style are objective and netural. I think the only point is that journalism had not yet evolved at his time and thus we would find linking him with the topic difficult.

I also call for all of you to add external links and references on the page. Thanks 0101CHEUNGKH 05:01, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)0101CHEUNGKH

Caption for Pictures
For contributors who added pictures, please make a caption for it. Thx~ Or anyone who knows what to write abt them.

why was there only a few paragraphs..?? who chopped them all.. i added them back

I did a presentation on him for Chinese history class

 * I've also read some of his "Records of the Grand Historian." I haven't worked on this, but if it still would need any I'd be glad to help.(Depending on how things are going in my studies)--T. Anthony 10:47, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

Clean-up
The main problem is that a number of sections are presented in staccato, non-sentence, note form. The English is often rather odd, too. --Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 08:30, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I searched the cleanup dispute, its said only ungrammatical, poorly formatted, confusing can be considered needed to "clean-up", I don't see any of these. And please do not remove the date I provided earlier (I did not change any of the contents nor Wikipedia style), those are real date from primary sources, because you can't see you're doing. So please don't do this again 08:43, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

 * As English is clearly not your first language, you're not in a position to judge. Please don't remove the template until the work is done.  Also, stop reverting correct Wikipedia coding to incorrect. --Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 17:47, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

 * What kind of lousy respose is that, I am only adding the date, do you have a myopia problem??? Since when did I reverted any coding, I am not in not in a position to judge?? Well since I provided a sources with cited, I don't think you're in in a position to judge either. I'm not got to talk to you with this shit. 23:26, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

 * You said: "I searched the cleanup dispute, its said only ungrammatical, poorly formatted, confusing can be considered needed to "clean-up", I don't see any of these." I responded, on the evidence of this and other of your edits, that English wasn't your first language and that that was why you didn't see the problems (even though I'd explained what they were on this page).
 * You've refused to explain on this page what the basis of your edits are; you say that you've cited a source, but as this shows, you haven't. --Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 17:54, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

 * Please see Wikipedia's no personal attacks policy. Comment on content, not on the contributor; personal attacks damage the community and deter users. Note that continued personal attacks may lead to blocks for disruption. Please stay cool and keep this in mind while editing. Thanks. - Nat Krause(Talk!) 07:23, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Years of birth/death
Folks, please talk this through and cite sources. Right now, this revert war is not productive. --Nlu (talk) 13:14, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Since there appears to be no discussion going on, I'm going to unprotect. Meanwhile, it should be noted that I am unable to locate any references as to age in Sima Qian's biography in Han Shu (ch. 62, ).  --Nlu (talk) 01:51, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I've checked a large number of Web pages, and most of them are even vaguer about his dates than the article. I can find no ground for making the dates more precise and definite. --Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 10:51, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

The anon. still refuses to discuss this issue here, merely reverting with telegraphic explanations in edit summaries ("According to Zheng Yi which is a primary sources and a scholarly secondary source from Wang Guowei who work over his date, I was right" — hardly useful as a citation). --Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 21:53, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Hi, the date of birth for Sima Qian was given by Zheng Shoujie commentary under Shiji, 130 to 145 BC (calculated from his age at 41 given at 104 BCE), so it was an attestation within primary sources, his date of death was however unknown, most scholars believe he died around 80s, so its ludicrous for you to state a circa date 145-90, this is wrong, it should be stated as 145-80s BCE. About Laozi, Sima Qian has given us an account that he was a senior of Confucius, so it is prattle to said that scholars would have placed him in around 4th century BC, not unless it is sourced, btw, both date of birth and death of Confucius came from Shiji, 47 and Chunqiu. 02:06, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

 * Which chapter of Shiji is this from? --Nlu (talk) 02:09, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Which are you refering to? 02:13, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
 * You said that your source is the commentary to Shiji -- but to which chapter (卷)? That way, I can verify it.  --Nlu (talk) 02:38, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Shiji, 130 （史记正义） 02:40, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
 * OK, Mel, I think that's enough of a citation to let it stand. Mr./Ms. Anon, go ahead and change it back.  Mel, if you disagree, maybe call for a RfC?  --Nlu (talk) 02:46, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Leaving aside his incivility, this isn't sufficient. He cites an ancient (c. 1st century BCE) history against all the modern scholarly sources that I've been able to find. A common feature of ancient sources is that they pretend to a precision and certainty to which they're not entitled.

With regard to Laozi, the anon seems again to assert that Sima Qian is infallible. A common view is that Laozi didn't exist at all, and even if he did, the question as to his chronological relationship with Confucius is far from clear. The dates given in the Laozi article are cited (see the References section).

Some of the problem – including, perhaps, some of the incivility – probably stems from the anon's unfamiliarity with English, and with Wikipedia. --Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 17:16, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

 * Sorry, but what's makes you think you're in a position to judge or even to make a dubious grounds on other, do you even read modern or classical chinese like modern scholar Wang Guowei? With regard to Laozi, most scholars do believe that he did existed, I had no idea of what did you meant by a common view, a common view of yours I suppose, he was only mythicise by the later Taoist, in the work of Sima Qian, he wasn't even a mythic figure at all. Furthermore, what makes you think that you could assert the incredibility on Shiji, do you even read Shiji, it is a measure of the thoroughness of his predecessors that Sima Qian can give accurately the names of Shang kings more than 1000 years before his time (modern scholars assume these details to be legendary, until they are confirmed by inscriptions on the Shang oracle bones). I can play this little game of yours until I'm dead. 00:44, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

 * "The dates given in the Laozi article are cited (see the References section)." Leaving aside his ignorance, this isn't sufficient. I'm afraid none of those references even placed him from the 4th century BCE on the section. It is not UP to you to decide, unless you could quoted some of those references (note that it state many scholars under the edits, so it must be five to ten of them that supported his view). 00:55, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

 * "I've checked a large number of Web pages, and most of them are even vaguer about his dates than the article." "He cites an ancient (c. 1st century BCE) history against all the modern scholarly sources that I've been able to find." I believe this guy has still not read any of these records. Trawling through the internet for possible clues is always easier, but how reliable are they. Scholarly sources from google, or just your assumption? 01:11, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Mel, leaving aside the alleged incivility, I think a primary ancient source is likely to be more, not less, reliable. --Nlu (talk) 03:36, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

--Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 21:52, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
 * 1) "Alleged incivility"? Do you take "prattle" to be civil? "I can play this little game of yours until I'm dead"? "Leaving aside his ignorance"? The edit summary: "Rv; Mel Etitis's usual garbage"?  What do you take incivility to be?
 * 2) Why do you think that ancient sources are more reliable? That's almost never the case, in any culture, for all sorts of reasons (local politics, confusion of myth and history, poor scholarship, etc.).  Primary sources are often useful in determining dates, but they're also often very misleading.  Note that modern scholars are aware of the ancient sources, and still say that Sima Qian's dates are unclear.  The anon is reduced to sneers and vague statements about my knowledge, which should give a hint as to the strength of his position.
 * 3) As for Laozi (and why we're discussing him here I'm unclear) — some citations just from backs to hand on my own shelves:
 * 4) *"the 'founder' of philosophical Daoism is the quasi-legendary Laodan [...]. According to tradition he was an older contemporary of Confucius, with dates ranging from 580 to 480BC.  Zhuangzi [...] has a more solid historical status" (Charles Wei-hsun Fu, "Daoism in Chinese philosophy", in Carr & Mahalingam [edd] Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy. Routledge, 2001; p. 553.)
 * 5) *"the early third-century BCE Tao-te ching [...] also known as the Lao-tzu after its eponymous 'author', Lao Tan" (Daniel L. Overmyer, "Chinese religion", in Kitagawa [ed.]The Religious Traditions of Asia. Macmillan, 1987; p.265)
 * 6) *"Lao-zi: c.570–490BCE?. Like the Greek bard Homer, it is not clear who Lao-zi was, or even if he existed." (Peter J. King, One Hundred Philosophers. Barron's, 2004)
 * 7) *"Laozi (dates uncertain; speculation ranges from 600 to 200 BCE) is, we assume, the author of the Daode Jing [...] The figure of Laozi has always been shrouded in mystery" (details of scholarly disagreement over dating of text) "Many scholars, however, dismiss Laozi as mythological or use his name as shorthand for 'the author(s) of the Daode Jing." (Chad Hansen, "Laozi", in A Companion to the Philosophers. Blackwell, 2001; pp77–78)

 * Ancient sources are more reliable, as far as chronology is concerned, because they are made closer in time to the events in question. The situation here is analogous to, ironic enough, Shijis dating of Warring States period monarchs compared to the Bamboo Annals, in my opinion -- which was only discovered (specifically, removed from an ancient tomb) in the Jin Dynasty but was immediately recognized for its ancient origins.  Historians generally acknowledge the dating in the Bamboo Annals to be more reliable than that in the Shiji.  No, ancient sources aren't always more reliable, but as far as the dating is concerned, I'd say that they're likely to be more reliable.  --Nlu (talk) 05:54, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

The general claim simply isn't true, I'm afraid, as ancient historians would all confirm. The discipline is full of cases in which ancient sources either get wrong or simply misrepresent the facts. (As you don't rrespond to all my other points, doi I take it that you now accept them?) --Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 17:17, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

"As you don't rrespond to all my other points, doi I take it that you now accept them?" There is nothing clear and straight on your points, much less to accept it. Your inability to clearly give a reason for your argument shows that it doesn't have a solid base to back up. For you had done nothing but rats, why don't you care to explain about your points. The general claim of that is certainly true, I'm afraid none of your claims are worth replying for the other. 04:58, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

06:53, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
 * 1) Speaking of civil, I consider you to be rude for reverting edits that other had provided. For reasons you couldn't even verify the citation I had given even as you insists you're right.
 * 2) To be fair and objective I had read, most modern scholars are aware of the ancient sources, and still say that Sima Qian's dates are clear. Scholar such as Wang Guowei had no disagreement to the date that I given, since there is ground for making the dates more precise and definite, its not something that needs to be reevaluated, primary sources are often useful in determining dates, they're only misleading when there is diffuse of varied range of dates within, which is not the case for the date of birth of Sima Qian. The ancient sources are more realible for as much as all secondary sources are based upon them, they would have lay no claim to historical objectivity if they don't. Since those records are our only evidence of what happened in the past, any claims of what happened then need to be supported by evidence from those records or any convincing scientifically method. Or else someone like myself can easily make the argument on some nonsensical testimony, and nobody can prove me wrong. The varied date of Sima Qian thoughout a large number of Web pages are because they're unreliable, not because they were vary from the original sources.
 * 3) As for Laozi, apart from his work, almost all four sources you provided seem to consider Laozi was an older contemporary of Confucius, and why we're still disputing him I'm unclear, be it historical or mythical figure.

 * Civility. Your most recent edit summary also violates civility. As you've already been blocked for other reasons, I'll leave this for the moment.
 * Modern scholarship uses ancient texts, but often corrects them (and they're certainly not our only evidence for what happened in the past, as archaeologists and ancient historians would confirm).
 * You denied that many scholars believed Laozi to be mythical, and the citations demonstrate that you're wrong on that. Moreover they make clear that the notion that he was a senior contemporary of Confucius is merely what tradition says – they don't accept it as fact – and none of them places him in one particular century. --Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 17:15, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

 * This is coming from someone who has the guts to comment on Sima Qian when he can't even verify the citation I given?
 * You had based off upoon your insufficient knowledge regarding to Sima Qian, when it came to ancient sources, modern scholarship corrects them with specific reasons, not just mere intuition, I never dismiss the archaeological facts. But since we're talking about the precise and definite dates of a particular individual, its not something that archaeologists would have confirm, neither do the carbon dating is good enough.
 * Wrong, since when did I denied that, he's somewhere in between historical and mythical. Before you propose anymore of your unsupported rubbish, at least get a clue on that. Your narration demonstrate that you're wrong on that, they make clear on the notion that he was a senior contemporary of Confucius from the tradition tells, what they don't accept it as fact is not the issue here, and certainly placing him from 4th century BC and not backed by sufficient facts is something that's without a good reasoning. In case you didnt aware of it, almost all three sources you provided placed him in one particular century.

03:57, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

 * 1) Why do you find it impossible to discuss this matter without descending to childish insult?
 * 2) You said: "With regard to Laozi, most scholars do believe that he did existed, I had no idea of what did you meant by a common view, a common view of yours I suppose, he was only mythicise by the later Taoist, in the work of Sima Qian, he wasn't even a mythic figure at all." When I cited sources indicating that many scholars don't believe that Laozi existed, you say: "since when did I denied that, he's somewhere in between historical and mythical".
 * 3) It's difficult to follow some of what you say, but none of the (four) sources that I cited place Laozi unequivocally in the 4th century BCE (1. "according to tradition" 580–480; 2. early 3rd century; 3. c.570–490BCE?; 4. 600 to 200 BCE).   --Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 08:34, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

 * 1) I found it impossible to discuss this matter with you beacuase of your insufficient knowledge regarding to my previously citations I provided.
 * 2) "When I cited sources indicating that many scholars don't believe that Laozi existed" Your sources never state that he doesn't existed, and they certainly doesn't placed him from the 4th century BC. You said "You denied that many scholars believed Laozi to be mythical" and I replied "Wrong, since when did I denied that" and added he's somewhere in the middle of historical and mythical, what's wrong with that. Why don't you say something about Sima Qian dating by the way.
 * No, I said all of your three sources, but now I see it should be two of them (dates ranging from 580 to 480BC; c.570–490BCE?), the point is that your sources doesn't supported your claim about Laozi dating to the 4th century BC, and even if they did it must has some reasoning. 10:48, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Reprotection
This revert war is unseemingly and unproductive. If both of you feel this strongly, surely either of you would be able to file an RfC on the subject. --Nlu (talk) 17:27, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I've already approached an editor whom I know to be a Chinese scholar. Perhaps an RfC is a also good idea.  I'm a little disturbed that you've protected twice, both times locking the article in the anon's version, for which you've suggested that you have a preference. --Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 14:25, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

 * And the fact that is you whom failed to provide your references that supported your claims, it is not up to you to push the blame on other. 15:17, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

RFC has been filed. --Nlu (talk) 16:55, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

RfC comments
Crikey. Would the Anon kindly read WP:NPA. In terms of the latest edit, mass deleting a large chunk which contains useful material/links etc does not bode well for establishing your bona fides (nor does remaining anonymous and never signing your notes). Although you may know this subject inside-out, you should consider that an obvious lack of total grasp of the english language indicates you should be a little more careful in how you say things - consider how easy it is for foreigners to be insulting and inadvertently say dumb things in Chinese. Dates going that far back - unless someone has a birth certificate, 'circa' is normally appropriate, although I agree that the 80's based on above argument appear more credible than the 90's. Deleted pieces could use some NPOVing as well. Bridesmill 17:23, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

 * I've now heard back (off-Wikipedia) from the person whom I asked to comment; I'm hoping that he'll post a fuller comment here. He reports, though, that one of the sources provided by the anon to support the use of a definitive date actually gives two possible alternatives, and explains that they're both sippositional. --Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 21:15, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

"In terms of the latest edit, mass deleting a large chunk which contains useful material/links etc does not bode well for establishing your bona fides (nor does remaining anonymous and never signing your notes)." All I can say it was an accident through reverting, anyway if he didn't start off this edit war on the first place, things like this won't be happened. 18:04, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

"He reports, though, that one of the sources provided by the anon to support the use of a definitive date actually gives two possible alternatives, and explains that they're both sippositional." Oh by way, there were already a major interpretation through profound scholarship by Wang Guowei for that, so save your energy. 202.156.6.54, 18:08, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

 * So let me get this right, you are insisting on the date of 145 exactly even though you know that your own source gives two possible dates based on calculations of when Sima Qian got various titles and jobs? I wonder, is it possible to block people who needlessly create conflict where there is no need for it?  Lao Wai 13:31, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

 * There are two ages given; 28 and 42 at a certain year. First your statement was not only facetious but preposterous in every way. So let me get this right, Its not what I insisting nor did I insisted on anything, because for every one I can name at least five scholars are in favor for over one date, so keep that comments to yourself. As for scholars who are in favor of the date 145 are primarily due to the further possibilities in number crunching that three (三) was easiler misinterpreted as two (二) than to four (四). Since you can understand it what are you bitching about? 02:08, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Source:
 * 司马迁当了五年太史令，汉武帝改元太初，张守节的《正义》就在“五年而当太初元年”下备注说：“迁年四十二岁. ”太初元年是公元前104年，司马迁年四十二，王国维先生据此推算，司马迁当生于汉景帝中元五年，即公元前145年. 王国维先生在《太史公行年考》中认为后人引用《博物志》所载“年二十八”应是“年三十八”之误. 因为古籍中“二、三、四”与“廿、卅”常常发生讹误. 王国维所著《太史公行年考》注意到了司马贞与张守节的两条注，并谈了自己的看法：“疑今本《索隐》所引《博物志》‘年二十八’，张守节所见本作‘年三十八’. 三讹为二，乃事之常；三讹为四，则于理为远. 以此观之，则史公生年，当为孝景中元五年，而非孝武建元六年矣. ”. 总之，《博物志》“太史令”条，写的是汉武帝三年（即建元三年）除司马谈为太史令之事，只是“己卯”误为“乙卯”而已. 弄出麻烦来的，是司马贞张冠李戴，将此条引注于《自序》“卒三岁而迁为太史令”之下. -- Prof Shi

 * Sorry this is a little late. I do admire someone with such winning ways with the English language.  Not only facetious but preposterous in every way?  Wonderful.  So, to try an umangle your Chinglish to something vaguely understandable, you are arguing that you have found a highly popular date with Chinese scholars?  You are arguing that they argue that the dispute over SMQ's birthday comes down to a very easy confusion between three, two and even four?  Which is all fine.  But producing a scholar that claims a likely date is not the same as proving a date.  There is a dispute over this date and you may be right for all I know, but it is not a matter of consensus among China scholars.  Therefore "c. 145" seems about right to me.  Why are you objecting to that when your own source discusses the dispute? Lao Wai 16:30, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Unprotected
This article has been protected for weeks and weeks and weeks, and nobody has edited the talk page in a week. Oh for heaven's sake. Unprotected. --Tony Sidaway 00:47, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

New Question
Please let me ask the question: why mangle his name. Chinese language uses single characters that combines to word/phrases. In this instance his last name is made up of two characters (rare in modern Chinese last names), so I think should be designated "Si Ma" to reflect this.
 * A rule of Pinyin is to write surname and given names in two words, e.g. Mao Zedong, Jiang Zemin, Ouyang Xiu. I saw the usage in this article is sometimes "Sima Qian" and others "Si Ma Qian". I converted all instances of "Si Ma Qian" to "Sima Qian". -- Joshua  C  hi  e  w  13:03, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Name
I'm not sure that the addition of "Ssu-ma Cheng-chen" is correct - I'm not familiar with Wade-Giles transliteration, only pinyin but it looks like there is an extra syllable here.

Philg88 (talk) 11:08, 30 May 2010 (UTC)
 * The spelling "Ssu-ma Cheng-chen" is used in scholarly studies like Taoism: the enduring tradition by Russell Kirkland (2004), Chinese Religions by Julia Ching (1993), and Toynbee's Study of History. Rjensen (talk) 12:35, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the clarification :) Philg88 (talk) 23:49, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

Sorry to harp on about this but I still have my doubts. There is no mention of this alternative on the equivalent Chinese page; according to the Internet there was tenth-century BCE Taoist named SSU-Ma-Cheng Chen and maybe these two got mixed up at some point in history. Can somebody please provide the hanzi for Ssu-ma Cheng-chen to confirm the name?

ThanksPhilg88 (talk) 22:05, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

This is definitely wrong, I have never heard about that. Ssu-ma Cheng-chen is 司马承祯, a Dao Master in Tang. 134.76.63.49 (talk) 00:15, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

And His Real Name Is...?
Reading this name as "Sima Qian" appears to be profoundly odd to me, as I would have expected that his name be either "司马迁" (ie, "Si, MaQian", after the Chinese custom of spelling the surname first), or "迁司马" (ie, "Qian, SiMa", assuming that the English transscription correctly reflects the name, with the surname going last). I assume that he did not have a two-character surname and a one-character given name, especially not back in his day, right? It would be great if someone could share some light onto this. The Chinese language version of the page suggests that his name was "司 马迁". Also, please add PinYin tone marks if you can. It would make reading for those of us with no in-depth knowledge of the Chinese language much easier. Thank you! 79.228.152.44 (talk) 14:40, 8 October 2012 (UTC)
 * His daughter's name was Sima Ying (司馬英), so it appears that it is a two-character surname and one character given name. Yes, it is odd. 75.156.70.207 (talk) 22:47, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
 * It is one of the few two-character surnames that are still common today. Double sharp (talk) 07:40, 26 December 2022 (UTC)

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chinese text
Thanks to User:White_whirlwind for pointing out the formatting. However, I noticed that there was a mixture of traditional and simplified chinese text and decided to include both. I'm fine with having only one orthography, but it should be consistent, and probably traditional. Alsosaid1987 (talk) 00:38, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

 * Yes, I agree. The usual style has been to use traditional for everything except Mainland people/places post-1949. I don't think that's ever been written down anywhere though, such as at MOS:ZH.  White Whirlwind  咨   02:19, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:Sima Qian


text:
Boarding

Boarding may refer to:

 * Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a:
 * Boarding house
 * Boarding school
 * Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horse
 * Boarding (ice hockey), a penalty called when an offending player violently pushes or checks an opposing player into the boards of the hockey rink
 * Boarding (transport), transferring people onto a vehicle
 * Naval boarding, the forcible insertion of personnel onto a naval vessel
 * Waterboarding, a form of torture

title: Boarding


text:
Suzanne Danielle

Suzanne Danielle, Morris (born 14 January 1957) is an English former film and television actress.

Early life
Danielle was born Suzanne Morris in 1957, before changing her surname.

She trained as a dancer at the Bush Davies School of Theatre Arts in her home town of Romford in Essex, and also attended Bedfords Park Community School in Straight Road, Harold Hill. At the age of 16, she appeared in the West End musical Billy (1974), starring Michael Crawford. As a result of that she was invited to appear as a dancer on a Bruce Forsyth show called Bruce and More Girls. An admirer of Cyd Charisse, after leaving school Danielle joined a dance group called The Younger Generation.

Screen career
Danielle's first screen role as an actress was as "Pretty Girl" in an episode of The Professionals ("Killer with a Long Arm"), broadcast in January 1978. Her first film role was in The Wild Geese (1978), but her first credited part, in the same year, was in Carry On Emmannuelle, the last film in the original Carry On... series. One reviewer commented "Many of the stalwarts are featured but, apart from Kenneth Williams, they are reduced to support for the eponymous heroine in the athletic and long-legged person of Suzanne Danielle". Also that year she filmed The Golden Lady, playing a leading part alongside Ina Skriver; the movie was released in 1979. In Arabian Adventure (also 1979) she plays a dancer and does a belly dance for Christopher Lee's Caliph. Her last film was The Trouble with Spies (1987, but filmed in 1984), in which she played opposite Donald Sutherland and Michael Hordern.

Television
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Danielle was reported to have "the monopoly on attractive, promiscuous good-time girls". She was a regular face on British television between 1979 and 1983. She was a team member on the TV game show Give Us a Clue and appeared in many other light entertainment shows, including the Christmas 1984 edition of Blankety Blank. As an actress, she appeared in Doctor Who (in the story Destiny of the Daleks), Hammer House of Horror, Morecambe and Wise, Tales of the Unexpected and became a frequent contributor to the Mike Yarwood series on ITV during the early 1980s, portraying Diana, Princess of Wales, opposite Yarwood's impersonation of Prince Charles.

Theatre
She took to the theatre in 1980, in a touring production of John Murray's two-person comedy The Monkey Walk, opposite Patrick Mower. This travelled as far afield as Singapore and New Zealand.

In 1983, she starred in an exercise instruction album on vinyl and cassette, in the Shape Up and Dance series.

In 1985, Danielle played the lead in a Christmas pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk at Richmond, Surrey, supported by Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Connor and Joan Sims.

Personal life
Danielle was in a relationship with the actor Patrick Mower for seven years. In 1986, she met golfer Sam Torrance, who proposed to her in 1987 on a Concorde flight on the way to play in the Ryder Cup in Columbus, Ohio, US. They were married on 14 February 1995 at Skibo Castle. They have four children.

Filmography

 * The Stud (1978) – Disco dancer (uncredited)
 * The Wild Geese (1978) – Girl at party (uncredited)
 * Long Shot (1978) – Sue
 * Carry On Emmannuelle (1978) – Emmannuelle Prevert
 * Arabian Adventure (1979) – Eastern Dancer
 * The Golden Lady (1979) – Dahlia
 * Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) – Candice Rawlinson
 * Flash Gordon (1980) – Serving Girl
 * The Boys in Blue (1982) – Kim
 * Escape from El Diablo (1984) – Pilar
 * The Trouble with Spies (1987) – Maria Sola

Television

 * The Professionals - "Killer with a Long Arm" (1978) – "Pretty Girl"
 * Morecambe and Wise Show – various appearances
 * Doctor Who - Destiny of the Daleks (1979) – "Agella"
 * Give Us a Clue – regular guest, 1979–83
 * Hammer House of Horror - "Carpathian Eagle" (1980) – Natalie
 * Tales of the Unexpected - "Hijack" (1981) as Millie, and "Pattern of Guilt" (1982) as Elaine Briscoe
 * Jane (1982) – Lola Pagola
 * Mike Yarwood in Persons (1981) – Diana, Princess of Wales
 * Strangers (1982) - Gail Merrian
 * Royal Variety Performance – 8 November 1982
 * Just Amazing (1983) - host
 * Blankety Blank - 25 December 1984

title: Suzanne Danielle


text:
Sabiha Gökçen

Sabiha Gökçen (22 March 1913 – 22 March 2001) was a Turkish aviator. During her flight career, she flew around 8,000 hours and participated in 32 different military operations. She was the world's first female fighter pilot, aged 23. As an orphan, she was one of the nine children adopted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

She is recognized as the first female combat pilot by The Guinness Book of World Records (in fact she was the first female fighter pilot, as the first female combat pilot was Marie Marvingt in 1915 ) and was selected as the only female pilot for the poster of "The 20 Greatest Aviators in History" published by the United States Air Force in 1996.

Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the second airport in Istanbul, is named after her.

Early life
According to official Turkish sources and interviews with Sabiha Gökçen, she was the daughter of Mustafa Izzet Bey and Hayriye Hanım, both of whom were of Bosniak ancestry. During Atatürk's visit to Bursa in 1925, Sabiha, who was only twelve years old, asked for permission to talk with Atatürk and expressed her wish to study at a boarding school. After hearing her story and about her miserable living conditions, Atatürk decided to adopt her and asked her brother for permission to take her to the Çankaya Presidential Residence in Ankara, where Sabiha would live with Atatürk's other adoptive daughters, Zehra, Afet and Rukiye. Gökçen attended the Çankaya Primary School in Ankara and the Üsküdar American Academy in Istanbul.

In February 2004 an article in the newspaper Agos, headlined "The Secret of Sabiha Hatun", contained an interview with Hripsime Sebilciyan, a former resident of Gaziantep, who claimed to be Gökçen's niece and that Gökçen herself was of Armenian ancestry. Sebilciyan claimed that Gökçen's birth name was Hatun Sebilciyan and that she was adopted by Atatürk from an orphanage in Cibin in Urfa Province. Sebilcyan said that Gökçen had four brothers: Sarkis, Boğos, Haçik and Hovhannes, and a sister, Diruhi (Hripsime's mother). According to Turkish-Armenian linguist Pars Tuğlacı, who knew Gökçen personally and deemed Sebilciyan's story to be false, Gökçen was born to an Armenian family from Bursa and was left in an orphanage there when her family was deported during the Armenian genocide. Tuğlacı also claimed that Gökçen later found out about her Armenian roots when members of her family contacted her from Beirut and that she visited her Armenian relatives there.

However, these claims are disputed by Turkish sources and interviews with Gökçen, as well as by her adopted sister Ülkü Adatepe, who reiterated that Gökçen and both of Sabiha's parents were of Bosniak ancestry.

After the introduction of the Surname Law, Atatürk gave her the family name Gökçen on 19 December 1934. 'Gök' means sky in Turkish and Gökçen means 'belonging or relating to the sky'. However, she was not an aviator at that time, and it was only six months later that Sabiha developed a passion for flying.

Career
Atatürk attached great importance to aviation and for that purpose oversaw the foundation of the Turkish Aeronautical Association in 1925. He took Sabiha along with him to the opening ceremony of Türkkuşu (Turkish Bird) Flight School on 5 May 1935. During the airshow of gliders and parachutists invited from foreign countries, she got very excited. As Atatürk asked her whether she would also want to become a skydiver, she nodded, "yes indeed, I am ready right now". Atatürk instructed Fuat Bulca, the head of the school, to enroll her as the first female trainee. She was meant to become a skydiver, but she was much more interested in flying, so she earned her pilot's licence. Gökçen, together with seven male students, was sent to Crimea, Soviet Union for an advanced course in glider and powered aircraft piloting. However, when she was in Moscow, she learned the news that her sister Zehra had died, and with collapsed morale, she immediately returned to Turkey, isolating herself from social activities for some time.

After a while, at Atatürk's insistence, Gökçen began working again. At Eskişehir Aviation School, she received special flight training from Savmi Uçan and Muhittin Bey. She began flying a motorized aircraft for the first time on February 25, 1936.

Gökçen, due to the success in flight training, Ataturk himself said: "You've made me very happy ... Now I can explain what I have planned for you ... Perhaps you'll be the first woman military pilot in the world ... For the world's first military woman pilot to be of Turkish descent would be a proud event, you can imagine, right? Now I will act immediately and send you to Tayyare School in Eskişehir. You will receive a special education there"''. ''

As girls were not being accepted by the Turkish War Academies in those years, Gökçen was provided, on Atatürk's orders, with a personalized uniform, and attended a special education programme of eleven months at the Tayyare Mektebi (Aviation School) in Eskişehir in the academic year 1936-1937. After receiving her flight patents (diploma) she trained to become a war pilot at the 1st Airplane Regiment in Eskişehir for six months.

She improved her skills by flying bomber and fighter planes at the 1st Aircraft Regiment in Eskişehir Airbase and gained experience after participating in the Aegean and Thrace exercises in 1937. In that same year, she took part in military operations during the Dersim rebellion and became the first Turkish female air force combat pilot. Turkish planes flew numerous sorties against the rebels during the rebellion. A report of the General Staff mentioned the "serious damage" that had been caused by her 50 kg bomb upon a group of rebels. Nuri Dersimi claimed that the Turkish air force bombed the district with poisonous gas in 1938. In an interview she gave to Halit Kıvanç in 1956, Sabiha Gökçen stated: "They gave us the order 'Shoot every living thing you see', we were firebombing even the goats which were the food of the rebels". She was awarded with a commendation for her actions during the operation. She was also awarded the Turkish Aeronautical Association's first "Murassa (Jeweled) Medal" for her superior performance in this operation.

In 1938, she carried out a five-day flight around the Balkan countries to great acclaim. In the same year, she was appointed chief trainer of the Türkkuşu Flight School of the Turkish Aeronautical Association, where she served until 1954 as a flight instructor and became a member of the association's executive board. She trained four female aviators: Edibe Subaşı, Yıldız Uçman, Sahavet Karapas and Nezihe Viranyalı. Gökçen flew around the world for a period of 28 years until 1964. Her book entitled A Life Along the Path of Atatürk was published in 1981 by the Turkish Aeronautical Association to commemorate Atatürk's 100th birthday.

Controversies
The question of Gökçen's ethnic origin made headlines and sparked controversy in 2004, when Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist, published an interview with a person identifying as Gökçen's niece that claimed that Gökçen was of Armenian origin. Many contested the matter, including her adopted sister, Ülkü Adatepe, who stated that Gökçen was of Bosniak ancestry. The notion that Gökçen could have been Armenian caused controversy in the country; the Turkish General Staff released a statement saying that the debate "mocked national values" and was "not conducive to social peace". Hrant Dink, the journalist who wrote the article, came under criticism, most notably from newspaper columnists and Turkish nationalist groups. A leaked US consul dispatch penned by an official from the consulate in Istanbul observed that the entire affair "exposed an ugly streak of racism in Turkish society." It is also believed that the affair was one of the reasons that led to Hrant Dink's assassination in Istanbul in January 2007.

Death and legacy
Gökçen died of heart failure at Gülhane Military Medical Academy on 22 March 2001, her 88th birthday.

Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul is named after her. It opened on 8 January 2001, 2 months before her death.

She is recognized as the first female combat pilot by The Guinness Book of World Records.

She was selected as the only female pilot for the poster of "The 20 Greatest Aviators in History" published by the United States Air Force in 1996.

That year, she was also honored at the Air Command and Staff College's Gathering of Eagles at Maxwell Air Force Base. The program encourages the study of aviation history by emphasizing the contributions of aviation pioneers.

She was the subject of a Google Doodle honouring her birthday, which was displayed in Turkey on 22 March 2009.

Awards and medals

 * Number one Medal of Övünç (Murassa) and certificate of Turkish Aeronautical Association,
 * The Badge of the White Eagle, the highest badge given by the Yugoslav Army, and an army badge,
 * Romanian Army Aviation Badge,
 * Commemorative medals awarded for the Thracian and Aegean maneuvers,
 * Pioneer women's plaque in their professions, given at the ceremony in the Turkish Grand National Assembly on the 50th anniversary of Turkish women gaining suffrage and election rights,
 * Honorary Doctor of Selcuk University,
 * Gold medal awarded by THK in 1989,
 * The FAI gold medal, awarded by the International Aviation Federation in 1991 to aviators showing outstanding success in all branches of aviation,
 * The title of "one of the 20 aviators who made their mark in world history" at the ceremony at the USA's Maxwell Air Base in 1996,
 * 28 plaques given by the army, various associations and organizations.

title: Sabiha Gökçen


text:
Ayerbe

 * Ayerbe is also the name of a village in the Broto municipality.

Ayerbe is a town in the Hoya de Huesca comarca, in the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain.

Geography
Ayerbe is located 28 km from Huesca on highway A 132 in the direction of Pamplona, on the Gállego river. It is bounded by Riglos crags and the Santo Domingo range of hills to the north; to the east by the villages of Loarre and Loscorrales; to the south by the villages of Lupiñén-Ortilla, and to the west by the villages of Biscarrues and Murillo de Gállego. It is located at 42.27667°N, -0.68917°W, with a height above sea level of Alicante of 582 m. and an area of 63.29 square kilometres. It is located in an excavated erosive depression in the surface of the Tertiary period.

The soil is dry, loose and stony, generally level with a sprinkling of small isolated hills. The land is largely covered by pines, olive and almond trees, with vineyards making a comeback. There are also areas of cereal production to the east and south. It is also populated by evergreen oaks, rosemary, gorse and other shrubs in addition to grass. There are occasional occurrences of rabbits, hares and partridges.

The area is particularly attractive to bird watchers, who come to see the lammergeier, griffon vulture and Egyptian vultures, as well as a wide variety of birds of prey. Hunters find plenty of wild boars and deer, as well as partridge and quail.

The hill range behind Ayerbe is part of the Pre-Pyrenees and reaches over 1,600 m, although the town itself is actually on the plain at the foot of the range, which eventually leads down to the River Ebro, around 100 km away.

Points of interest

The town center features two rectangular squares either side of the 16th-century palace of the Marquesses de Ayerbe or palace of the Marquesses of Urriez (declared a historical monument in 1931), and in general it is the collection of domestic architecture and other architecturally distinguished buildings that make Ayerbe particularly worth visiting.

Ayerbe's main claim to fame is that Santiago Ramón y Cajal, winner of the 1906 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine, lived here for ten years. The town promotes his memory with a museum and visitor centre; Ayerbe library holds a collection of Cajal-related books with more than 250 works and documents for public use.

Ayerbe has a public library, casino, bars, municipal swimming pool and, around the town, a network of footpaths, fields and highways for walkers and cyclists. There are several restaurants, a hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation, as well as tourist information center in the summer months in one of the town squares. Other attractions include Fontaneta park (at 42.27861°N, -0.68861°W) and the "La Fuente de los Tres Caños" fountain.

The hill directly behind the town is the location of a now renovated chapel at one end and a Moorish castle (in ruins) at the other. These can be reached on foot or by all terrain vehicle and provide excellent views of the surrounding countryside (even to the Pyrenees).

The town is known by many in the region for its "Tortas de Ayerbe", which are sweet flat, round pastries, usually flavoured with aniseed. Visitors can also purchase locally produced wine, olive oil and honey.

Fiestas and celebrations
The Fiesta of Santa Leticia takes place around September 9 and lasts for four to six days. A sculpture of the Saint is carried in procession, its pedestal garlanded with grapes; figures of giants and "cabezudos" parade in the streets and pyrotechnic figures of bulls race through the town every night.

In 2005 the 6th meeting of the Giants of Aragon took place in the town, bringing together 72 giant figures from all over Aragon: 32 bands, 166 musicians and 140 figure-carriers took part.

"The week of the mushrooms" has been celebrated in the town for years in the month of October and constitutes a social event on an international level.

title: Ayerbe


text: Category:Charlie Hunter albums

title: Category:Charlie Hunter albums


text: Category:Folk albums

title: Category:Folk albums