THE DEVILS BRIGADE Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

THE DEVILS BRIGADE - Research Paper Example One of the major milestones in this journey was the establishment of the First Special Service, otherwise called the Devil’s Brigade or the Black Devils’ Brigade. The special unit among the United States forces was formed in the course of the World War II. Initially, the plan was to incorporate Canada and Norway in establishing a special elite force that would help in the activities of the war. However, Norwegian forces withdrew leading to collaboration between the United States Forces and Canada1. The conception of the idea to establish a special elite unit in the Army and the subsequent implementation took place between March and July 1942. This period was characterized by extensive research by a British scientist and extensive analysis by United States commanders. The special unit started their training in Montana at Fort William Henry Harrison before moving to other areas such as Camp Bradford and Fort Ethan Allen in Vermont. The forces lasted for the period between July 1942 and December 1944.1 The unit had three battalions made up of Canadian and American volunteers who engaged in intensive training in skiing, parachuting, amphibian warfare, mountain and demolition operations among other specialized skills. The elite forces were distinct, from their bi-national uniform to their specialized fighting skills. The soldiers engaged with war in Italy and Southern France before their disbandment late 19441. History The historical perspective of the First Special Service dates back in March 1942. The United States forces were allied to the British forces. A British Combined Forces Scientist, Geoffrey Pyke conceived the idea of establishing a special unit that would be capable of among other fighting activities engages enemies under harsh weather conditions in winter. Pyke’s proposed Plough Project involved the creation of traceable vehicles, designed to carry the soldiers and their war paraphernalia across the surface filled with snow. He pre sented the idea to the chief of the Combined Forces, Lord Louis Mountbatten and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill both of whom admired the idea. Pyke’s idea was sold to the United States Chief of Staff, General George Marshall due to several constrains by the combined forces and Britain. The Canadian Department of Munitions and supply came up with a vehicle called ‘the penguin’ while United States engaged its automobile manufactures through the National Research council in developing a vehicle that was named ‘Weasel’2. In embracing the idea, the United States decided to collaborate with Canadian and Norwegian Forces in establishing the Unit. Unfortunately, the Norweian forces failed to participate. The recruitment for the soldiers in was done on voluntary basis, advertisements were rolled calling on young people between ages 21 and 35 years with special preference given to the hunters, lumberjacks, rangers, game wardens among others2. Cana dian commitment was declared on 26th June, 1942 after which the Minister of National Defence of Canada authorized a battalion of six hundred and ninety seven Canadian soldiers for training in the United States on July 14th, 1942. The project was scheduled to start in

Religion and Culture Intertwined Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Religion and Culture Intertwined - Essay Example Like language, religious practices can vary through time, as they reflect the needs of the people, may it be on the intellectual level or spiritual level. Culture, as in arts, politics, economics, and gender norms, also change to reflect the needs of the people. Not only that, religion as a unit of culture greatly affects those other units since religion is a very powerful force. In fact, religion is the major force in major changes in humanity, as faith usually guides most people’s decisions (Neihardt, 2000), like in politics and economy, even if they say it’s completely logical. Thus, one cannot say that religion is separate, or bigger than culture; no one can either say that culture is independent and greater than religion. They are both interrelated and they both affect each other, as demonstrated in this paper. Culture is generally defined as a total of learned, socially transmitted behavior. A society also means a large group of people living in the same territory , independent of other people and having a common culture. Sometimes, societies resist ideas that seem to be threatening to their own values. It’s impossible for societies to be all the same, but there are cultural universals that help societies interact with each other. These universal are modified means to meet the basic need for food, shelter, clothing and reproduction. Examples of cultural universals are marriage, laws, sexual restrictions, folklore, dancing, etc. These actions are understood in almost all kinds of societies, although they are expressed in a variety of ways. Religion is also a cultural universal. 86% of the world population belongs to a certain religion. Religion has been found long ago, over 100,000 years, as soon as civilization started, to provide explanations about origin, purpose and deaths of humans. Religion is a â€Å"societal glue†. It gives a society ultimate values that make up a social system that hold the people together and integrate people as well. The integrative function of religion is especially apparent in preindustrial societies. In these societies, relationships, harvesting of crops, leadership are all governed by religious laws. For example, crops would be blessed by God, sacrificing is done to please the Gods so that the harvest would be plentiful (Neihardt, 2000). These activities rule people’s behavior too, making religion a veritable aspect of culture. This is very evident in Native American culture. Their society was preindustrial. Although it was preindustrial, their culture was quite developed. They have integrated social structures at the time and they also have sophisticated technology. When discussing Native Americans, people have this notion that they are savages. This is untrue; the whole notion developed because the history books were written by the European conquistadors who had that opinion. Native Americans inhabited the Americas before the Europeans came and colonized it. There we re various tribes scattered across America and these tribes have specialties that help them in their activities, like hunting and farming (Neihardt, 2000). They are very diverse. Native American religions bind them together, and although they have many different tribes, their religions are quite similar. The common aspect is dualism. They have one God for their creation story, which is the Creator; and they have different gods per tribe. This creator guides them on how to live their lives, teaches how to behave according to their culture, etc. Other characters in their religion are the deities. These are spirits that control the