title: Mobile, Alabama

text: Mobile is home to the Azalea Trail Run, which races through historic midtown and downtown Mobile. This 10k run has been an annual event since 1978. The Azalea Trail Run is one of the premier 10k road races in the United States, attracting runners from all over the world.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: Jack Perry (born June 16, 1997) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry, and is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: Jack Perry was born on June 16, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of actor Luke Perry and Rachel Sharp. Perry's maternal grandfather is the Scottish novelist and screenwriter Alan Sharp.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: Perry grew up as a fan of professional wrestling and attended WWE's 2009 SummerSlam pay-per-view event with his father at the age of twelve.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: Perry started his career on the independent circuit in 2015 making his professional wrestling debut at Underground Empire Wrestling's, 2015 West Coast Cruiser Cup under the ring name Nate Coy. This is where he was given the name Jungle Boy when the crowd chanted it at him because of his similarities to Tarzan. On November 20, 2016, Coy won the 2016 West Coast Cruiser Cup. On August 17, 2018, Coy won the All Pro Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Championship, his first professional wrestling championship. He later lost it to Jake Atlas at the Bay Area Bash event on June 15, 2019. In February 2019, Jungle Boy formed a tag team with fellow independent wrestler Luchasaurus, dubbed "A Boy and His Dinosaur". In May 2019, Perry wrestled in a tribute match for his late father, defeating his father's friend, actor and former WCW World Heavyweight Champion David Arquette.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: In January 2019, Perry signed with the upstart promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), under the Jungle Boy name. He made his AEW debut at the company's inaugural event Double or Nothing on May 25, competing in the pre-show Casino Battle Royale, but he was eliminated by Jimmy Havoc. The following month at Fyter Fest, Jungle Boy wrestled Jimmy Havoc, Adam Page and MJF in a four-way match, which Page won. At Fight for the Fallen on July 13, Jungle Boy teamed with Luchasaurus against Angélico and Jack Evans and The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) in a three-way tag team match, but The Dark Order won. Soon after, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus allied themselves with Marko Stunt, creating a new faction dubbed the "Jurassic Express". At All Out on August 31, the Jurassic Express was defeated by SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) in a six-man tag team match. In October, Jungle Boy and Stunt competed in a tournament to determine the inaugural AEW World Tag Team Champions, but they were eliminated by the Lucha Brothers (Pentagón Jr. and Rey Fénix).


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: On the November 20 episode of "Dynamite", Jungle Boy competed in the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, but failed to win. On the December 4 episode of "Dynamite", Jungle Boy was challenged by AEW World Champion Chris Jericho to last 10 minutes in the ring with him, which he successfully did on the December 18 episode of "Dynamite". On the January 15, 2020 episode of "Dark", Jungle Boy obtained his first victory in AEW, after the Jurassic Express defeated Strong Hearts (Cima, El Lindaman and T-Hawk). On the February 19 episode of "Dynamite", Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus competed in a tag team battle royal to determine the number one contenders for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, but the match was won by The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). At Double or Nothing on May 23, Jungle Boy was defeated by MJF. On September 5 at All Out, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus were defeated by The Young Bucks. At Winter Is Coming on December 2, Jungle Boy entered the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale for the second year in a row, but was eliminated by MJF.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: At the Revolution event on March 7, 2021, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus competed in the Casino Tag Team Royale, but were unsuccessful in winning the match. At Double or Nothing in May, Jungle Boy won the Casino Battle Royale by lastly eliminating Christian Cage, entitling him to a match for the AEW World Championship, which he received against Kenny Omega on the June 26 episode of "Dynamite", but lost. On the All Out pre-show on September 5, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus teamed with Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, and Wheeler Yuta) to defeat the Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy, Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen), and The Hybrid 2 (Angélico and Jack Evans)) in a 10-man tag team match. Later in the show, Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt came to assist Christian Cage after Cage's main event match with Kenny Omega, but they were beaten down by Omega and his allies The Young Bucks, as well as the newly debuted Adam Cole. At Full Gear on November 13, Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Cage defeated The Young Bucks and Cole in a falls count anywhere match.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: On the January 5, 2022 episode of "Dynamite", Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus defeated the Lucha Brothers to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship. At the Revolution event on March 6, Jurassic Express successfully defended the championship against The Young Bucks and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) in a three-way tag team match. At Double or Nothing on May 29, they retained the championship in a three-way tag match against Team Taz (Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs) and Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland). However, at the Road Rager special event on June 15, Jurassic Express lost the tag team championship to The Young Bucks in a ladder match, ending their reign at 161 days. After the match, Jungle Boy was betrayed by his mentor Christian Cage, who attacked him following the loss.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: Jungle Boy would initiate a rivalry with Christian Cage, and the two would face in a match at the All Out event in September. At the event, Jungle Boy would be defeated in 20 seconds, after Luchasaurus attacked him and allied himself with Cage. At the Full Gear event on November 19, Jungle Boy, now wrestling under his real name of Jack Perry, would defeat Luchasaurus in a steel cage match.


title: Jungle Boy (wrestler)

text: Perry's Jungle Boy character has been described as a "Tarzan-esque character, complete with his mane of long curls, loin cloth-like shorts and a heavy dose of leopard print." Perry originally thought the gimmick was "really dumb", but changed his mind after seeing "how people liked it". As a finisher, Jungle Boy uses a cross-legged STF named the "Snare Trap". Jungle Boy uses the 1985 song "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora as his entrance music.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: Sibel Kekilli (born 16 June 1980) is a German actress. She gained public attention after starring in the 2004 film "Head-On". She won two Lolas, the most prestigious German film awards, for her performances in "Head-On" and "When We Leave" (2010). Beginning in 2011, she became more widely known for her role as Shae in the HBO series "Game of Thrones".


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: Kekilli was born and raised in Heilbronn, to a family of Turkish origin. Her parents came to Germany from Turkey in 1977, and were described by Kekilli as having a rather modern and open attitude. After completing school with excellent grades at age 16, she entered a 30-month-long combined training program to become a certified public administration specialist at the local city administration.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: After successful completion of the training program, she continued to work as an administrative assistant for another two years at Heilbronn city hall, then moved to Essen, where she worked various jobs as a bouncer, cleaner, waitress, nightclub manager, saleswoman, and pornographic film actress.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: In 2001–2002, over a period of six months, Kekilli appeared in a number of pornographic films for various directors including Josef Baumberger and Harry S. Morgan. Her stage name was Dilara.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: In 2002, while at a shopping mall in Cologne, she was noticed by a casting director, who invited her to audition for a role in a film. She won the leading part in "Head-On" () against a field of 350 other hopefuls. The film was released in 2004 and was a major success, receiving several prizes at film festivals. Filming proved strenuous for Kekilli personally, and she underwent an appendectomy during filming in Turkey.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: Shortly after the release of "Head-On", the German tabloid newspaper "Bild" made public Kekilli's earlier work in pornography. This led to a public sensation, and Kekilli's parents broke off all contact with her. She received the 2004 Bambi prize for "best shooting star" for her role in "Head-On". During the televised acceptance speech, she tearfully complained that she was being subject to a ""dreckige Hetzkampagne"" ("dirty smear campaign") and ""Medienvergewaltigung"" ("media rape"). "Bild-Zeitung" was later reprimanded by the "Deutscher Presserat" (German Press Council) for the manner in which it covered the story.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: Kekilli starred in the Turkish coup d'état film "Home Coming" ("Eve Dönüş") (2006), playing the wife of a man who was unjustly imprisoned and tortured. The performance won her the Best Actress award at the 2006 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. Also that year, she played a Jewish woman on the way to the Auschwitz concentration camp in the 2006 film "The Last Train" (). In 2009, she played Umay, a young Turkish woman who leaves Istanbul to return to her family in Berlin, in "When We Leave" ("Die Fremde"). She was awarded the Lola for Best Actress in 2010 for her role. In 2010, Kekilli was cast as Shae in HBO's "Game of Thrones", an adaptation of George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: In 2011, one year after first appearing in a supporting role in the long-running crime series "Tatort", she became a permanent cast member as new investigator Sarah Brandt, working alongside chief investigator Klaus Borowski. She said that she was glad not to be playing a character of foreign descent, as she feels she has been typecast in the past. In 2017 she left the "Tatort" franchise, after 14 feature-length episodes, citing a need for change.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: Since citizenship in Germany is primarily established by "Jus sanguinis" rather than "Jus soli", she originally held Turkish rather than German citizenship, and had to apply to the Turkish government when she sought a marriage license (for a planned marriage that ultimately did not take place).


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: In 2017, she blocked her Instagram account from being accessed in Turkey, saying that users from that country had sent a multitude of abusive and threatening messages. Kekilli denounced the senders as "bigoted, hypocrites and full of hate".


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: In December 2006, at an anti-domestic violence event run by the Turkish newspaper "Hürriyet" in Berlin, she stated, in German, the equivalent of "I have experienced for myself that both physical and psychological abuse are regarded as normal in a Muslim family. Sadly, violence is part of the cultural heritage in Islam." In response, the Turkish consul general left the room.


title: Sibel Kekilli

text: In March 2015 at an International Women's Day event at the President of Germany's residence at Schloss Bellevue, Kekilli gave a speech on violence against women in the name of honour. The speech drew wide attention and praise in Germany for its empathic message. In May 2015, Friedrich Naumann Foundation named Kekilli "Author of Freedom" for the speech.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Lukas Josef Podolski (; born Łukasz Józef Podolski, , on 4 June 1985) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze. Famed for his powerful and accurate left foot, he is known for his explosive shot, technique and probing attacks from the left side.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski joined 1. FC Köln in 1995 where he made it into the first team in 2003 resulting in 81 appearances for the club before moving to Bayern Munich. With Bayern, Podolski won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2008. Podolski returned to 1. FC Köln in 2009. He later signed for Premier League club Arsenal in 2012, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2014. He then moved on loan to Serie A club Inter Milan in January 2015, before signing six months later for Galatasaray where he also won the Turkish Cup of 2016.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski was eligible to play for Germany and Poland; he was open to playing for the Polish team but was rejected by then Polish coach Paweł Janas in 2003, having already appeared for Germany at youth level. After making his first appearance for the senior team in 2004, Podolski enjoyed a great success with the German national team. He was part of the squad in seven major tournaments, winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He is the third most-capped player in German history, with 130 caps, and the third-highest goalscorer in German history, having scored 49 times.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 29 May 2013, Podolski scored the fastest goal in German national team history, after just nine seconds of the 4–2 friendly win over Ecuador. It was at that time the second fastest international goal in history, second only to San Marino's Davide Gualtieri's 8.3-second strike against England in 1993. Podolski retired from international football on 22 March 2017 after scoring the winner in a friendly against England.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski began playing football at the age of six in the youth team of FC 07 Bergheim, where he played until he joined 1. FC Köln at the age of ten. It was there that Podolski's talents were first noticed. In 2003, at the age of 18, Podolski was still part of the club's youth side. At this time the club found itself in dire straits battling to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga. First team boss Marcel Koller, working on a shoestring budget, invited Podolski to train with the senior players and he made his top flight debut shortly afterwards on 22 November 2003. Even though Köln failed to avoid a drop to the 2nd division, Podolski had shown what he could do, scoring 10 goals in his first 19 senior appearances. This was the best tally by an 18-year-old in the history of the Bundesliga until Florian Wirtz overtook the record in 2021.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Though his call up to the German Euro 2004 squad brought along interest from several top clubs, Podolski stayed at Köln to help the club gain promotion in the 2004–05 season. With 24 goals, Podolski advanced to become the league's best scorer. Somewhat unusually, Podolski remained part of the Germany squad, even though he did not play in the national top-tier league.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: After Köln were promoted, the pressure was on Podolski to keep the club in the Bundesliga practically singlehandedly. Podolski managed to score 12 goals in the 2005–06 season, but eventually, Köln were relegated again. It became clear that Podolski would not stay again to push them through the 2006–07 season—even more so, as Podolski was becoming an integral part of the national team.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: In 2006, clubs such as Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, and Real Madrid manifested their interest in Podolski, even though he had a contract with 1. FC Köln through 2007. On 1 June 2006, Podolski announced that a transfer agreement had been reached with Bayern Munich, allowing him to join the Bavarian side for the 2006–07 season. Financial details of the deal were not immediately available, but the transfer fee was speculated to be around €. He made his Bundesliga debut for Bayern on 11 August 2006, coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute of a 2–0 victory against Borussia Dortmund. On 9 September 2006, he came on as a second-half substitute in a DFB-Pokal game versus FC St. Pauli. Only 26 seconds after the second half started, he scored the equaliser, levelling the match at 1–1. On 14 October 2006, with his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern, Podolski helped to secure the club's 4–2 win over Hertha BSC. On 26 October 2006, Podolski suffered a serious injury to his right ankle joint caused by teammate, Mark van Bommel, during a training session. Consequently, Podolski missed more than five match weeks. He returned from this injury and scored against Alemannia Aachen.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: After Bayern bought in Italian striker Luca Toni in 2007, Podolski received less playing time due to coach Ottmar Hitzfeld's preference to partner Miroslav Klose and Toni together instead. However, Bayern ended the 2007–08 season by winning a league and cup double, giving Podolski the first major silverware of his career.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Despite former national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann taking charge of Bayern for the 2008–09 season, Podolski again failed to break into the team's regular first choice line-up. After a rather unhappy spell at Bayern, he returned to former club Köln on 1 July 2009.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: After Podolski was assured by national team coach Joachim Löw that a return to FC Köln would not harm his chances of international football, an agreement to sign him was agreed between Bayern Munich and Köln in January 2009, although he would not return to Köln until the start of the summer transfer window. On 1 July, Podolski returned to Köln on a four-year contract, at a reported fee of around €10 million, equivalent to the fee Bayern paid to sign him in 2006. Köln created a website where people were able to buy pixels of an image of Podolski for €25 per 8x8 pixel square, in order to gather €1 million to reduce the cost of the transfer; Formula One driver and Köln supporter Michael Schumacher bought several pixels for €875.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Having just moved from Bayern Munich, Podolski had a poor first season at Köln, scoring just three times the entire season. One of his goals however, came from a free kick against his former club to salvage a draw.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: In the 2010–11 season, Podolski scored his 50th Bundesliga goal in the match against Hannover 96 in March 2011. Throughout the entire season, Podolski scored 13 goals and made seven assists.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: The 2011–12 season was the final season in his second spell for Köln. Despite the team's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, Podolski scored 18 goals in 29 league Bundesliga appearances.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Out of respect for his loyalty and achievements for the club, 1. FC Köln chose to retire his famous No. 10 shirt as long as he is an active football player. However, Köln began assigning the number 10 shirt again at the start of the 2014–15 Bundesliga season.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski was linked with Premier League club Arsenal throughout the 2012 winter transfer window but no deal materialised. However, on 30 April 2012, it was officially announced that Podolski had signed for Arsenal on a long-term deal, for an undisclosed fee. On 12 August 2012, Podolski started for Arsenal in a pre-season match against his former club, Köln, scoring twice, once from a penalty in a 4–0 victory. Podolski took the number 9 from Park Chu-Young, who had been loaned out to Celta Vigo, after the number 10 shirt vacated by Robin van Persie was given to Jack Wilshere. Podolski then started in his first official match for Arsenal against Sunderland on the opening day of the Premier League on 18 August 2012. He played 63 minutes before being subbed off for another 2012 summer signing, Olivier Giroud, in the match which finished 0–0. He scored his first goal for Arsenal on 2 September in a 2–0 win against Liverpool at Anfield whilst also providing the assist for Santi Cazorla to score his first for the Gunners. Podolski scored his second goal for Arsenal in the following game, scoring a free-kick from 25 yards in a 6–1 victory against Southampton.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 18 September 2012, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for the Gunners in a 2–1 away win against Montpellier. In Arsenal's second game in the Champions League, Podolski scored again as Arsenal defeated Greek champions Olympiacos 3–1 on 3 October. Podolski then scored his first goal in more than a month against Fulham in a thrilling 3–3 draw. On 17 November, Podolski scored his fourth League goal as Arsenal defeated Tottenham 5–2 in the North London derby. He then helped Arsenal qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League by scoring the second goal as Arsenal beat Montpellier 2–0. Podolski then played a pivotal part in an impressive 5–2 win away from home against Reading at the Madejski Stadium, scoring the first goal and assisting 2 more, which had helped teammate Santi Cazorla to score his first ever hat-trick. On 30 December 2012, Podolski played an integral part of the team that beat Newcastle 7–3. His first contribution was an incisive pass to Theo Walcott for Arsenal's first goal. In addition, due to Newcastle's failure to clear the ball off their line, Podolski pounced on a header for his last goal of 2012. He was substituted for Aaron Ramsey to a standing ovation. On 23 January 2013, Podolski produced an impressive performance as Arsenal beat West Ham 5–1, scoring one goal and setting up three others. On 2 February 2013, Podolski scored the only goal via a deflected free-kick to earn the Gunners a 1–0 victory over Stoke City. On 13 April, Podolski sealed a 3–1 win over Norwich City by scoring his first goal since February. After Giroud's three-game ban appeal was rejected, Podolski began playing as a centre forward, starting with the 1–1 draw against Manchester United. Podolski then scored twice in a 4–1 victory over Wigan Athletic, resulting in Wigan's relegation from the Premier League. Podolski ended his first season in Arsenal with a total of 16 goals and 11 assists.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 24 August 2013, Podolski netted his first goals of the 2013–14 season, scoring twice for Arsenal away at Fulham in a 3–1 win. However, he was injured in his next match in the Champions League qualifier against Fenerbahçe and was ruled out for 10 weeks.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski returned for Arsenal against West Ham United in a 3–1 win on Boxing Day, scoring the team's third goal in the 79th minute. Podolski netted his first two goals in 2014 with a brace in a 4–0 FA Cup fourth round win over Coventry City. He later scored in a 2–1 FA Cup win over Liverpool in February to send Arsenal through to the quarter-finals of the competition.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski scored two goals in March as he began to feature more regularly in the Gunners starting line-up. His first was a goal against his former club, FC Bayern Munich, in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League last 16 tie. Podolski's goal proved nothing more than a consolation, as Arsenal crashed out of Europe, losing 3–1 on aggregate to the defending champions.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: His second goal in March was an equaliser against Swansea City in the Premier League clash. A minute after scoring, Podolski provided an assist for teammate Olivier Giroud, who gave Arsenal a 2–1 lead. However, a last minute own goal by Mathieu Flamini meant the game finished 2–2 and effectively ended Arsenal's hopes of lifting the Premier League title for another season.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Arsenal qualified for the FA Cup final on 12 April following a win against Wigan, in which Podolski was substituted after 68 minutes. He scored twice in Arsenal's next game, a 3–1 win against West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium and followed that display up with another brace in Arsenal's next game, a 3–0 win away to Hull City. He started in the 2014 FA Cup Final against Hull City and left the pitch for Yaya Sanogo after 61 minutes as Hull led Arsenal 1–2. Arsenal went on to win the game 3–2 after extra time, thereby ending the club's nine-year trophy drought.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: After winning the World Cup for Germany, Podolski and compatriots Per Mertesacker and Mesut Özil were excused by Arsenal from the 2014 Community Shield, which they won 3–0 against Manchester City.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: In November, Podolski spoke about his unrest with his current role with Arsenal and his lack of game time, saying: "Of course I am not happy with my situation right now. I can't be satisfied with that. It is hard when you can't do what you love."


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 5 January 2015, Arsenal announced that Podolski had completed a move to Serie A club Inter Milan on loan for the remainder of the 2014–15 season. He joined the side for training after the deal was finalised ahead of their league match away to Juventus on 6 January. In the 1–1 draw at the Juventus Stadium, he came on as a substitute for Zdravko Kuzmanović after 54 minutes. Podolski was not named in Inter's squad list for the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League with coach Roberto Mancini preferring Xherdan Shaqiri over the German international. On 28 April 2015, Podolski scored his only goal with Inter to win the match 2–1 in the 65th minute against Udinese.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski signed a three-year contract with Turkish club Galatasaray on 4 July 2015 for an initial fee of £1.8 million, after which the Süper Lig champions will pay Arsenal £2.1 million for three consecutive seasons thereafter. He instantly won the Turkish Super Cup. In the final of the Turkish Cup on 26 May 2016, he scored the decisive goal for Galatasaray in the 1–0 win over Fenerbahçe.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 2 March 2017, Podolski announced his transfer to Japanese club Vissel Kobe after the completion of the Turkish season. On 29 July 2017, he played his first match for Vissel Kobe and scored two goals in a 3–1 win over Omiya Ardija in the J1 League. On 11 August 2018, he assisted Andrés Iniesta's first goal in the J1 League in a 2–1 win over Jubilo Iwata.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 8 December 2019, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over Júbilo Iwata. It was his first hat-trick in the J1 League.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 1 January 2020, Podolski won his first trophy in Japan, starting in Vissel Kobe's 2–0 victory over Kashima Antlers in the final of the 2019 Emperor's Cup; it was also the club's first ever major trophy.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 6 July 2021, Podolski was announced by the Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze, having signed a one-year contract that comes with the option of another year, and with the club being probably his last club before retiring, after stating it's his dream to finish his footballing career playing for Górnik. He made his debut on 30 July, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 league home defeat against Lech Poznań at the Arena Zabrze. On 21 November 2021, he scored his first goal for Górnik Zabrze, in the Ekstraklasa home fixture against Legia Warsaw 3–2. On 19 May 2022 Podolski agreed to a one-year contract extension.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: In late 2003, after several impressive performances in his first few Bundesliga games, Polish media suggested then-Polish national team coach Paweł Janas should check Podolski out, as he was still eligible to play for Poland. Janas ignored the request stating in one of the press interviews that "as for today we have much better strikers in Poland and I don't see a reason to call up a player just because he played one or two good matches in the Bundesliga. He's not even a regular starter at his club." By that time Podolski was still interested in representing Poland, but as the season progressed German media increasingly highlighted his performances to suggest he should be called up to the German national team. When his full potential was finally unveiled, he had already decided to represent Germany. At the end of the season Köln were relegated, but Podolski impressed so much, that he held his debut for Rudi Völler's Germany on 6 June 2004, at age 19, in Kaiserslautern against Hungary with a late substitute appearance. He had become the first second-division player since 1975 to break into the national team.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski played for Germany at Euro 2004, where he was the squad's youngest player. He made one substitute appearance in the game against the Czech Republic, when he came on for Torsten Frings at half-time.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski was selected in the Germany squad for the 2006 World Cup, where he partnered Miroslav Klose as the attack duo in the starting lineup. He scored his first World Cup goal in Germany's third group match against Ecuador, and both goals in the 2–0 win over Sweden in the round of 16. He became the first player since 1962 to score two goals in the first 12 minutes of a World Cup match and only the third player ever to accomplish the feat. Germany finished third in the tournament, and while his teammate Miroslav Klose won the Golden Boot competition, Podolski's three goals tied him for second place with Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Maxi Rodríguez, Hernán Crespo and Zinedine Zidane. Podolski was named the World Cup's Best Young Player ahead of players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: In a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying game against San Marino in Serravalle Podolski netted four goals in Germany's record 13–0 thrashing. He is one of only four German players to score four goals in an international match. He was the third after Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack, and since this, Mario Gómez has accomplished this feat. In Germany's 4–1 win against Slovakia in Bratislava on 11 October 2006, he scored the first and the last German goal, both on assists by Miroslav Klose. He has continued to score goals at an astonishing rate. On 17 November 2007, in a Euro qualifier match against Cyprus, Podolski was involved in every goal in Germany's 4–0 victory. This was one of Podolski's best performances for the national team. Even though he played out of his natural position, playing at left midfield, he netted one goal himself and was voted Man of the Match.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 8 June 2008, Podolski made his Euro 2008 entrance against debutants Poland in a Group B match in Klagenfurt, Austria. He scored both goals in a 2–0 victory. He avoided celebrating his goals, however, to show respect for his country of birth. After the game he gave an emotional interview on Polish television. The goals put him in the lead in the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list for two days until David Villa scored a hat-trick for Spain against Russia.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 12 June, Germany played Croatia in their second Group B match, again in Klagenfurt. Podolski scored the German team's only goal of the game in the 79th minute, by which time the Croatians were already leading 2–0. He did not celebrate this goal either despite it putting him joint first on the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list with David Villa. Podolski's goal was not enough to snatch a draw, with Croatia holding out for a 2–1 victory over Germany. On 19 June, Germany played Portugal in the quarterfinal in Basel, Podolski was instrumental in the first goal, whipping a cross into the penalty box that was slotted home by Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 22nd minute to give Germany a 1–0 lead.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On the international scene, Podolski seemed to be gravitating towards an attacking left midfield role from his traditional place as a striker. Initially, Löw had moved him to the wing in order to accommodate the partnership of Klose and Mario Gómez up front. When this backfired, he resumed his forward position in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final, but was unable to prevent Germany losing 1–0 to Spain. In a controversial incident, Podolski was headbutted by Spanish midfielder David Silva, although this went unnoticed by the referee and his assistants, and went unpenalised. Podolski was named in the 23-man squad as one of the players of the tournament along with countrymen Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 6 September 2008, Podolski scored the opening two goals in Germany's first 2010 World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein in Vaduz; a match that ended in a 6–0 victory for the Germans. He scored the opener in the 2–1 home win over Russia on 11 October, when he turned Vasili Berezutski on the edge of the penalty area, before unleashing a powerful shot past Russia's goalkeeper Akinfeev. He finished the qualification campaign second highest scorer of Group 4 with six goals, behind teammate Miroslav Klose's 7. During one of the qualifying matches, he was involved in a bust-up with team captain Michael Ballack.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 13 June 2010, Podolski, who had become accustomed to his position as a winger scored the first goal in Germany's World Cup opening game in a 4–0 win against Australia, before assisting teammate Thomas Müller for the third goal. On 18 June, Podolski missed a second-half penalty after a handling infraction committed by Nemanja Vidić in the 1–0 loss to Serbia. The German team had gone down to 10-men after a second yellow was shown to Miroslav Klose in the 36th minute. Even though the Germans played with 10-men throughout the rest of the game, Podolski had numerous chances on goal. However, he was unable to capitalize, and the game ended in a surprise defeat for the Germans. However, he managed to score against England in the last 16, giving Germany a 2–0 advantage in the first half. They went on to beat England 4–1. In the quarter-final against Argentina, Podolski provided the assist for the first of Klose's two goals, bringing the score to 2–0. The Germans won the match 4–0.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: During qualification, Podolski provided assists for three goals and scored three times, helping Germany to win all ten matches of their qualification campaign. During Euro 2012, Podolski started all three of Germany's Group B games, the third being his 100th appearance for Germany; a game in which he also scored. Podolski's last game at Euro 2012 was against the Italian national team in the semi-finals where Germany were defeated 2–1.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski was part of Germany's 2014 World Cup campaign. Prior to the tournament, he played in five qualification matches. In the World Cup finals in Brazil, he appeared in the victories over USA and Portugal in the group stages, but did not play the full 90 minutes. Germany went on to become World Champions.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski was included in the squad for UEFA Euro 2016. He made a substitute appearance against Slovakia during the tournament. After the tournament, on 15 August, he announced his retirement from international football (effective 23 March 2017) saying he wants to shift his focus and spend more time with his family. He was given his last ever international appearance for Germany against England on 22 March 2017 where he scored the winning goal.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski possesses an explosive and accurate shot, reaching speeds of nearly . Arsene Wenger described Podolski saying "He's certainly one of the best finishers I've ever seen...If there's one you want to see in front of the goal in a shooting position, it's him". In his early years, Podolski possessed explosive speed with great acceleration which was later affected by some lengthy injuries. He usually cuts inside either to shoot or pass the ball. Podolski is a physically strong player able to hold up the ball and produce key passes. Podolski has good dribbling and technical skills and is also a good crosser of the ball having set up many goals for his teammates from the left side. He is a penalty specialist, having missed only two penalties in his career.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski is the founder of Lukas Podolski Foundation for Sport and Education ("Lukas Podolski Stiftung für Sport und Bildung") whose goals are to give prospects to socially disadvantaged children and young people, to fight child poverty, and to promote social inclusion and integration and understanding among nations.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: He is also an ambassador of the Christian Children's Fund the Ark ("Die Arche"). One of his projects is a community day care centre for children located in a distressed part of Praga-Północ district in Warsaw, Poland, opened in 2014. The facility is run by "Arka Fundacja Dzieci" sponsored by Podolski's foundation.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski was born to Waldemar Podolski and Krystyna Podolska in the Silesian industrial city of Gliwice near Katowice in Poland. Waldemar is a former footballer who played in Poland and Germany. Krystyna is a former member of the Poland national handball team.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: In 1987, when Podolski was two years old, his family emigrated from Poland to West Germany and were given "Aussiedler" status as a result of his paternal grandparents having German citizenship prior to World War II (Gliwice was a part of Germany until 1945 as "Gleiwitz"). Podolski grew up in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and later in Pulheim, both near Cologne.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: Podolski possesses dual citizenship, both German and Polish, but has stated that he does not have a Polish passport. In an interview Podolski said that the Polish Football Association never cared about him until he started playing for the German under-21 team and received coverage in the media. At that point, Podolski had already decided to play for Germany, but nevertheless "there are two hearts beating" in his chest. Podolski speaks Polish and sometimes communicated with Bayern Munich and Germany strike partner Miroslav Klose, also a Polish-born "Aussiedler", in Polish to hinder their opposition's understanding of their conversation. Podolski is a fan of KS Górnik Zabrze, a football team based from his place of birth.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: In April 2011, Podolski married his longtime girlfriend Monika Puchalski in Cologne, Germany. They had a church wedding in Kamionna, Węgrów County, Poland in June 2011. They have a son born 14 April 2008 and a daughter, born 6 June 2016.


title: Lukas Podolski

text: On 30 June 2021, Podolski was announced as a judge for the 15th season of "Das Supertalent", the German version of "Got Talent". He will become the first association football player to judge any version of the franchise owned by Simon Cowell.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the "Songun" policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Secretary Kim Jong-un serves as Supreme Commander and the chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission. The KPA consists of five branches: the Ground Force, the Naval Force, the Air and Anti-Air Force, the Strategic Rocket Forces, and the Special Operation Force.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The KPA considers its primary adversaries to be the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and United States Forces Korea, across the Korean Demilitarized Zone, as it has since the Armistice Agreement of July 1953. it is the second largest military organisation in the world, with of the North Korean population actively serving, in reserve or in a paramilitary capacity.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Kim Il-sung's anti-Japanese guerrilla army, the , was established on 25 April 1932. This revolutionary army was transformed into the regular army on 8 February 1948. Both these are celebrated as army days, with decennial anniversaries treated as major celebrations, except from 1978 to 2014 when only the 1932 anniversary was celebrated.


title: Korean People's Army

text: In 1939, the Korean Volunteer Army (KVA), was formed in Yan'an, China. The two individuals responsible for the army were Kim Tu-bong and Mu Chong. At the same time, a school was established near Yan'an for training military and political leaders for a future independent Korea. By 1945, the KVA had grown to approximately 1,000 men, mostly Korean deserters from the Imperial Japanese Army. During this period, the KVA fought alongside the Chinese communist Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army from which it drew its arms and ammunition. After the defeat of the Japanese, the KVA accompanied the Chinese Communist Party forces into eastern Jilin, intending to gain recruits from ethnic Koreans in China, particularly from Yanbian, and then enter Korea.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Just after World War II and during the Soviet Union's occupation of the part of Korea north of the 38th Parallel, the Soviet 25th Army headquarters in Pyongyang issued a statement ordering all armed resistance groups in the northern part of the peninsula to disband on 12 October 1945. Two thousand Koreans with previous experience in the Soviet Red Army were sent to various locations around the country to organise constabulary forces with permission from Soviet military headquarters, and the force was created on 21 October 1945.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The headquarters felt a need for a separate unit for security around railways, and the formation of the unit was announced on 11 January 1946. That unit was activated on 15 August of the same year to supervise existing security forces and creation of the national armed forces.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Military institutes such as the Pyongyang Academy (became No. 2 KPA Officers School in Jan. 1949) and the Central Constabulary Academy (became KPA Military Academy in Dec. 1948) soon followed for the education of political and military officers for the new armed forces.


title: Korean People's Army

text: After the military was organised and facilities to educate its new recruits were constructed, the Constabulary Discipline Corps was reorganised into the Korean People's Army General Headquarters. The previously semi-official units became military regulars with the distribution of Soviet uniforms, badges, and weapons that followed the inception of the headquarters.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The State Security Department, a forerunner to the Ministry of People's Defense, was created as part of the Interim People's Committee on 4 February 1948. The formal creation of the Korean People's Army was announced four days later on 8 February, the day after the Fourth Plenary Session of the People's Assembly approved the plan to separate the roles of the military and those of the police, seven months before the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed on 9 September 1948. In addition, the Ministry of State for the People's Armed Forces was established, which controlled a central guard battalion, two divisions, and an independent mixed and combined arms brigade.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Before the outbreak of the Korean War, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin equipped the KPA with modern tanks, trucks, artillery, and small arms (at the time, the South Korean Army had nothing remotely comparable either in numbers of troops or equipment). During the opening phases of the Korean War in 1950, the KPA quickly drove South Korean forces south and captured Seoul, only to lose 70,000 of their 100,000-strong army in the autumn after U.S. amphibious landings at the Battle of Incheon and a subsequent drive to the Yalu River. On 4 November, China openly staged a military intervention. On 7 December, Kim Il-sung was deprived of the right of command of KPA by China. The KPA subsequently played a secondary minor role to the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in the remainder of the conflict. By the time of the Armistice in 1953, the KPA had sustained 290,000 casualties and lost 90,000 men as POWs.


title: Korean People's Army

text: In 1953, the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) was able to oversee and enforce the terms of the armistice. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), made up of delegations from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland, carried out inspections to ensure implementation of the terms of the Armistice that prevented reinforcements or new weapons being brought into Korea.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Soviet thinking on the strategic scale was replaced since December 1962 with a people's war concept. The Soviet idea of direct warfare was replaced with a Maoist war of attrition strategy. Along with the mechanisation of some infantry units, more emphasis was put on light weapons, high-angle indirect fire, night fighting, and sea denial.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Until 1977, original Korean People's Army's official date of establishment was 8 February 1948. But in 1978, changed to 25 April 1932, Kim Il-sung's anti-Japanese guerrilla army – Korean People's Revolutionary Army, considered the predecessor of the Korean People's Army, was formed on 25 April 1932. The date of establishment was officially changed back to 8 February 1948 by 2019, however.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The primary path for command and control of the KPA extends through the National Defence Commission which was led by its chairman Kim Jong-il until 2011, to the Ministry of Defence and its General Staff Department. From there on, command and control flows to the various bureaus and operational units. A secondary path, to ensure political control of the military establishment, extends through the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Military Commission.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Since 1990, numerous and dramatic transformations within North Korea have led to the current command and control structure. The details of the majority of these changes are simply unknown to the world. What little is known indicates that many changes were the natural result of the deaths of the aging leadership including Kim Il-sung (July 1994), Minister of People's Armed Forces O Chin-u (February 1995) and Minister of Defence Choi Kwang (February 1997).


title: Korean People's Army

text: The vast majority of changes were undertaken to secure the power and position of Kim Jong-il. Formerly the State Affairs Commission (SAC), from its founding in 1972 (originally the National Defence Commission), was part of the (CPC) while the Ministry of Defence, from 1982 onward, was under direct presidential control. At the Eighteenth session of the sixth Central People's Committee, held on 23 May 1990, the SAC became established as its own independent commission, rising to the same status as the CPC (now the Cabinet of North Korea) and not subordinated to it, as was the case before. Concurrent with this, Kim Jong-il was appointed first vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission. The following year, on 24 December 1991, Kim Jong-il was appointed Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. Four months later, on 20 April 1992, Kim Jong-il was awarded the rank of Marshal and his father, in virtue of being the KPA's founding commander in chief, became Grand Marshal as a result and one year later he became the Chairman of the National Defence Commission, by now under Supreme People's Assembly control under the then 1992 constitution as amended.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Almost all officers of the KPA began their military careers as privates; only very few people are admitted to a military academy without prior service. The results is an egalitarian military system where officers are familiar with the life of a military private and "military nobility" is all but nonexistent.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Within the KPA, between December 1991 and December 1995, nearly 800 high officers (out of approximately 1,200) received promotions and preferential assignments. Three days after Kim Jong-il became Marshal, eight generals were appointed to the rank of Vice-Marshal. In April 1997, on the 85th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birthday, Kim Jong-il promoted 127 general and admiral grade officers. The following April he ordered the promotions of another 22 generals and flag officers. Along with these changes, many KPA officers were appointed to influential positions within the Korean Workers' Party. These promotions continue today, simultaneous with the celebration of Kim Il-sung's birthday and the KPA anniversary celebrations every April and since recently in July to honour the end of the Korean War. Under Kim Jong-il's leadership, political officers dispatched from the party monitored every move of a general's daily life, according to analysts similar to the work of Soviet political commissars during the early and middle years of the military establishment.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Today the KPA exercises full control of both the Politburo and the Central Military Commission of the WPK, the KPA General Political and General Staff Departments and the Ministry of Defence, all having KPA representatives with a minimum general officer rank. Following changes made during the 4th session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly on 29 June 2016, the State Affairs Commission has overseen the Ministry of Defence as part of its systemic responsibilities. All members of the State Affairs Commission have membership status (regular or alternate) on the WPK Political Bureau.


title: Korean People's Army

text: North Korea has conscription for males for 10 years. Females are conscripted up until the age of 23. Article 86 of the North Korean Constitution states: "National defence is the supreme duty and honour of citizens.


title: Korean People's Army

text: KPA soldiers serve three years of military service in the KPA, which also runs its own factories, farms and trading arms.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Red Youth Guards are the youth cadet corps of the KPA for secondary level and university level students. Every Saturday, they hold mandatory 4-hour military training drills, and have training activities on and off campus to prepare them for military service when they turn 18 or after graduation, as well as for contingency measures in peacetime.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Under the Ministry of Social Security and the wartime control of the Ministry of Defence, and formerly the Korean People's Security Forces, the Korean People's Social Security Forces (KPSSF) forms the national gendarmerie and civil defence force of the KPA. The KPSSF has its units in various fields like civil defence, traffic management, civil disturbance control, and local security. It has its own special forces units. The service shares the ranks of the KPA (with the exception of Marshals) but wears different uniforms.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The KPA's annual budget is approximately US$6 billion. In 2009, the U.S. Institute for Science and International Security reported that North Korea may possess fissile material for around two to nine nuclear warheads. The North Korean "Songun" ("Military First") policy elevates the KPA to the primary position in the government and society.


title: Korean People's Army

text: According to North Korea's state news agency, military expenditures for 2010 made up 15.8 percent of the state budget. Most analyses of North Korea's defence sector, however, estimate that defence spending constitutes between one-quarter and one-third of all government spending. , according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, North Korea's defence budget consumed some 25 percent of central government spending. In the mid-1970s and early 1980s, according to figures released by the Polish Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, between 32 and 38 percent of central government expenditures went towards defence.


title: Korean People's Army

text: North Korea sells missiles and military equipment to many countries worldwide. In April 2009, the United Nations named the Korea Mining and Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) as North Korea's primary arms dealer and main exporter of equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. It also named Korea Ryonbong as a supporter of North Korea's military related sales.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Historically, North Korea has assisted a vast number of revolutionary, insurgent and terrorist groups in more than 62 countries. A cumulative total of more than 5,000 foreign personnel have been trained in North Korea, and over 7,000 military advisers, primarily from the Reconnaissance General Bureau, have been dispatched to some forty-seven countries. Some of the organisations which received North Korean aid include the Polisario Front, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the Communist Party of Thailand, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Zimbabwean Fifth Brigade received its initial training from KPA instructors. North Korean troops allegedly saw combat during the Libyan–Egyptian War and the Angolan Civil War. Up to 200 KPAF pilots took part in the Vietnam War, scoring several kills against U.S. aircraft. Two KPA anti-aircraft artillery regiments were sent to North Vietnam as well.


title: Korean People's Army

text: North Korean instructors trained Hezbollah fighters in guerrilla warfare tactics around 2004, prior to the Second Lebanon War. During the Syrian Civil War, Arabic-speaking KPA officers may have assisted the Syrian Arab Army in military operations planning and have supervised artillery bombardments in the Battle of Aleppo.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Korean People's Army Ground Force (KPAGF) is the main branch of the Korean People's Army responsible for land-based military operations. It is the "de facto" army of North Korea.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Korean People's Army Naval Force (KPANF) is organized into two fleets (West Fleet and East Fleet, the latter being the larger of the two) which, owing to the limited range and general disrepair of their vessels, are not able to support each other, let alone meet for joint operations. The East Fleet is headquartered at T'oejo-dong and the West Fleet at Nampho. A number of training, shipbuilding and maintenance units and a naval air wing report directly to Naval Command Headquarters at Pyongyang.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF) is also responsible for North Korea's air defence forces through the use of anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles (SAM). While much of the equipment is outdated, the high saturation of multilayered, overlapping, mutually supporting air defence sites provides a formidable challenge to enemy air attacks.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Korean People's Army Strategic Rocket Force (KPASRF) is a major division of the KPA that controls North Korea's nuclear and conventional strategic missiles. It is mainly equipped with surface-to-surface missiles of Soviet and Chinese design, as well as locally developed long-range missiles.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Korean People's Army Special Operation Force (KPASOF) is an asymmetric force with a total troop size of 200,000. Since the Korean War, it has continued to play a role of concentrating infiltration of troops into the territory of South Korea and conducting sabotage.


title: Korean People's Army

text: After the Korean War, North Korea maintained a powerful, but smaller military force than that of South Korea. In 1967 the KPA forces of about 345,000 were much smaller than the South Korean ground forces of about 585,000. North Korea's relative isolation and economic plight starting from the 1980s has now tipped the balance of military power into the hands of the better-equipped South Korean military. In response to this predicament, North Korea relies on asymmetric warfare techniques and unconventional weaponry to achieve parity against high-tech enemy forces. North Korea is reported to have developed a wide range of technologies towards this end, such as stealth paint to conceal ground targets, midget submarines and human torpedoes, blinding laser weapons, and probably has a chemical weapons program and is likely to possess a stockpile of chemical weapons. The Korean People's Army operates ZM-87 anti-personnel lasers, which are banned under the United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Since the 1980s, North Korea has also been actively developing its own cyber warfare capabilities. , the secretive Bureau 121 – the elite North Korean cyber warfare unit – comprises approximately 1,800 highly trained hackers. In December 2014, the Bureau was accused of hacking Sony Pictures and making threats, leading to the cancellation of "The Interview", a political satire comedy film based on the assassination of Kim Jong-un. The Korean People's Army has also made advances in electronic warfare by developing GPS jammers. Current models include vehicle-mounted jammers with a range of –. Jammers with a range of more than 100 km are being developed, along with electromagnetic pulse bombs. The Korean People's Army has also made attempts to jam South Korean military satellites. North Korea does not have satellites capable of obtaining satellite imagery useful for military purposes, and appears to use imagery from foreign commercial platforms.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Despite the general fuel and ammunition shortages for training, it is estimated that the wartime strategic reserves of food for the army are sufficient to feed the regular troops for 500 days, while fuel and ammunition – amounting to 1.5 million and 1.7 million tonnes respectively – are sufficient to wage a full-scale war for 100 days.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The KPA does not operate aircraft carriers, but has other means of power projection. Korean People's Air Force Il-76MD aircraft provide a strategic airlift capacity of 6,000 troops, while the Navy's sea lift capacity amounts to 15,000 troops. The Strategic Rocket Forces operate more than 1,000 ballistic missiles according to South Korean officials in 2010, although the U.S. Department of Defense reported in 2012 that North Korea has fewer than 200 missile launchers. North Korea acquired 12 Foxtrot class and Golf-II class missile submarines as scrap in 1993. Some analysts suggest that these have either been refurbished with the help of Russian experts or their launch tubes have been reverse-engineered and externally fitted to regular submarines or cargo ships. However the U.S. Department of Defense does not list them as active.


title: Korean People's Army

text: A photograph of Kim Jong-un receiving a briefing from his top generals on 29 March 2013 showed a list that purported to show that the military had a minimum of 40 submarines, 13 landing ships, 6 minesweepers, 27 support vessels and 1,852 aircraft.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The Korean People's Army operates a very large amount of equipment, including 4,100 tanks, 2,100 APCs, 8,500 field artillery pieces, 5,100 multiple rocket launchers, 11,000 air defence guns and some 10,000 MANPADS and anti-tank guided missiles in the Ground force; about 500 vessels in the Navy and 730 combat aircraft in the Air Force, of which 478 are fighters and 180 are bombers. North Korea also has the largest special forces in the world, as well as the largest submarine fleet. The equipment is a mixture of World War II vintage vehicles and small arms, widely proliferated Cold War technology, and more modern Soviet or locally produced weapons.


title: Korean People's Army

text: North Korea possesses a vast array of long range artillery in shelters just north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It has been a long-standing cause for concern that a preemptive strike or retaliatory strike on Seoul using this arsenal of artillery north of the Demilitarized Zone would lead to a massive loss of life in Seoul. Estimates on how many people would die in an attack on Seoul vary. When the Clinton administration mobilised forces over the reactor at Yongbyon in 1994, planners concluded that retaliation by North Korea against Seoul could kill 40,000 people. Other estimates projects hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of fatalities if North Korea uses chemical or nuclear munitions. RAND Corporation conducted an extensive study in 2020 on a range of potential artillery bombardment scenarios and concluded that a strike on Seoul alone could result in over 100,000 casualties in the first hour of bombardment.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The KPA possess a variety of Chinese and Soviet sourced equipment and weaponry, as well as locally produced versions and improvements of the former. Soldiers are mostly armed with indigenous Kalashnikov-type rifles as the standard issue weapon. Front line troops are issued the Type 88, while the older Type 58 assault rifle and Type 68A/B have been shifted to rear echelon or home guard units.


title: Korean People's Army

text: A rifle of unknown nomenclature was seen during the 2017 Day of the Sun military parade, appearing to consist of a grenade launcher and a standard assault rifle, similar to the U.S. OICW or South Korean S&T Daewoo K11.


title: Korean People's Army

text: North Korea generally designates rifles as "Type XX", similar to the Chinese naming system. On 15 November 2018, North Korea successfully tested a "newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon". Leader Kim Jong-un observed the test at the Academy of Defense Science and called it a "decisive turn" in bolstering the combat power of the North Korean army.


title: Korean People's Army

text: There is a Korean People's Army Military Hardware Museum located in Pyongyang that displays a range of the equipment used.


title: Korean People's Army

text: The U.S. Department of Defense believes North Korea probably has a chemical weapons program and is likely to possess a stockpile of such weapons.


title: Korean People's Army

text: North Korea has tested a series of different missiles, including short-, medium-, intermediate-, and intercontinental- range, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Estimates of the country's nuclear stockpile vary: some experts believe Pyongyang has between fifteen and twenty nuclear weapons, while U.S. intelligence believes the number to be between thirty and sixty. The regime conducted two tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead in July 2017. The Pentagon confirmed North Korea's ICBM tests, and analysts estimate that the new missile has a potential range of and, if fired on a flatter trajectory, could be capable of reaching mainland U.S. territory.


title: Korean People's Army

text: On 9 October 2006, the North Korean government announced that it had unsuccessfully attempted a nuclear test for the first time. Experts at the United States Geological Survey and Japanese seismological authorities detected an earthquake with a preliminary estimated magnitude of 4.3 from the site in North Korea, proving the official claims to be true.


title: Korean People's Army

text: North Korea also went on to claim that it had developed a nuclear weapon in 2009. It is widely believed to possess a stockpile of relatively simple nuclear weapons. The IAEA has met , the Director General of the General Department of Atomic Energy (GDAE) of North Korea, to discuss nuclear matters. Ri Je-son was also mentioned in this role in 2002 in a United Nations article.


title: Korean People's Army

text: On 3 September 2017, the North Korean leadership announced that it had conducted a nuclear test with what it claimed to be its first hydrogen bomb detonation. The detonation took place at an underground location at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Hamgyong Province at 12:00 pm local time. South Korean officials claimed the test yielded 50 kilotons of explosive force, with many international observers claiming the test likely involved some form of a thermonuclear reaction.


title: Korean People's Army

text: KPA officers and soldiers are most often seen wearing a mix of olive green or tan uniforms. The basic dress uniform consists of a tunic and pants (white tunics for general officers in special occasions); female soldiers wear knee length skirts but can sometimes wear pants.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Caps or peaked caps, especially for officers (and sometimes berets for women) are worn in spring and summer months and a Russian style fur hat (the Ushanka hats) in winter. A variant of the Disruptive Pattern Material, the Disruptive Pattern Combat Uniform (green), the ERDL pattern, the M81 Woodland and the Tigerstripe is also being worn by a few and rare images of North Korean army officers and service personnel. In Non-Dress uniforms, a steel helmet (the North Korean produced Type 40 helmet, a copy of the Soviet SSH40) seems to be the most common headgear, and is sometimes worn with a camouflage covering.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Standard military boots are worn for combat, women wear low heel shoes or heel boots for formal parades.


title: Korean People's Army

text: Camouflage uniforms are slowly becoming more common in the KPA. During the April 15, 2012 parade, Kevlar helmets were displayed in certain KPA units and similar helmets are currently used by KPA special operations forces.


title: Korean People's Army

text: During the parade on 10 October 2020, a range of at least five new pixelated camouflage patterns and new soldiers' combat gear such as body armor, bulletproof helmets of all branches were shown for the first time. Even though it was difficult to tell the patterns apart from each other, two different green based designs, an arid camouflage design, blue camouflage design, and a two-color pixelated camouflage pattern for mountain and winter warfare were all observed. Also, the use of Multicam pattern uniforms by North Korean military personnel was first documented in 2020 during the same parade, although uniforms in this design may well have appeared in the armed forces inventory much earlier.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The 2021–22 FA Cup was the 141st season and marks the 150th anniversary of the first Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world, started in the 1871–72 season. It was sponsored by Emirates and was known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. The winners qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League group stage.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: Premier League side Leicester City were the holders, having beaten Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup Final. They were eliminated by Nottingham Forest in the fourth round.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: Liverpool beat the two-time defending runners-up Chelsea on penalties in the final to win their 8th FA Cup overall and first since 2006. This was the fifth FA Cup final that has gone to extra time, with Chelsea becoming the first team to lose three consecutive finals.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The FA Cup is a knockout competition with 124 teams taking part (excluding those eliminated in the qualifying rounds) all trying to reach the Final at Wembley in May 2022. The competitors consist of the 92 teams from the Football League system (20 teams from the Premier League and the 72 in total from the EFL Championship, EFL League One and EFL League Two) plus the 32 surviving teams out of 637 teams from the National League System (levels 5–10 of the English football league system) that started the competition in qualifying rounds.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: All rounds are drawn randomly, usually either at the completion of the previous round or on the evening of the last televised game of a round being played, depending on television broadcasting rights.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: Teams that are not members of either the Premier League or English Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 available places in the First Round Proper. The six-round qualifying competition began with the Extra Preliminary Round on 6 August 2021.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The first round saw the 32 winners from the fourth qualifying round joined by the 48 clubs from League One and League Two. The draw was held on 17 October 2021 at Wembley Stadium, and was done by Kelly Smith and Wes Morgan. The lowest-ranked team in the first round were AFC Sudbury of the eighth-tier Isthmian League North Division.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The second round featured the 40 winners from the first round. The draw was held on 8 November 2021 at Wembley Stadium, and was done by Shaun Wright-Phillips and Rachel Yankey. The lowest-ranked team in the second round were Buxton of the seventh-tier Northern Premier League Premier Division.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The third round featured all 44 clubs across the Premier League and the Championship, who entered the competition in this round, along with the 20 winners from the second round. The draw was held on 6 December 2021 at Wembley Stadium, and was done by David Seaman and Faye White.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The lowest-ranked team in the third round were Kidderminster Harriers of the sixth-tier National League North. To avoid possible fixture congestion caused by postponements to league matches due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, matches from this round onwards are decided on the day, with extra time and penalties used if necessary.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The draw for the fourth round was held on 9 January 2022 at Wembley Stadium, and was done by David James and Leah Williamson. The lowest-ranked team in the fourth round were Kidderminster Harriers of the sixth-tier National League North.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The draw for the fifth round was held on 6 February 2022 at Wembley Stadium, and was done by Andy Cole. The matches were played during the week commencing Monday 28 February 2022. The lowest-ranked team in the fifth round were Boreham Wood of the fifth-tier National League.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The draw was held on 3 March 2022 at Wembley Stadium, and was conducted by England national football team manager Gareth Southgate. The lowest-ranked teams in the quarter-finals were Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, both of the second-tier EFL Championship.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: On 15 March, Chelsea requested to play their game against Middlesbrough behind closed doors, due to them being unable to sell any more than the season tickets and 500–600 regular tickets sold before 10 March, after the Russian owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK over his links to Vladimir Putin. This would have meant no one would be able to attend, including Middlesbrough fans whose tickets already had sold out. Chelsea's request was withdrawn the same day under criticism from the FA and Middlesbrough.


title: 2021–22 FA Cup

text: The draw for the semi-finals was held on 20 March 2022 by former England international Robbie Fowler.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022 video game)

text: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a 2022 first-person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is a sequel to , and serves as the nineteenth installment in the overall "Call of Duty" series. It was released on October 28, 2022, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.


text: Like its predecessor, the game takes place in a realistic and modern setting. The campaign follows multinational unit Task Force 141 and Mexican Special Forces unit Los Vaqueros as they attempt to track down Iranian Quds Force major and terrorist Hassan Zyani, who is in possession of American-made ballistic missiles. The game's main playable characters are John "Soap" MacTavish and Kyle "Gaz" Garrick of Task Force 141. Running on a new version of the IW engine, multiplayer mode supports cross-platform multiplayer and features a free-to-play battle royale mode, "", a follow-up to the original "".


text: "Modern Warfare II" received generally favorable reviews from critics. It was a commercial success and broke several records for the series, including becoming the fastest "Call of Duty" game to generate in revenue.


text: "Modern Warfare II" introduces several design improvements and changes to the series gameplay, such as advanced AI systems in the campaign and co-op modes, water physics, swimming mechanics, and an overhauled vehicle system. New gameplay features and movement tactics include dive to prone, mantle, and ledge hang along with the removal of slide canceling. New vehicle gameplay features include leaning out of vehicle windows, mantling onto a vehicle roof, and hijacking. The levelling and Gunsmith system has been revamped, allowing players to fine-tune specific attachments to suit their playstyles. It also offers weapon platforms that branch progression to reduce repetitiveness, as well as featuring a firing range for practice.


text: "Modern Warfare II" multiplayer features several new game modes: Knockout, in which two teams attempt to capture a package with limited lives; and Prisoner Rescue, in which an attacking team attempts to extract a hostage while a defending team prevents them by fortifying defenses around the hostage. Third person game modes were confirmed in September. The cooperative Special Ops mode also returns, featuring two-player missions, with an additional 3-player activity called Raids set to be released post-launch.


text: Like the previous game, "Modern Warfare II" features a free-to-play battle royale game mode called "", which is introduced with the first seasonal content update for the game on November 16. In addition to the traditional battle royale mode, "Warzone 2.0" also introduces DMZ, a new extraction game mode in which teams of trios battle against each other as well as AI combatants, while attempting to complete missions and extract loot from the playable map.


text: "Modern Warfare II" is a continuation of the , with the campaign taking place in late 2022. The central protagonists of the game are Task Force 141, a multi-national special operations unit formed by SAS Captain John Price (Barry Sloane), comprising: Sergeant Kyle "Gaz" Garrick (Elliot Knight), Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley (Samuel Roukin), and Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish (Neil Ellice). Throughout the course of the story, Task Force 141 is supported by several allies: CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell (Rya Kihlstedt), Russian private military company leader "Nikolai" (Stefan Kapičić), Urzikstan Liberation Force Commander Farah Karim (Claudia Doumit), Mexican Special Forces Colonel Alejandro Vargas (Alain Mesa) and Sergeant Major Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra (Bayardo De Murguia), Shadow Company PMC Commander Phillip Graves (Warren Kole), and United States Army General Shepherd (Glenn Morshower). The primary antagonist of "Modern Warfare II" is Major Hassan Zyani (Ibrahim Renno), an Iranian Quds Force officer who is allied with the Urzik terrorist organization Al-Qatala, and is supported by the Las Almas Cartel. The cartel is controlled by "sicaria" Valeria Garza (María Elisa Camargo), who hides her identity using the alias "El Sin Nombre" ("lit. The Nameless").


text: The game takes place in both real and fictional locations, such as fictional Mexican city of Las Almas, Amsterdam, Mexico–United States border, Gulf of Mexico, Chicago, Urzikstan, and the new United Republic of Adal (URA), the capital of which, Al Mazrah, serves as a major locale within the campaign and multiplayer modes, as well as the new map for the free-to-play "". The game's plot is partly based on real-life events, such as the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.


text: The Special Ops and Multiplayer seasonal story takes place after the campaign, and features a cast of multi-national operators working under two major factions, SpecGru and KorTac Group, both of which are private military companies. Both factions undertake new covert operations, overseen by Laswell, taking place within the vicinity of Al Mazrah.


text: In July 2022, Task Force 141 has been working under the command of General Shepherd conducting surgical strikes against Russian-backed Iranian forces. When an American ballistic missile strike assassinates Iranian general Ghorbrani during an arms deal in Al Mazrah, his second-in-command, Quds Force Major Hassan Zyani, assumes the mantle of leadership and becomes involved in funding terrorist activity over several months and seeks revenge on the United States for Ghorbrani's death. His activities draw the attention of Shepherd and CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell, ordering the deployment of MARSOC Marines led by Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley and Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish to apprehend Hassan in Al Mazrah. Hassan has already fled the area, with Ghost and Soap discovering that he was in possession of an American-made ballistic missile.


text: To continue their pursuit of Hassan, Laswell, Captain John Price, and Sergeant Kyle "Gaz" Garrick pursue one of Hassan's couriers in Amsterdam, learning that Hassan has allied with the Las Almas cartel and is being sheltered in Mexico. After a failed attempt to apprehend Hassan at the US-Mexican border, Mexican Special Forces Colonel Alejandro Vargas and his second-in-command Sergeant Major Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra participate in a joint operation with Ghost, Soap, and Shadow Company to capture Hassan. Although successful, they are forced to release him from captivity to avoid political fallout while placing a tracking device on his cell phone.


text: Hassan's traced phone call leads Price, Laswell, and Gaz to Cape Vilan, Spain to raid a Las Almas owned fishing hatchery, where they discover that Las Almas possessed Russian-made GPS devices to use for the stolen missiles. Laswell is captured by Al-Qatala forces, prompting Price and Gaz to save her in Urzikstan, with the aid of their old allies "Nikolai" and Farah Karim. Meanwhile, Vargas and Soap infiltrate a Las Almas meeting to identify their leader, El Sin Nombre, revealed to be Vargas' former teammate Valeria Garza. Valeria makes a deal with Shadow Company by revealing the location of the missiles. A raid led by Ghost, Shadow Company Commander Phillip Graves, Soap, and Vargas has the joint task force assault an abandoned oil derrick and cargo tanker to prevent a missile launch. Despite the successful mission, Graves and Shadow Company betray Vargas and Task Force 141 by taking over the former's base of operations and detaining his men under Shepherd's order. Graves captures and imprisons Vargas while Ghost and Soap flee to safety. With help from Parra, Laswell, Price, and Gaz, Ghost and Soap launch a prison break to free Vargas and his soldiers.


text: During extraction, Laswell reveals that in August, Shepherd and Graves were responsible for a botched and illegal transportation mission, that was supposed to transport ballistic missiles to American allies in the Middle East and the URA against the Russians but were ambushed by Russian PMCs that led to the three ballistic missiles being stolen in the first place and covered it up. Price confronts Shepherd over the revelations via video link, promising to pursue him when Hassan and Graves are eliminated. Task Force 141 and their Mexican Special Forces allies succeed in killing Graves and learn from Valeria that Hassan is in Chicago, intending to fire the remaining missile onto Washington, D.C.. The team thwarts the plot and kills Hassan.


text: In the aftermath of the mission, Shepherd has gone into hiding, while Laswell informs Task Force 141 of the leader of Russian Ultranationalists responsible for Shepherd's botched operation, whom Price identifies as Vladimir Makarov. Meanwhile, a Russian terrorist cell prepares to hijack a plane after receiving a text from Makarov, telling them not to speak Russian during their mission.


text: Some time after Hassan's death, Laswell starts to oversee new covert operations in Al Mazrah undertaken by global operatives working for two private military companies, SpecGru and KorTac Group, in an effort to further undermine Al-Qatala activities.


text: In December 2022, Laswell tasks Price, Gaz, and Farah with investigating the disappearance of former CIA officer Alex Keller, who was sent by Farah alongside several ULF fighters to infiltrate a recently-discovered Soviet-era bunker in the Sattiq mountains in Urzikstan. After taking down Al-Qatala forces guarding the bunker, and bypassing the bunker's own security measures, they learn that the bunker houses a Soviet-made thermonuclear missile, while Farah's fighters was killed, though Alex remains missing.


text: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" was developed by Infinity Ward alongside a new version of the battle royale title "", later revealed to be titled "", with both games using a new version of the IW engine, and will be under a single cross-game launcher known as "Call of Duty HQ". The new upgraded engine features a physically based material system, a new hybrid tile-based streaming system, a new PBR decal rendering system, world volumetric lighting, 4K HDR, as well as a new GPU geometry pipeline. The game features Activision's proprietary Ricochet Anti-Cheat at launch.


text: In February 2022, Activision confirmed that a sequel to "" would be released later that year, alongside a new iteration of "". The game's title, "Modern Warfare II", was revealed in April 2022. A month later, Activision released another teaser, which featured the key arts of the main characters of the game, as well as a release date of October 28, 2022. On June 2, 2022, a live-action trailer was released, on the same day, Steam responded to a tweet from the official "Call of Duty" Twitter account, strongly suggesting the game would be released on Microsoft Windows via the Steam platform, in addition to Battle.net. The first trailer for the game was released on June 8, showcasing gameplay from the campaign mode, as well as confirming the game's release on Steam, Battle.net, and the eighth and ninth generation consoles. "Modern Warfare II" marks the first time since 2017's "" that a "Call of Duty" title released on the Steam platform. In September 2022, Activision held the "Call of Duty Next" showcase where they revealed a multiplayer gameplay trailer, details on the Spec Ops mode, "", and the DMZ extraction game mode.


text: The multiplayer beta for "Modern Warfare II" started for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 players on September 16, and for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S players on September 22. The beta officially ended on September 26 at 3pm EDT across all platforms before the launch on October 28, 2022. Pre-orders of all editions grant "early" access to the open multiplayer beta. The Vault Edition grants access to a "Red Team 141" operator pack, a "FJX Cinder Weapon Vault" pack, plus access to the Battle Pass of a Season for "Modern Warfare II" (dependent on the time of purchase), and double XP tokens. In addition, the Vault Edition also includes the "Ghost Legacy Pack", which grants 12 Ghost operator skins and 10 weapon blueprints for the M4A1 assault rifle for use in "" and "". Unlike the previous cross-gen titles, "Modern Warfare II" offers no standard editions for the eighth generation consoles, but only a cross-gen edition for all platforms, in addition to the Vault Edition. Pre-ordering also granted early access to the campaign a week earlier on October 20.


text: Similar to the previous titles, "Modern Warfare II" employs both the battle pass system and an in-game store where players can purchase cosmetic bundles using the "COD Points" microtransaction currency, while free content, such as new maps and weapons, are provided on a regular basis with "Season" updates.


text: In November 2022, Activision and Infinity Ward announced a football-themed limited time event for the Season 01 content update, "Modern Warfare FC", which features the addition of several world-renowned football athletes: Paul Pogba, Neymar, and Lionel Messi, as playable characters in both multiplayer modes and "Warzone 2.0".


text: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.


text: "GameSpot" called the campaign "a greatest hits list for the series", praising the amount of player freedom in missions and the variety of locales, but criticizing the multiplayer's gun customization as overly complex and that the mode as a whole "[felt] lacking".


text: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" became the fastest-selling "Call of Duty" game of all time. The game earned in revenue in its first three days of release, and within 10 days, surpassing the series previous record-holders, 2011's "" and 2012's "".


text: In the United Kingdom, "Modern Warfare II" became the best-selling game in its first week of release. In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" sold 24,371 physical copies within its release week, making it the second bestselling retail game of the week in the country. The PlayStation 5 version sold 17,710 physical copies in Japan throughout the same week, placing it at number six on the all-format video games sales chart.


title: Selective Service System

text: The Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains information on U.S. citizens and other U.S. residents potentially subject to military conscription (i.e., the draft) and carries out contingency planning and preparations for two types of draft: a general draft based on registration lists of men aged 18–25, and a special-skills draft based on professional licensing lists of workers in specified health care occupations. In the event of either type of draft, the Selective Service System would send out induction notices, adjudicate claims for deferments or exemptions, and assign draftees classified as conscientious objectors to alternative service work. All male U.S. citizens and immigrant non-citizens who are between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of their 18th birthdays, and must notify the Selective Service within ten days of any changes to any of the information they provided on their registration cards, such as a change of address. The Selective Service System is a contingency mechanism for the possibility that conscription becomes necessary.


title: Selective Service System

text: Registration with Selective Service may be required for various federal programs and benefits, including job training, federal employment, and naturalization.


title: Selective Service System

text: The Selective Service System provides the names of all registrants to the Joint Advertising Marketing Research & Studies (JAMRS) program for inclusion in the JAMRS Consolidated Recruitment Database. The names are distributed to the Services for recruiting purposes on a quarterly basis.


title: Selective Service System

text: Following the U.S. declaration of war against Germany on 6 April, the Selective Service Act of 1917 (40 Stat. 76) was passed by the 65th United States Congress on 18 May 1917, creating the Selective Service System. President Woodrow Wilson signed the act into law after the U.S. Army failed to meet its target of expanding to 1 million men after six weeks. The act gave the president the power to conscript men for military service. All men aged 21 to 30 were required to enlist for military service for a service period of 12 months. As of mid-November 1917, all registrants were placed in one of five new classifications. Men in Class I were the first to be drafted, and men in lower classifications were deferred. Dependency deferments for registrants who were fathers or husbands were especially widespread. The age limit was later raised in August 1918 to a maximum age of 45. The military draft was discontinued in 1920.


title: Selective Service System

text: The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was passed by Congress on 16 September 1940, establishing the first peacetime conscription in United States history. It required all men between the ages of 18 to 64 to register with the Selective Service. To register, men typically completed a D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card from the Director of Selective Service. Over 49 million draft cards were completed, including The Old Man's Draft.


title: Selective Service System

text: It originally conscripted all men aged 21 to 35 for a service period of 12 months. In 1941 the military service period was extended to 18 months; later that year the age bracket was increased to include men aged 18 to 37. Following the Japanese air raid attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and the subsequent declarations of war by the United States against the Empire of Japan and a few days later against Nazi Germany, the service period was subsequently extended in early 1942 to last for the duration of the war, plus a six-month service in the Organized Reserves.


title: Selective Service System

text: In his 1945 State of the Union address, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt requested that the draft be expanded to include female nurses (male nurses were not allowed), to overcome a shortage that was endangering military medical care. This began a debate over the drafting of all women, which was defeated in the House of Representatives. A bill to draft nurses was passed by the House, but died without a vote in the Senate. The publicity caused more nurses to volunteer and agencies streamlined recruiting.


title: Selective Service System

text: The Selective Service Act of 1948, enacted in June of that year, created a new and separate system, the basis for the modern system. All men 18 years and older had to register with the Selective Service. All men between the ages of 18 to 25 were eligible to be drafted for a service requirement of 21 months. This was followed by a commitment for either 12 consecutive months of active service or 36 consecutive months of service in the reserves, with a statutory term of military service set at a minimum of five years total. Conscripts could volunteer for military service in the regular United States Army for a term of four years or the Organized Reserves for a term of six years. Due to deep postwar budget cuts, only 100,000 conscripts were chosen in 1948. In 1950, the number of conscripts was greatly increased to meet the demands of the Korean War (1950–1953).


title: Selective Service System

text: The outbreak of the Korean War fostered the creation of the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1951. This lowered the draft age from 19 to , increased active-duty service time from 21 to 24 months, and set the statutory term of military service at a minimum of eight years. Students attending a college or training program full-time could request an exemption, which was extended as long as they were students. A Universal Military Training clause was inserted that would have made all men obligated to perform 12 months of military service and training if the act was amended by later legislation. Despite successive attempts over the next several years, however, such legislation was never passed.


title: Selective Service System

text: President John F. Kennedy set up (signed on 10 September 1963), granting an exemption from conscription for married men between the ages of 19 and 26. His vice president and later successor as president, Lyndon B. Johnson, later rescinded the exemption for married men without children by (signed on 26 August 1965 and going into effect on midnight of that date). However, married men with children or other dependents and men married before the executive order went into effect were still exempt. President Ronald Reagan revoked both of them with (signed on 25 February 1986).


title: Selective Service System

text: The Military Selective Service Act of 1967 expanded the ages of conscription to the ages of 18 to 55. It still granted student deferments, but ended them upon either the student's completion of a four-year degree or his 24th birthday, whichever came first.


title: Selective Service System

text: On 26 November 1969, President Richard Nixon signed an amendment to the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 that established conscription based on random selection (lottery). The first draft lottery was held on 1 December 1969; it determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970, for registrants born between 1 January 1944, and 31 December 1950. The highest lottery number called for possible induction was 195. The second lottery, on 1 July 1970, pertained to men born in 1951. The highest lottery number called for possible induction was 125. The third was on 5 August 1971, pertaining to men born in 1952; the highest lottery number called was 95.


title: Selective Service System

text: In 1971, the Military Selective Service Act was further amended to make registration compulsory; all men had to register within a period 30 days before and 29 days after their 18th birthdays. Registrants were classified "1-A" (eligible for military service), "1-AO" (conscientious objector available for non-combatant military service), and "1-O" (conscientious objector available for alternate community service). Student deferments were ended, except for divinity students, who received a "2-D" Selective Service classification. Men who were not classifiable as eligible for service due to a disqualification were classified "1-N". Men who are incapable of serving for medical or psychological unfitness are classified "4-F". Upon completion of military service the classification of "4-A" was assigned. Draft classifications of "1-A" were changed to "1-H" (registrant not currently subject to processing for induction) for men not selected for service after the calendar year they were eligible for the draft. (These – and other – draft classifications were in place long before 1971.) Also, draft board membership requirements were reformed: minimum age of board members was dropped from 30 to 18, members over 65 or who had served on the board for 20 or more years had to retire, and membership had to proportionally reflect the ethnic and cultural makeup of the local community.


title: Selective Service System

text: On 27 January 1973, Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird announced the creation of an all-volunteer armed forces, negating the need for the military draft. The seventh and final lottery drawing was held on 12 March 1975, pertaining to men born in 1956, who would have been called to report for induction in 1976. But no new draft orders were issued after 1972.


title: Selective Service System

text: On 29 March 1975, President Gerald R. Ford, whose own son, Steven Ford, had earlier failed to register for the draft as required, signed Proclamation 4360 (Terminating Registration Procedures Under Military Selective Service Act), eliminating the registration requirement for all 18- to 25-year-old male citizens.


title: Selective Service System

text: On 2 July 1980, President Jimmy Carter, signed Proclamation 4771 (Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act) in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the previous year of 1979, retroactively re-establishing the Selective Service registration requirement for all 18- to 26-year-old male citizens born on or after 1 January 1960. As a result, only men born between 29 March 1957, and 31 December 1959, were completely exempt from Selective Service registration.


title: Selective Service System

text: The first registrations after Proclamation 4771 took place at various post offices across the nation on 21 July 1980, for men born in calendar year 1960. Pursuant to the presidential proclamation, all those men born in 1960 were required to register that week. Men born in 1961 were required to register the following week. Men born in 1962 were required to register during the week beginning 5 January 1981. Men born in 1963 and after were required to register within 30 days before or after their 18th birthday.


title: Selective Service System

text: A bill to abolish the Selective Service System was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on 10 February 2016. H.R. 4523 would end draft registration and eliminate the authority of the president to order anyone to register for the draft, abolish the Selective Service System, and effectively repeal the "Solomon Amendments" making registration for the draft a condition of federal student aid, jobs, and job training. The bill would leave in place, however, laws in some states making registration for the draft a condition of some state benefits. On 9 June 2016, a similar bill was introduced in the United States Senate, called the "Muhammad Ali Voluntary Service Act".


title: Selective Service System

text: On 27 April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee voted to add an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to extend the authority for draft registration to women. On 12 May 2016, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to add a similar provision to its version of the bill. If the bill including this provision had been enacted into law, it would have authorized (but not require) the president to order young women as well as young men to register with the Selective Service System.


title: Selective Service System

text: The House-Senate conference committee for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 removed the provision of the House version of the bill that would have authorized the president to order women as well as men to register with the Selective Service System, but added a new section to create a "National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service" (NCMNPS). This provision was enacted into law on 23 December 2016 as Subtitle F of Public Law 114–328. The commission was to study and make recommendations by March 2020 on the draft, draft registration, registration of women, and "the feasibility and advisability of modifying the military selective service process in order to obtain for military, national, and public service individuals with skills (such as medical, dental, and nursing skills, language skills, cyber skills, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills) for which the Nation has a critical need, without regard to age or sex". During 2018 and 2019, the commission held both public and closed-door meetings with members of the public and invited experts and other witnesses.