title: Backlash (2006)

text: The main event was a triple threat match for the WWE Championship between John Cena, Triple H, and Edge. The buildup to the match began when Triple H lost the Royal Rumble match, a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner but participated in the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament, where the winner would become the number-one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Triple H won the tournament. Cena defeated Triple H at WrestleMania to retain the title after forcing him to submit to the STFU, a move in which the wrestler wraps his arm around the neck of the opponent in a sleeper hold instead of pulling back on the head of the opponent. The next night on "Raw", one of WWE's primary television programs, Triple H demanded another shot at the WWE Championship, but Edge and Lita (Edge's girlfriend) interrupted Triple H's segment. Edge said that he became WWE Champion at New Year's Revolution when he cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot, that he won at WrestleMania 21, and defeating Cena at the event, after Cena had defeated five other men in an Elimination Chamber, a match featuring wrestlers fighting in a ring surrounded by a steel structure of chain and girders. Cena, however, reclaimed the Championship at the 2006 Royal Rumble, when he defeated Edge. Edge claimed that it was time for a new opponent for the WWE Championship, after stating that at WrestleMania, Triple H lost his opportunity when he lost to Cena. All three men had a series of Handicap matches, a match consisting of one team of wrestlers facing off against a team of wrestlers with numerical superiority such as three against two, or two against one leading up to Backlash with Triple H pinning Cena after a Pedigree, Cena forcing Edge to submit to the STFU, and Edge pinning Triple H after a Spear on Triple H. It was then announced that Cena would defend the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match against Triple H and Edge at Backlash.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: Another rivalry heading into the event was Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon versus Shawn Michaels and God. This feud started on December 26, 2005, when Vince McMahon made note of Bret Hart's DVD, claiming that he "tricked" Hart in the hours of his match at Survivor Series 1997, where Hart lost the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels. At the event, Michaels applied Hart's own finisher, the Sharpshooter, and McMahon called for the bell, in an event known as the "Montreal Screwjob." Michaels interrupted McMahon and told him to "let it go" and "move on" from the events of Survivor Series. In reply McMahon told Michaels that he indeed screwed Bret Hart and added, "Shawn, do not make me screw you." At the Royal Rumble, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance when he eliminated Michaels from the Rumble match, though Shane was not a participant. McMahon informed Michaels that he would face his son Shane on the March 18, 2006 "Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII" in a No Holds Barred match. At the event, Vince interfered throughout the match on his son's behalf, by stopping the referee's count, after Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music, a move which sees the wrestler use the sole of the foot to strike an opponent's head or chin on Shane, an enraged Michaels grabbed McMahon but before he could do anything, Shane hit Michaels with a low blow. McMahon ordered Shane to apply the Sharpshooter on Michaels, and, after he executed the submission move, McMahon called for the bell, similar to the 1997 Survivor Series match. Mr. McMahon booked himself and Michaels in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania, the Spirit Squad and Shane McMahon interfered on McMahon's behalf, but Michaels defeated Vince McMahon after he performed Sweet Chin Music and captured the pinfall victory. The next night on "Raw", The McMahons confronted Michaels and informed him that his win at WrestleMania was "an act of God," therefore setting up the tag team match at Backlash that would have The McMahons facing Michaels and God.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The Divas rivalry between Mickie James and Trish Stratus over the WWE Women's Championship continued entering the event. Stratus and James first fought over the title at New Year's Revolution, with Stratus retaining. In the months that followed, James' obsession with Stratus grew to the point that she confessed to Stratus that she was in love with her; making Stratus uncomfortable. James made one final attempt to kiss Stratus at "Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII" on March 18, after the duo defeated Candice Michelle and Victoria. After she was rebuffed, James attacked Stratus and later vowed to destroy her, turning James into a villainess. At WrestleMania 22, the evil James defeated Stratus to capture the Women's Championship for the first time in her career. In the following weeks, James continued her mind games by dressing like Stratus and claiming to be her. Stratus eventually confronted James by dressing like her and mocking her personality. It was later announced that a Women's Championship rematch between James and Stratus would take place at Backlash.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, Goldust defeated Rob Conway in a match that aired on "Heat". Goldust won the match after a powerslam.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: In the first match of the actual event Carlito faced Chris Masters. In the beginning, Carlito had the advantage over Masters, as he performed a splash and Springboard Back elbow on Masters. Masters, however, gained the advantage and executed a Powerbomb. Carlito performed a Back Cracker. Carlito then pinned Masters while using the ropes for leverage to win the match.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: Next was a match between Umaga and Ric Flair. Umaga had the advantage throughout the match, as Umaga executed a knee to Flair's head. Umaga defeated Flair after a Samoan Spike.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The third match was between Mickie James and Trish Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship. The match had escalated outside the ring. When Stratus delivered punches to Mickie, who was on the second turnbuckle, Mickie threw her over the top rope, causing Stratus to land on her right arm. Afterwards, Mickie choked Stratus with a wristband she was wearing that fell off during the match, therefore giving the win to Stratus by disqualification, but per WWE regulations, a title can only change hands via pinfall or submission therefore Mickie retained the Championship.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The next match was for the WWE Intercontinental Championship between Rob Van Dam and Shelton Benjamin. Both Van Dam and Benjamin started the match with high spots as Benjamin performed a Sunset Flip Powerbomb. The match went back and forth with action, but in the end Van Dam performed a Five Star Frog Splash on Benjamin and pinned him to win the match and retain his Money in the Bank briefcase and win the Intercontinental Championship.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: In the next match, The Big Show faced Kane, which ended in a no contest after a red hue covered the ring and voices from the speakers in the arena began taunting Kane by saying "May 19th." Big Show, who seemed to have enough, hit Kane with a folding chair and walked away.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The sixth match was Vince and Shane McMahon versus Shawn Michaels and "God" in a No Holds Barred match. As soon as The McMahons made their way to the ring, Vince informed the referee to "check" "God" for any hidden objects, as God was being "portrayed" by the stage spotlight. The match started with Shawn Michaels executing a crossbody on both Vince and Shane McMahon on the outside of the ring. Afterwards, Michaels crossbodied Vince down through a part of the Backlash staging area. Shane then hit Michaels with a folding chair and caused him to bleed. After Vince and Shane took turns assaulting Michaels, Vince grabbed a microphone and informed Michaels that "God" had left the building and used a Superkick against him. Michaels battled back and grabbed two tables and put both Vince and Shane on them. Michaels then grabbed a ladder and stood on top of it. The Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky, and Mikey) interfered and attacked Michaels, which was followed by the Spirit Squad putting Michaels through a table with a Sky lift slam. Vince then pinned Michaels for the win.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The main event was the Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship between champion John Cena, Edge, and Triple H. As the match began, Edge chose to stand outside the ring, hoping that Cena and Triple H would simply fight the match themselves. Cena and Triple H, however, teamed up and turned against Edge. One spot in the match saw Edge catapult Triple H into the steel ringpost, which made Triple H bleed. Afterwards, Edge executed an Edgecution onto an announce table on Triple H and then focused on Cena. Cena, however, locked Edge in the STFU, but was broken when Triple H hit Cena in the head with a microphone. Triple H then went after Edge and hit him with a chair, sending him over the security wall and into the audience. Lita, who accompanied Edge, entered the ring with a chair to hit Triple H, but Triple H reversed it into a Spinebuster. Near the end of the match, Cena attempted an FU on Edge but Triple H delivered a low blow to Cena, which made Cena drop Edge out of the ring and attempted to execute a Pedigree. Cena, however, countered it into a jackknife roll-up. Cena won the match and successfully retained the WWE Championship. After the match, Triple H hit Cena, Edge, and the referee with a sledgehammer, and performed his signature taunt until performing his signature DX cross chops, receiving a standing ovation from the audience, closing the show.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The event received 273,000 pay-per-view buys, which was more buys than the previous year's event received, however, the event made $19.9 million in revenue, which was less than the previous year's revenue of $21.6 million.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The event was released on DVD on May 30, 2006, by Sony Music Entertainment and reached second on "Billboard"'s DVD Sales Chart for recreational sports during the week of June 24, 2006.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: On the May 15 episode of "Raw", Rob Van Dam lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Shelton Benjamin in a rematch. The following week, after John Cena defeated Chris Masters in a singles match, Rob Van Dam came out and informed Cena that he would be cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, that he won at WrestleMania at ECW One Night Stand. On the May 29 episode of "Raw", Van Dam was selected by ECW Representative Paul Heyman to be drafted from Raw to WWE's new ECW brand. At One Night Stand, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Van Dam in an Extreme Rules match.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: Following the aftermath from Backlash, Kane was confronted by an Imposter Kane, who was wearing Kane's old mask and ring attire. The Imposter executed a chokeslam on Kane during his match against Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Championship. This rivalry lead to a match between the two at Vengeance, in which the real Kane lost to the Imposter.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The McMahons, along with The Spirit Squad, continued their feud with Shawn Michaels. In the weeks that followed, Michaels would get revenge on both the McMahons and the Spirit Squad. On the May 22 episode of "Raw", however, Michaels was in a 5-on-1 handicap match, and the Spirit Squad members, in storyline, injured Michaels' left knee. Triple H, who was included during the rivalry, was ordered by Vince McMahon to "break Michaels' skull", with his signature sledgehammer. Triple H failed to do what Mr. McMahon ordered, turned Face and attacked the Spirit Squad. Weeks followed in which Triple H was supposed to become a member of Mr. McMahon's "Kiss My Ass Club". Triple H, however, backfired when trying to become a member, when he gave a Pedigree to McMahon and laid him and Shane out in the ring. On the June 12 episode of "Raw", McMahon booked Triple H in a Handicap Gauntlet match against the Spirit Squad. The match saw Michaels return from his storyline injury, which led to Triple H and Michaels reforming their previous wrestling stable D-Generation X. At Vengeance, DX met the Spirit Squad in a 5-on-2 handicap match, which DX won.


title: Backlash (2006)

text: The 2006 Backlash would be the last Backlash to be Raw-exclusive, as following WrestleMania 23 the following year, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs.


title: Kunar Province

text: Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- Hadith, "Nazhat-e Hambastagi Milli, Hezb-e Afghanistan Naween, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin".


title: Kunar Province

text: It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces (Nangarhar Province, Nuristan Province, Kunar Province and Laghman Province). N2KL was the designation used by the US and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan for the rugged region along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border opposite Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (merged in 2018 with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Kunar is the center of the N2KL region. Kunar was the birthplace of Sayyed Jamaluddin Afghani (al-Afghani), who was an influential Muslim scholar and philosopher.


title: Kunar Province

text: Kunar province is located in the northeast of Afghanistan. It borders with Nangarhar Province to the south, Nuristan Province to the north, Laghman Province to the west and has a border with Pakistan in the east. The province covers an area of 4339 km. Nearly nine tenths (86%) of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain while one eighth (12%) of the area is made up of relatively flat land. The primary geographic features of the province are the lower Hindu Kush mountains which are cut by the Kunar River to form the forested Kunar Valley. The river flows south and southwest from its source in the Pamir area and is part of the Indus River watershed via the Kabul River which it meets at Jalalabad. The Kunar is a primary draining conduit for the Hindu Kush basin and several tributaries, including the Pech, which form distinct and significant valleys in the area. The mountains, narrow valleys with steep walls, and rivers present formidable natural obstacles and have historically constrained all movement through the province. Even in the early 21st century, movement on foot, with pack animals, or with motorized vehicles is extremely limited and channeled due to the significant geographic restrictions.


title: Kunar Province

text: The region has been part of many empires in the past, from the Seleucid Empire to the latest Afghan Durrani Empire. Many famous historical figures are believed to have visited the area, including Alexander the Great, Mahmud Ghaznavi, Xuanzang, Ibn Battuta, and others. Archaeologists have dated to AD 800–1000 a fortification system overlooking a Muslim cemetery at Chaga Serai (near the Pech-Kunar confluence).


title: Kunar Province

text: Babur wrote about Kunar in "Baburnama". He claimed that there was a shrine in Kunar of a preacher and poet Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, who is said to have died there in 1384 AD (786 AH). He also describes agricultural products: citron, oranges, coriander, orchards, strong yellow wines, and a burial custom wherein a woman whose corpse moved was considered to have done good things in life. He mentions Chaghan-Sarai as a small town, and describes the towns folk as Muslims who mixed with the Kafirs of nearby Kafiristan and followed some of their customs. He also claims to have later captured the town, even as the Pech river Kafirs tried to help the Chaghan Sarai residents repel his attack.


title: Kunar Province

text: Walter Hamilton's writing in 1828 mentions that the padishah of Cooner was joined in alliance with the neighboring Kafirs (non Muslims) of Nuristan in battles against Muslim invaders. The Kafirs were forcibly converted by Abdur Rahman Khan in the 1890s.


title: Kunar Province

text: Some British sources from the Great Game period (1800s) go into more detail about Kunar. For example, one from 1881 describes the various Kunar chiefs and their internecine wars, the conflict with Dost Mohammad Khan and their relations with the British. Names vary greatly, with Kunar sometimes being called Kama, or Kashkote, and the capital being listed as "Pashoot", which is not on modern maps.


title: Kunar Province

text: An 1891 book described the Kunar region as split between the lower river area, controlled by Afghan chiefs, and the upstream area, where the Kunar river was actually referred to as the Chitral river. The major town of Chitral (in modern Pakistan) was the base of a badshah, who ruled under the Maharajah of Kashmir


title: Kunar Province

text: According to a US Army paper, the Pashtuns of Kunar and the Kafirs of Kunar/Nuristan eventually joined in the 20th century. Fundamentalist religion came to the region in the 1950s but the heavy unification happened during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–88). Some of the first anti-government forces (lashkar) rose in the Kunar region.


title: Kunar Province

text: Kerala, a town near Asadabad, was the site of the 1979 Kerala massacre, where the male population of a village was allegedly murdered by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and its Soviet advisors.


title: Kunar Province

text: Later, over ten-thousand Soviet and Afghan communist troops invaded the region, resulting in a massive refugee flow of the populace into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. There were Spetsnaz units based in Asadabad (where the Pech meets the Kunar), in Jalalabad (where the Kunar meets the Kabul), and other towns. The major mujahideen groups had representation in the area, and were successful enough to confine the Communist troops for the most part to their fortifications in the major towns of the Kunar valley.


title: Kunar Province

text: Eventually one of the Mujahideen leaders, Jamil al-Rahman, formed a movement that had a very strict interpretation of Islam, along the lines of Wahhabism and/or Salafism. He was supported by elements in Saudi Arabia, and later attracted many Saudis and Egyptians who had come to Afghanistan to fight Jihad.


title: Kunar Province

text: When the Soviets left in 1988, the leader of the Mujahideen group Hizb-i-Islami, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, began to fight with Jamil al-Rahman over control of the area. Hekmatyar was victorious and eventually his troops sacked Asadabad. By 1996 however, Mullah Omar's Taliban had invaded Kunar and driven out Hekmatyar.


title: Kunar Province

text: After the September 11 attacks of 2001, Afghanistan was invaded by United States and other NATO countries provided direct support to the Northern Alliance forces fighting the Taliban regime, which was quickly toppled and fled to remote areas. It was part of the War on Terror and to assist the new government that was led by Hamid Karzai.


title: Kunar Province

text: During the 19th century British military expeditions, the 1980s Soviet occupation, and the latest conflict, Kunar has been a favoured spot of insurgent groups. Its impenetrable terrain, cave networks and border with the semi-autonomous Pakistani Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provides significant advantages for unconventional warfare and militant groups. The province is informally known as "Enemy Central" and "Indian Country" by Western armed forces serving in Afghanistan. Between January 2006 and March 2010 more than 65% of all insurgent incidents in Afghanistan occurred in Kunar province.


title: Kunar Province

text: Like many of the mountainous eastern provinces of Afghanistan, the groups involved in armed conflict vary greatly in strength and purpose. Native Taliban forces mingle with foreign al-Qaeda fighters, while former mujahadeen militias, such as Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, continue to operate as they did in the chaotic post-Soviet years. Another strong militia in the region is the Hezbi Islami faction of the late Mulavi Younas Khalis, who had his headquarters in neighboring Nuristan Province.


title: Kunar Province

text: The province which is relatively small, was occupied by one of the highest concentrations of both US and Afghan security forces during the war. Special Operations Forces operated extensively throughout the area.


title: Kunar Province

text: As of September 2015 the United States has awarded twelve Medals of Honor for actions in Afghanistan. Six of these have been awarded for actions in Kunar Province, and an additional four have been awarded for neighboring Nuristan Province.


title: Kunar Province

text: Operation Mountain Resolve in 2003 involved the 10th Mountain Division air dropping into Nuristan and traveling dozens of kilometers, including in Kunar, to fight what was termed "Anti-Coalition Militia" (ACM) activity.


title: Kunar Province

text: In 2005, Operation Red Wings set out with the intent to disrupt ACM activity in the region in order to further aid the stabilization efforts of the region for the upcoming September 18, 2005 Afghan National Parliamentary Elections. Anti-Coalition Militia activity in the region was carried out at the time most notably by a small group led by a local man named Ahmad Shah (from Nangarhar Province) who had aspirations of regional Islamic fundamentalist prominence, hence he and his small group would be one of the primary targets of the operation. A team of four Navy SEALs, tasked for surveillance and reconnaissance of a group of structures known to be used by Ahmad Shah and his men, fell into an ambush by Shah and his group just hours after inserting by fastrope from an MH-47 helicopter in the area. Three of the four SEALs were killed in the ambush; a quick reaction force helicopter sent in for their aid was subsequently shot down with an RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade by one of Shah's men, 19 American Forces were killed when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down, representing the second biggest loss of American forces since their invasion of the country.


title: Kunar Province

text: According to Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Osama bin Laden was most likely hiding in Kunar Province in the spring and summer of 2009: "According to our information Osama is in Afghanistan, probably Kunar, as most of the activities against Pakistan are being directed from Kunar." Bin Laden was later found and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, contrary to what the Pakistani government had previously stated. He had been living there since 2005.


title: Kunar Province

text: On 16 April 2022, Pakistani airstrikes and rocket attacks targeted the Chogam village of Shultan District, killing three girls, two boys, and one woman, and wounding one man.


title: Kunar Province

text: The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 24% in 2005 to 55% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 3% in 2005 to 13% in 2011.


title: Kunar Province

text: Kunar province had 24 health clinics and a 123-bed hospital in 2008. According to data from 2008, the Ministry of Health employs 38 doctors and 121 other health professionals in the province. There are 93 pharmacies in the province. The majority of villages do not have a permanent health worker. Nearly a quarter of the population must travel more than 10 kilometers to reach the nearest health center.


title: Kunar Province

text: The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 32% in 2005 to 20% in 2011. The overall net enrollment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 43% in 2005 to 44% in 2011.


title: Kunar Province

text: In Kunar province, the general literacy rate is 21%; however, although 47 percent of men are literate, only 18 percent of women are. Between the ages of six and thirteen, 43 percent of children are enrolled in school. In 2008, there were 129,661 pupils enrolled in the province's 332 primary, intermediate, and high schools. Boys made for 63 percent of students, while boys' schools accounted for 33 percent of all schools. In the schools, there were 3,268 teachers, with 5% of them being female. There is only one vocational school in the higher education sector that caters only to men.


title: Kunar Province

text: As of 2021, the population of the province is around 508,224 people. 98% are ethnic Pashtun and the remaining are Nuristani.


title: Kunar Province

text: 11.8% of the population lived below the national poverty line, one of the lowest figures in Afghanistan


title: Kunar Province

text: Kunar has a population of around 401,000 people in 2008. The province has 64,588 households, with an average of eight individuals per home. Rural districts are home to 96 percent of the population. Pashtun, Ashkun, Gawar-Bati, Gujari, Pashayi, and Waigali are the major ethnic groups of Kunar. Major tribes such as the Safi, Salarzai, Mashwani, Mamon, and Shinwari are included. More than 90% of the population speaks Pashtu, which is spoken in 705 villages out of 771. Dari and Uzbeki are spoken in two villages each, Pashaie in fifteen, and Nooristani in thirty-five. Kuchis (nomads) live in Kunar province, and their numbers fluctuate with the seasons. In the winter, 13,200 people, or 0.5 percent of the Kochi people population, stay in Kunar living in 20 communities. The Kochi people population in the summer is 1,355 individuals.


title: Kunar Province

text: Asadabad hosts both an American Provincial Reconstruction Team at nearby Forward Operating Base Wright and a UNAMA development office. Additionally, representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), US State and Agriculture Departments advise the local government. A US Army Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) was deployed to the province in late 2009. Successive ADTs continue to serve in the province.


title: Kunar Province

text: The opening scenes of Marvel Cinematic Universe 2008 film "Iron Man" as well as S1E6 of "What If...?" take place in Kunar Province.


title: Kunar Province

text: The book "Siren's Song: The Allure of War" was published in 2012. It depicts the story of an American platoon at COP Honaker Miracle, Pesh valley, Kunar Province.


title: Kunar Province

text: The movie "Lone Survivor" starring Mark Wahlberg was based around "Operation Red Wings" in 2005 which was near Asadabad.


title: Kunar Province

text: Documentary author James F. Christ has published numerous titles about the fighting in Kunar and Nuristan provinces, mainly from 2005 to 2007 with the 10th Mountain Division and Afghan National Army ETT advisors.


title: Kunar Province

text: Journalist Wesley Morgan's 2021 book "The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley" is a detailed history of American military operations in Kunar, specifically the Pech River Valley, from 2001 through 2020.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: The Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk is a major upgrade of the McDonnell Douglas A-4M Skyhawk attack aircraft developed for the Argentine Air Force which entered service in 1998. The program was named "Fightinghawk" in recognition of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which was the source of its new avionics.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: The supply of modern combat aircraft had been restricted since the United States had imposed an arms embargo in 1978 for human rights abuses; there were further restrictions when the United Kingdom also imposed an arms embargo in 1982. The only combat aircraft that the Air Force could obtain were 10 Mirage 5Ps transferred from the Peruvian Air Force, 19 Six-Day War veteran Mirage IIICJs from Israel, and 2 Mirage IIIB trainers from the French Air Force.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In 1989, Carlos Menem was elected President of Argentina and quickly established a pro-United States foreign policy which led to the country gaining Major non-NATO ally status. Although the economic situation improved, the funds to purchase new combat aircraft like the Mirage 2000 remained unavailable.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In 1994, the United States made a counteroffer to modernize 36 former US Marine Corps A-4M Skyhawks in a US$282 million deal that would be carried out by Lockheed Martin and included the privatization of the Fabrica Militar de Aviones (Military Aircraft Factory - FMA), which was renamed Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina SA (LMAASA) afterward. In 2010, LMAASA reverted to the Argentine government as Fabrica Argentina de Aviones (FADEA).


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: Argentine Air Force technicians chose 32 A-4M (built between 1970/1976) and 4 TA-4F airframes from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona to upgrade. The upgrade plans included:


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: The A-4Ms were equipped with the TV and laser spot tracker Hughes AN/ASB-19 Angle Rate Bombing System, but this was removed after the conversion into A-4ARs, as the radar could provide the same data.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: The contract stipulated that 8 airframes would be refurbished at the Lockheed-Martin Plant in Palmdale, California and the rest (27) in Córdoba, Argentina at LMAASA. At least ten TA-4J and A-4M airframes for use as spare parts, eight additional engines, and a new A-4AR simulator were also delivered.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: The Fightinghawks, having received Air Force serials C-901 to C-936, saw their first group arrive in Argentina on 18 December 1997 and the first "Argentine" A-4AR was rolled out on 3 August 1998 at Cordoba. The last one, number 936, was delivered to the Air Force in March 2000. Two aircraft (a one-seat and a two-seat) remained some time in the United States for weapons homologation. All of the A-4ARs were delivered to the 5th Air Brigade ("V Brigada Aérea") at Villa Reynolds, San Luis Province, where they replaced two squadrons of Falklands/Malvinas veteran A-4P (locally known as A-4B) and A-4C. They were soon deployed in rotation around the country from Rio Gallegos in the south to Resistencia in the north where they were used to intercept smugglers and drug trafficking airplanes.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In September 1998, just months after their arrival and again in April 2001, United States Air Force F-16s visited Villa Reynolds for the "Southern Falcon" joint exercise, known as "Aguila" (Spanish for Eagle) in Argentina. In 2004, the A-4ARs went abroad for the joint exercise "Cruzex", along with Brazilian F-5s and Mirages, Venezuelan F-16s and French Mirage 2000s.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In November 2005 they were deployed to Tandil airbase to enforce a no-fly zone for the Mar del Plata Summit of the Americas and later met Chilean Mirage Elkans, Brazilian AMXs and Uruguayan A-37 at Mendoza for the joint exercise "Ceibo".


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In July 2006 they were deployed to Cordoba province for the Mercosur's 30th Presidents Summit, while in August and September they went north again to Brazil for the "Cruzex III" joint exercise with Brazil, Chile, France, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In August 2009 they were deployed to Bariloche for the UNASUR Presidents summit. Later that month they participated at Reconquista, Santa Fe of the "Pre-Salitre" an exercise of preparation for the "Salitre II" of next October in Chile with Chile, Brazil, France and the United States.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: On 1 May 2010 they participated in the Air Fest 2010 show at Morón Airport and Air Base. On 25 May 2010 three A-4AR flew over the 9 de Julio Avenue at Buenos Aires as part of the Argentina Bicentennial shows.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In August 2010, the aircraft enforced a no-fly zone at San Juan for the Mercosur's Presidents Summit. On September they joined the rest of the air force aircraft at Reconquista, Santa Fe for the "ICARO III" integration manoeuvers. On November they deployed to Tandil airbase for the XX Ibero-American Summit held at Mar del Plata.


title: Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk

text: In January 2016, Argentine Minister of Defence Julio Martinez confirmed that all Air Force Lockheed Martin A-4AR Skyhawk (Fightinghawk) fighters were grounded. Originally this was due to the expiry of the explosive cartridges in their ejection seats, but later it became apparent that there were additional problems. Only 4-5 were found airworthy with the rest in storage at Villa Reynolds.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: The Mangler is a 1995 horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Hooper and Harry Alan Towers (under the pseudonym of Peter Welbeck). The film is based upon the Stephen King 1972 short story of the same name, which appeared in his 1978 inaugural short story collection "Night Shift". It stars Robert Englund and Ted Levine. It also spawned two sequels, "The Mangler 2" and "The Mangler Reborn".


title: The Mangler (film)

text: The Mangler, in Gartley's Blue Ribbon Laundry service, is a laundry press owned by Bill Gartley. The trouble starts when Gartley's niece, Sherry, accidentally cuts herself on a lever connected to the machine and splashes blood on the Mangler's tread while trying to avoid being crushed by an old ice box some movers are clumsily carrying past. Sparks and light streams occur when both the blood and the ice box come into close contact with the Mangler. Later, Mrs. Frawley, an elderly worker, struggling to open a bottle of antacids, spills them on the moving tread. When she attempts to collect them, the safety shield inexplicably lifts up and traps her hand inside, followed by her entire body getting pulled into the machine, crushed and folded like a sheet.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: Police officer John Hunton, with the help of his demonologist brother-in-law Mark, investigates the incident and others that soon follow. As the plot progresses, Mark tries to convince Hunton that the machine may be possessed, especially after seeing the possessed ice box, and the only way to stop the deaths is to exorcise the machine to dispel whatever demon is inhabiting it. They also come to learn Gartley and the town elders have all sacrificed their virginal daughters to the machine on their 16th birthdays in exchange for wealth and power, with Gartley planning to do the same to Sherry to complete his end of the bargain.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: With Sherry's help, the two men attempt to exorcise the demon – which also kills Gartley, his lover and protégé Lin Sue and the laundry's foreman Stanner – by reciting a prayer and administering holy water. The machine gives one last groan and shuts down. As the three sigh with relief, Hunton takes some antacids, admitting to Mark that they belonged to Mrs. Frawley. Mark suddenly realises that the key ingredient in the antacids is deadly nightshade, also called "the Hand of Glory" as outlined in his occult book. Since the machine was accidentally fed the same antacids, Mark realises that not only was the exorcism useless, as the demon is still alive, it is now stronger than ever. The machine bursts to life and now appears to have a mind of its own, shedding pieces of metal and rising up like a wild beast. The three run through the warehouse, chased by the now-mobile Mangler. The Mangler tears Mark apart, killing him, while John and Sherry descend a flight of stairs, where Sherry attempts to give herself to the Mangler to stop it, but John stops her. In their hurry to escape, they fall through a large manhole into the sewer below, the machine struggling to get to them. Suddenly, something falls from the machine into the water and a mechanical wail ensues. The machine draws back and becomes still, and John and Sherry escape.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: While waiting to hear news of Sherry, John receives a letter from his departed friend and confidant, photographer J.J.J. Pictureman, who warns him not to trust anyone in the town missing a body part as they are possessed by the Mangler. Time passes and John drops in on her. However, to his great dismay, he discovers the machine has returned to its place on the floor and resumed its duties as a speed ironer and Sherry, now missing her ring finger from her encounter with the Mangler, has taken her uncle's place as the new tyrannical owner of the Blue Ribbon Laundry. He throws away the flowers he brought her and leaves the factory for good.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: "The Mangler" was released in the US on 3 March 1995. New Line Home Entertainment released it on DVD on 17 August 2004.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: In its first week, it underperformed and took in $1.1M on 800 screens at the US box office. It also failed in the European box office.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: On film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 27% approval rating based on 11 reviews. Richard Harrington of "The Washington Post" wrote, ""The Mangler" is ludicrous from start to finish: its plot lines dangle, its effects fail to dazzle and the acting and directing are uniformly bad. [...] even the least demanding of genre fans will be hard-pressed to tremble in its presence". Marc Savlov of "The Austin Chronicle" wrote: "Perhaps it's time for Tobe Hooper to hang up his light meter. After a string of disappointments culminating in this silly waste of time, it's hard to care if horror's golden boy carries on or not". Godfrey Cheshire of "Variety" called its villain a "silly contrivance" and described the acting and story as lackluster. Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" called it "a potpourri of supernatural cliches and warmed-over Stephen King notions about corruption randomly stuck together with fill-in-the-blanks dialogue". David Kronke of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote: "Consider, for a second, what you might honestly expect from a movie called "The Mangler". Well, it doesn't even aim that high". Steven Rea of "The Philadelphia Inquirer" called it a "plodding and virtually plotless" film that should have been played for laughs. Stephen Hunter of "The Baltimore Sun" stated the film recycles common Stephen King themes, but the film's novelty makes it enjoyable for horror fans.


title: The Mangler (film)

text: "The Mangler" fared somewhat better with retrospective reviews from critics. Bloody Disgusting rated it 3/5 stars and wrote that the film "is not good by any objective standards, but it's a fun little gory time-killer with a possessed refrigerator and an evil laundry press. That can't be all bad". Jon Condit of Dread Central rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote: ""The Mangler" is a true test for the guilty pleasure connoisseur. Bad in every respect, there are definitely worse ways to blow two hours of your time (this film's sequel comes to mind); it's just a shame Hooper was implicated in it". Mike Long of DVD Talk rated it 0.5/5 stars and wrote: "There have been many bad, throw-away projects based on material from Stephen King, but "The Mangler" has to be one of the worst. The movie's laughable premise is only brought down by the inept filmmaking on display here". David Johnson of DVD Verdict wrote that the film "features a lot of gore, a solid, creepy atmosphere, some wonky special effects, all set against a really dumb premise".


title: The Mangler (film)

text: Film critic Scout Tafoya of RogerEbert.com included "The Mangler" in his video series "The Unloved", where he highlights films which received mixed to negative reviews yet he believes to have artistic value. Tafoya considers the film to be "up there with ["Christine"] and ["The Shining"]" as among the best Stephen King adaptations, "in that it's a stylistic representation of the director's obsessions, not just a boilerplate transposition of his text". Tafoya further lamented that "[i]t's perversely fitting that his greatest failure is about the very machinery of capitalism that would imprison him in the world of low-budget productions... "The Mangler" was a kind of oddball film with an unknowable center that had become a rarity in American cinema. That just makes it that much more special".


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Tunnel warfare involves war being conducted in tunnel and other underground cavities. It often includes the construction of underground facilities (mining or undermining) in order to attack or defend, and the use of existing natural caves and artificial underground facilities for military purposes. Tunnels can be used to undermine fortifications and slip into enemy territory for a surprise attack, while it can strengthen a defense by creating the possibility of ambush, counterattack and the ability to transfer troops from one portion of the battleground to another unseen and protected. Also, tunnels can serve as shelter from enemy attack.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Since antiquity, sappers have used mining against walled cites, fortresses, castles or other strongly held and fortified military positions. Defenders have dug counter-mines to attack miners or destroy a mine threatening their fortifications. Since tunnels are commonplace in urban areas, tunnel warfare is often a feature, though usually a minor one, of urban warfare. A good example of this was seen in the Syrian Civil War in Aleppo, where in March 2015 rebels planted a large amount of explosives under the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate headquarters.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Tunnels are narrow and restrict fields of fire; thus, troops in a tunnel usually have only a few areas exposed to fire or sight at any one time. They can be part of an extensive labyrinth and have culs-de-sac and reduced lighting, typically creating a closed-in night combat environment.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The Greek historian Polybius, in his "Histories", gives a graphic account of mining and counter mining at the Roman siege of Ambracia:


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Another extraordinary use of siege-mining in ancient Greece was during Philip V of Macedon's siege of the little town of Prinassos, according to Polybius, "the ground around the town were extremely rocky and hard, making any siege-mining virtually impossible. However, Philip ordered his soldiers during the cover of night collect earth from elsewhere and throw it all down at the fake tunnel's entrance, making it look like the Macedonians were almost finished completing the tunnels. Eventually, when Philip V announced that large parts of the town-walls were undermined, the citizens surrendered without delay."


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Polybius also describes the Seleucids and Parthians employing tunnels and counter-tunnels during the siege of Sirynx.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The oldest known sources about employing tunnels and trenches for guerrilla-like warfare are Roman. After the Revolt of the Batavi, the insurgent tribes soon started to change defensive practices, from only local strongholds to using the advantage of wider terrain. Hidden trenches to assemble for surprise attacks were dug, connected via tunnels for secure fallback. In action, often barriers were used to prevent the enemy from pursuing.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Roman legions entering the country soon learned to fear this warfare, as the ambushing of marching columns caused high casualties. Therefore, they approached possibly fortified areas very carefully, giving time to evaluate, assemble troops and organize them. When the Romans were themselves on the defensive the large underground aqueduct system was used in the defense of Rome, as well as to evacuate fleeing leaders.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The use of tunnels as a means of guerrilla-like warfare against the Roman Empire was also a common practice of the Jewish rebels in Judea during the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 AD). With time the Romans understood that efforts should be made to expose these tunnels. Once an entrance was discovered fire was lit, either smoking out the rebels or suffocating them to death.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Well-preserved evidence of mining and counter-mining operations has been unearthed at the fortress of Dura-Europos, which fell to the Sassanians in 256/7 AD during Roman–Persian wars.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Mining was a siege method used in ancient China from at least the Warring States (481–221 BC) period forward. When enemies attempted to dig tunnels under walls for mining or entry into the city, the defenders used large bellows to pump smoke into the tunnels in order to suffocate the intruders.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: In warfare during the Middle Ages, a "mine" was a tunnel dug to bring down castles and other fortifications. Attackers used this technique when the fortification was not built on solid rock, developing it as a response to stone-built castles that could not be burned like earlier-style wooden forts. A tunnel would be excavated under the outer defenses either to provide access into the fortification or to collapse the walls. These tunnels would normally be supported by temporary wooden props as the digging progressed. Once the excavation was complete, the attackers would collapse the wall or tower being undermined by filling the excavation with combustible material that, when lit, would burn away the props leaving the structure above unsupported and thus liable to collapse.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: A tactic related to mining is sapping the wall, where engineers would dig at the base of a wall with crowbars and picks. Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay recounts how at the battle of Carcassonne, during the Albigensian Crusade, "after the top of the wall had been somewhat weakened by bombardment from petraries, our engineers succeeded with great difficulty in bringing a four-wheeled wagon, covered in oxhides, close to the wall, from which they set to work to sap the wall".


title: Tunnel warfare

text: As in the siege of Carcassonne, defenders worked to prevent sapping by dumping anything they had down on attackers who tried to dig under the wall. Successful sapping usually ended the battle, since the defenders would no longer be able to defend their position and would surrender, or the attackers could enter the fortification and engage the defenders in close combat.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Several methods resisted or countered undermining. Often the siting of a castle could make mining difficult. The walls of a castle could be constructed either on solid rock or on sandy or water-logged land, making it difficult to dig mines. A very deep ditch or moat could be constructed in front of the walls, as was done at Pembroke Castle, or even artificial lakes, as was done at Kenilworth Castle. This makes it more difficult to dig a mine, and even if a breach is made, the ditch or moat makes exploiting the breach difficult.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Defenders could also dig counter mines. From these they could then dig into the attackers' tunnels and sortie into them to either kill the miners or to set fire to the pit-props to collapse the attackers' tunnel. Alternatively they could under-mine the attackers' tunnels and create a camouflet to collapse the attackers' tunnels. Finally if the walls were breached, they could either place obstacles in the breach, for example a cheval de frise to hinder a forlorn hope, or construct a coupure. The great concentric ringed fortresses, like Beaumaris Castle on Anglesey, were designed so that the inner walls were ready-built coupures: if an attacker succeeded in breaching the outer walls, he would enter a killing field between the lower outer walls and the higher inner walls.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: A major change took place in the art of tunnel warfare in the 15th century in Italy with the development of gunpowder, since its use reduced the effort required to undermine a wall while also increasing lethality.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Many fortresses built counter mine galleries, "hearing tunnels" which were used to listen for enemy mines being built. At a distance of about fifty yards they could be used to detect tunneling. The Kremlin had such tunnels.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The Austrian general of Italian origin Raimondo Montecuccoli (1609–1680) in his classic work on military affairs described methods of destruction and countering of enemy saps. In his paper on "the assaulting of fortresses" Vauban (1633–1707) the creator of the French School of Fortification gave a theory of mine attack and how to calculate various saps and the amount of gunpowder needed for explosions.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: As early as 1840 Eduard Totleben and Schilder-Schuldner had been engaged on questions of organisation and conduct of underground attacks. They began to use electric current to disrupt charges. Special boring instruments of complex design were developed.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: In the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) underground fighting became immense. At first the allies began digging saps without any precautions. After a series of explosions caused by counter mine action the allies increased the depth of the tunnels but began to meet rocky ground and the underground war had to return to higher levels. During the siege Russian sappers dug of saps and counter mines. During the same period the allies dug . The Russians expended 12 tons of gunpowder in the underground war while the allies used 64 tons. These figures show that the Russians tried to create a more extensive network of tunnels and carried out better targeted attacks with only minimal use of gunpowder. The allies used outdated fuses so that many charges failed to go off. Conditions in the tunnels were severe: wax candles often went out, sappers fainted due to stale air, ground water flooded tunnels and counter mines. The Russians repulsed the siege and started to dig tunnels under the allies fortifications. The Russian success in the underground war was recognised by the allies. "The Times" noted that the laurels for this kind of warfare must go to the Russians.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: In 1864, during the Siege of Petersburg by the Union Army of the Potomac, a mine made of of gunpowder was set off approximately under Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's IX Corps sector. The explosion blew a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg, Virginia, creating a crater long, wide, and at least deep. The combat was accordingly known as the Battle of the Crater. From this propitious beginning, everything deteriorated rapidly for the Union attackers. Unit after unit charged into and around the crater, where soldiers milled in confusion. The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several counterattacks led by Brig. Gen. William Mahone. The breach was sealed off, and Union forces were repulsed with severe casualties. The horror of this engagement was portrayed in the Charles Frazier novel, and subsequent Anthony Minghella movie, "Cold Mountain".


title: Tunnel warfare

text: During the Siege of Vicksburg, in 1863, Union troops led by General Ulysses S. Grant tunnelled under the Confederate trenches and detonated a mine beneath the 3rd Louisiana Redan on June 25, 1863. The subsequent assault, led by General John A. Logan, gained a foothold in the Confederate trenches where the crater was formed, but the attackers were eventually forced to withdraw.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The increased firepower that came with the use of smokeless powder, cordite and dynamite by the end of the 19th century made it very expensive to build above-ground fortifications that could withstand any attack. As a result, fortifications were covered with earth and eventually were built entirely underground to maximize protection. For the purpose of firing, artillery and machine gun emplacements had loopholes.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Mining saw a particular resurgence as a military tactic during the First World War, when army engineers attempted to break the stalemate of trench warfare by tunneling under no man's land and laying large quantities of explosives beneath the enemy's trenches. As in siege warfare, tunnel warfare was possible due to the static nature of the fighting.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: On the Western and Italian Front during the First World War, the military employed specialist miners to dig tunnels.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: On the Italian Front, the high peaks of the Dolomites range were an area of fierce mountain warfare and mining operations. In order to protect their soldiers from enemy fire and the hostile alpine environment, both Austro-Hungarian and Italian military engineers constructed fighting tunnels which offered a degree of cover and allowed better logistics support. In addition to building underground shelters and covered supply routes for their soldiers, both sides also attempted to break the stalemate of trench warfare by tunneling under no man's land and placing explosive charges beneath the enemy's positions. Their efforts in high mountain peaks such as Col di Lana, Lagazuoi and Marmolada were portrayed in fiction in Luis Trenker's "Mountains on Fire" film of 1931.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: On the Western Front, the main objective of tunnel warfare was to place large quantities of explosives beneath enemy defensive positions. When it was detonated, the explosion would destroy that section of the trench. The infantry would then advance towards the enemy front-line hoping to take advantage of the confusion that followed the explosion of an underground mine. It could take as long as a year to dig a tunnel and place a mine. As well as digging their own tunnels, the military engineers had to listen out for enemy tunnellers. On occasions miners accidentally dug into the opposing side's tunnel and an underground fight took place. When an enemy's tunnel was found it was usually destroyed by placing an explosive charge inside.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: During the height of the underground war on the Western Front in June 1916, British tunnellers fired 101 mines or camouflets, while German tunnellers fired 126 mines or camouflets. This amounts to a total of 227 mine explosions in one month – one detonation every three hours. Large battles, like the Battle of the Somme in 1916 (see mines on the Somme) and the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, were also supported by mine explosions.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Well known examples are the mines on the Italian Front laid by Austro-Hungarian and Italian miners, where the largest individual mine contained a charge of of blasting gelatin, and the activities of the Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers on the Western Front. At the beginning of the Somme offensive, the British simultaneously detonated 19 mines of varying sizes beneath the German positions, including two mines that contained of explosives.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: In January 1917, General Plumer gave orders for over 20 mines to be placed under German lines at Messines. Over the next five months more than of tunnel were dug and 450–600 tons of explosive were placed in position. Simultaneous explosion of the mines took place at 3:10 a.m. on 7 June 1917. The blast killed an estimated 10,000 soldiers and was so loud it was heard in London. The near simultaneous explosions created large craters and ranks among the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time. Two mines were not ignited in 1917 because they had been abandoned before the battle, and four were outside the area of the offensive. On 17 July 1955, a lightning strike set off one of these four latter mines. There were no human casualties, but one cow was killed. Another of the unused mines is believed to have been found in a location beneath a farmhouse, but no attempt has been made to remove it. The last mine fired by the British in World War I was near Givenchy on 10 August 1917, after which the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers concentrated on constructing deep dugouts for troop accommodation.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The largest single mines at Messines were at St Eloi, which was charged with of ammonal, at Maedelstede Farm, which was charged with , and beneath German lines at Spanbroekmolen, which was charged with of ammonal. The Spanbroekmolen mine created a crater that afterwards measured from rim to rim. Now known as the Pool of Peace, it is large enough to house a deep lake.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: On May 10, 1933, Paraguayan troops used a tunnel to attack in the rear of the Bolivian troops. They were victorious.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The term tunnel war or tunnel warfare (地道战) was first used for the guerrilla tactic employed by the Chinese in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The tunnel systems were fast and easy to construct and enabled a small force to successfully fight superior enemies. One particular tunnel network called the "Ranzhuang tunnel" evolved in the course of resisting Japanese counterinsurgency operations in Hebei. Particularly, the Chinese Communist forces or local peasant resistance used tunnel war tactics against the Japanese (and later the Kuomintang during Chinese Civil War). The tunnels were dug beneath the earth to cover the battlefield with numerous hidden gun holes to make a surprise attack. Entrances usually were hidden beneath a straw mat inside a house, or down a well. This allowed for flexible manoeuvers or exits.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The main disadvantage of tunnel war was that usually the Japanese could fill the holes or pour water in to suffocate the soldiers inside the tunnels. This proved to be a major problem but was later solved by installing filters that would consume the water and poisonous gases. It is said that there were even women and children who voluntarily fought in the tunnels.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The movie "Tunnel War", which is based on the stories about fighting Japanese in tunnels, made tunnel warfare well known in China. More films were soon produced and adapted in the same setting.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: After the war, the Ranzhuang tunnel site became a key heritage preservation unit promoting patriotism and national defense education. It attracted tens of thousands of visitors each year. Most of the villagers were working in tourism service industry, an industry worth US$700,000 each year.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: The first to copy tunnel warfare were the Japanese themselves. In the battles of the Western Pacific, they would maximize their capabilities by establishing a strong point defense, using cave warfare. The first encounter of the US Marines with this new tactic was the island of Peleliu. The invading marines suffered twice as many casualties as on Tarawa, where the old Japanese tactic of defending the beach had been employed. The pinnacle of this form of defense, however, can be found on Iwo Jima, where the Japanese engineered the whole Mount Suribachi with many tunnels leading to defensive emplacements, or exits for quick counterattacks. Tunnel warfare by the Japanese forced the US Marines to adopt the "blowtorch and corkscrew" tactics to systematically flush out the Japanese defenders, one cave at a time.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: On the Korean Peninsula the underground war reached a massive scale. From experience in the Second World War the US relied upon aviation. North Korean forces suffered heavy losses from air strikes which obliged them to construct underground shelters. Initially underground fortifications were built independently by individual units and their placement was chaotic. Subsequently, underground fortifications were united into a single large system. The length of the front was while the length of tunnels was . So for every kilometre of front there were two kilometres of tunnels. A total of of rock were extracted.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: North Korea developed a theory of underground warfare. Manpower, warehouses and small calibre guns were completely housed underground making them less vulnerable to air strikes and artillery. On the surface the many false targets (bunkers, trenches and decoy entrances to the tunnel system) made it difficult to detect true targets forcing US forces to waste ammunition. Directly under the surface spacious barracks were built, allowing whole units to be quickly brought to the surface for a short time and as quickly returned to shelter underground.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: North Korea even created underground shelters for artillery. During bombing artillery was rolled into bunkers located inside mountains. When a lull came the guns were rolled back out onto a firing area, fired some shells, and rolled back into the bunker again. Unlike other examples of underground warfare North Korean troops did not just remain in the tunnels. North Korean forces were sheltering in the tunnels from the bombing and shelling and awaiting US bayonet attack. When US forces reached the ground in the area of the tunnels, chosen North Korean units would emerge to engage in hand-to-hand combat taking advantage of their numerical superiority.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: To this day the North Korean strategy is to construct as many underground facilities as possible for military use in the event of a US attack. The depth of underground facilities reaches making them difficult to destroy even with the use of tactical nuclear weapons.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: In the Korean War the tactic of tunnel warfare was employed by the Chinese forces themselves. "The Chinese resort to tunnel warfare, and the devastating losses to American soldiers, led to the sealing of tunnel entrances by United Nations Command. According to later prisoner of war interrogations, Chinese officers had killed a number of their own soldiers in the tunnels, because the latter had wished to dig their way out and surrender to the United Nations Command."


title: Tunnel warfare

text: To maintain a full scale guerrilla war in Southern Vietnam, camouflaged bases were used capable of supplying the guerillas for a long period of time. Throughout Southern Vietnam there were secret underground bases that operated successfully. There are reports that every villager was obliged to dig of tunnel a day. The largest underground base was the tunnels of Cu Chi with overall length of . To combat the guerillas in the tunnels the US used tunnel rats.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: When Vietnam became a French colony again after the Second World War, the Communistic Vietminh started to dig tunnels close to Saigon. After the French army left (they were defeated at Dien Bien Phu) the tunnels were maintained in case the plausible war with South-Vietnam would start. Ho Chi Minh, leader of North-Vietnam, ordered to expand the tunnels after the Americans entered the war between the North and the South; the tunnels would be used by the Viet Cong. Systems of tunnels were not occupied temporarily for military purpose, but began to contain whole villages of people living permanently underground. The tunnels were a complete underworld, it was all there; kitchens, hospitals, workshops, sleeping areas, communications, ammunition storage, even some entertainment. The tunnels eventually became a target for American forces because the enemy could hide in it and strike everywhere in the range of the tunnel complex (hundreds of miles) without a single warning and then disappear again.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: An underground war was actively pursued in the Afghan War. Water pipes extend under the entire Afghan territory. In wartime, Afghans have used these tunnels to hide and also to appear suddenly in the enemies rear. To clear these tunnels, Soviet troops used explosives and gasoline. The most famous underground base of the Mujahideen and then the Taliban was Tora Bora – this tunnel system went to a depth of 400 meters and had a length of . To combat guerillas in tunnels both the Soviet Union and the United States have created special forces.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Between May 1992 and November 1995, during the Siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War the Bosnian Army built the Sarajevo Tunnel in order to link the city of Sarajevo, which was entirely cut off by Serbian forces, with the Bosnian-held territory on the other side of the Sarajevo Airport, an area controlled by the United Nations. The tunnel linked the Sarajevo neighbourhoods of Dobrinja and Butmir, allowing food, war supplies, and humanitarian aid to come into the city, and people to get out. The tunnel was one of the major ways of bypassing the international arms embargo and providing the city defenders with weaponry.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Due to the prevalence of bunker-busting munitions and combined arms maneuver warfare there has been a simple lack of need for such operations since the mid 20th century, making tunneling extremely rare outside of insurgencies (which often cannot use either of the former).


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Sometimes the ongoing conflict between the Israeli Army and Islamist militants in Hamas-governed Gaza Strip is called a tunnel conflict.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: In 2017 the Barrier against tunnels along the Israel-Gaza Strip border began to be built. On October 30 an attack tunnel was located within Israeli borders and was detonated.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: In July 2006, a group of Hezbollah fighters crossed from southern Lebanon into northern Israel killing three Israeli soldiers and abducting two, which started the Lebanese-Israeli war. Faced with Israeli's air attacks, Hezbollah needed to create a defensive system that would enable these rocket attacks to continue uninterrupted throughout any conflict with Israel. To do so they created an intricate system of tunnels and underground bunkers, anti-tank units, and explosive-ridden areas.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Hezbollah built a sophisticated network of tunnels with North Korean assistance, with close resemblance to North Korea's own network of tunnels in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. The underground network included twenty-five kilometer tunnels, bunkers, fiber optics communication systems, and storerooms to hold missiles and ammunition. Its capabilities were extended by Iranian supply of advanced weaponry and in-depth training of Hezbollah fighters. Between December 2018 and January 2019, the Israeli military destroyed six tunnels built by Hezbollah along Israel's border during Operation Northern Shield.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: During the Syrian civil war, rebel groups like the Islamic Front, Al-Nusra and ISIS dug tunnels and used explosives to attack fixed military positions of the Syrian Armed Forces and allied militias. A notable example is the attack on the Air Force Intelligence Building in Aleppo where on 4 March 2015, rebel forces detonated a large quantity of explosives in a tunnel dug close to or under the building. The building suffered a partial collapse as a result of the explosion which was immediately followed by an armed rebel assault.


title: Tunnel warfare

text: Many of the famous war tunnels were later turned into tourist sites due to their historic significance in wars. For example, the Sarajevo Tunnel is now converted into a war museum, with of the original tunnel open for tourists visit. The Hebei Ranzhuang tunnel is also a famous war tourism site in China.


title: Joey Marella

text: Joseph Anthony Marella (February 28, 1963 – July 4, 1994) was an American professional wrestling referee for the World Wrestling Federation and the adopted son of former wrestler and then WWF announcer Gorilla Monsoon (Robert Marella) from Willingboro Township, New Jersey.


title: Joey Marella

text: Joey Marella joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1983, and moved through the ranks until he was often assigned to referee feature promotion matches. In 1987, he served as the referee for the much-hyped match between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant at WrestleMania III as well as their rematch in 1988 at Wrestlemania IV. 10 minutes prior to their Wrestlemania III match, André had asked Vince McMahon to choose Marella to be the referee for that match.


title: Joey Marella

text: Marella was also the official for the 1992 SummerSlam main event of Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith at London's famous Wembley Stadium. Marella was briefly suspended for a substance abuse problem in 1993 and then later re-hired.


title: Joey Marella

text: He was also part of the controversy at the 1994 Royal Rumble match in which he and former WWF referee Earl Hebner couldn't decide between Lex Luger and Bret Hart as to who had won the match.


title: Joey Marella

text: During Marella's career as a WWF referee, while becoming one of the Federation's most respected in-ring officials, he also became the butt of jokes for heel based commentators especially when they were teamed with Marella's father Gorilla Monsoon with Monsoon regularly using one of his catch phrases "Will you stop" (mostly said to either Jesse "The Body" Ventura or Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) when they would criticize his performance. This was actually an inside joke, as the fact that Monsoon and Marella were actually father and son was not well known by fans until after Marella had died. Earl Hebner discussed in an interview how Marella was a good person. Hebner revealed that he was scheduled to referee the last match on a card, but Marella offered to referee the last match so Hebner could get out early and fly home from the nearby Newark Airport.


title: Joey Marella

text: Marella also appeared in the 1989 WWF produced movie "No Holds Barred" as a referee during a wrestling match.


title: Joey Marella

text: He died in a car accident on July 4, 1994 at the age of 31, after he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a guardrail and a tree while driving home on the New Jersey Turnpike after a night of refereeing WWF matches in Ocean City, Maryland. Bruno Lauer, better known by his ring name Harvey Wippleman, was with him at the time and was critically injured. He repeatedly asked Marella if he was dead, but never responded. Lauer was wearing a seatbelt, while Marella was not. Following his death, the WWF instituted rules that WWF personnel had to check into hotels when working late. Furthermore, they would no longer travel alone and everyone traveling together had to agree to travel. Marella is buried next to his father Gorilla Monsoon (1937-1999) at Lakeview Memorial Park in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Images of a baseball player and a golfer were placed on his headstone due to his love of the two sports. As a tribute, WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel named his son after Marella. Marella's sister Valerie also named a son after her brother.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. The state of Rhode Island is named after the island; the United States Board on Geographic Names recognizes Rhode Island as the name for the island, although it is widely referred to as Aquidneck Island in the state and by the island's residents.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: "Aquidneck" is derived from the Narragansett name for the island "aquidnet". Roger Williams was an authority on the Narragansett language, but he stated that he never learned the word's meaning. It is unclear how it came to be known as Rhode Island, but the earliest known use of the name was in 1637 by Roger Williams, and it was officially applied to the island in 1644: "Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Ile of Rods or Rhod-Island." The name "Isle of Rodes" is used in a legal document as late as 1646.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: According to one theory, in 1524, explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano noted the presence of an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay which he likened to the Greek island of Rhodes. It is uncertain which island he was referring to, but the colonists who settled the area decided to refer to Aquidneck as Rhode Island. Another popular origin theory states that Adriaen Block passed by Aquidneck Island during his 1614 expedition, describing it in a 1625 account of his travels as "an island of reddish appearance" (in 17th century Dutch "een rodlich Eylande"). Dutch maps from as early as 1659 call it "Roode Eylant" or Red Island. Historians have theorized that it was named by the Dutch (possibly by Adriaen Block himself) for either the red autumn foliage or red clay on portions of the shore.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: In 1644, the settlements on Rhode Island (Portsmouth and Newport) united with Providence Plantations and Warwick to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and, eventually, the State of Rhode Island (formerly State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations). The entire state is now commonly referred to as Rhode Island, and the official name of Aquidneck Island is still "Rhode Island". The United States Board on Geographic Names addressed the issue in 1930 by using both names of the island on its maps. By 1964, the board decided that having two names was confusing, and "Rhode Island" was used exclusively as the official name. Attempts to change the official name to "Aquidneck Island" have been made as recently as 2004, but all of these have failed. The name Aquidneck Island is widely used in Rhode Island to refer to the island, including by publications such as "The Newport Daily News".


title: Aquidneck Island

text: Colonists settled on Aquidneck Island in 1638 in the region that the Narragansetts called "Pocasset" (meaning "where the stream widens"), the northern part of Portsmouth. They engaged Roger Williams to negotiate the terms of their purchase from Narragansett sachem Miantonomi. These settlers included William Coddington, Anne and William Hutchinson, Philip Sherman, William Dyer, John Coggeshall, Nicholas Easton, William Brenton, John Clarke, and Richard Maxson (Maggsen). They bought the island for 40 fathoms of white wampum, 20 hoes, 10 coats for the resident Indians, and 5 more fathoms of wampum for the local sachem, and Narragansett Sachems Canonicus and his nephew Miantonomi signed a deed for it. These first settlers founded Pocasset, but William Coddington chose Newport for a settlement the following spring (1639) because of its excellent harbor, and some of the settlers followed him there.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: The British army occupied Aquidneck Island during the American Revolution from 1776 to 1779. The Continental Army under command of Major General John Sullivan attempted to drive them out in the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778, but without success.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: The island is home to Salve Regina University, the Newport campus of the Community College of Rhode Island, and International Yacht Restoration School. Naval Station Newport is located on Aquidneck Island and the adjacent Coasters Harbor Island.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: It is also home to two well known private boarding schools: St. George's School in Middletown and Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth. The island also contains numerous public and private primary and secondary schools as a part of the school systems of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: The Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (1969) connects Aquidneck Island to Jamestown on nearby Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay, and subsequently to the mainland on the western side of the bay. The Mount Hope Bridge (1929) is adjacent to Bristol Ferry and Common Fence Point and connects the northern side of Aquidneck Island in Portsmouth to the mainland at Bristol. The Sakonnet River Bridge (2012) in Portsmouth connects the northeastern side of the island to the mainland at Tiverton over the Sakonnet River, a narrow saltwater strait. It is a replacement for a bridge of the same name built in 1956.


title: Aquidneck Island

text: The west coast of Aquidneck Island is part of Naval Station Newport, a superfund site since 1989. Almost the entire area from its fuel tank farms drains into ditches and into Narragansett Bay. The Navy has been rehabbing the property following contamination from petroleum, heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) where there were electrical transformers. In addition there is PFAS substances contamination of groundwater and in surface runoff water. The groundwater is used for irrigation on crops and lawn sprinkler systems.


title: Superscalar processor

text: A superscalar processor is a CPU that implements a form of parallelism called instruction-level parallelism within a single processor. In contrast to a scalar processor, which can execute at most one single instruction per clock cycle, a superscalar processor can execute more than one instruction during a clock cycle by simultaneously dispatching multiple instructions to different execution units on the processor. It therefore allows more throughput (the number of instructions that can be executed in a unit of time) than would otherwise be possible at a given clock rate. Each execution unit is not a separate processor (or a core if the processor is a multi-core processor), but an execution resource within a single CPU such as an arithmetic logic unit.


title: Superscalar processor

text: In Flynn's taxonomy, a single-core superscalar processor is classified as an SISD processor (single instruction stream, single data stream), though a single-core superscalar processor that supports short vector operations could be classified as SIMD (single instruction stream, multiple data streams). A multi-core superscalar processor is classified as an MIMD processor (multiple instruction streams, multiple data streams).


title: Superscalar processor

text: While a superscalar CPU is typically also pipelined, superscalar and pipelining execution are considered different performance enhancement techniques. The former executes multiple instructions in parallel by using multiple execution units, whereas the latter executes multiple instructions in the same execution unit in parallel by dividing the execution unit into different phases.


title: Superscalar processor

text: The superscalar technique is traditionally associated with several identifying characteristics (within a given CPU):


title: Superscalar processor

text: Seymour Cray's CDC 6600 from 1964 is often mentioned as the first superscalar design. The 1967 IBM System/360 Model 91 was another superscalar mainframe. The Motorola MC88100 (1988), the Intel i960CA (1989) and the AMD 29000-series 29050 (1990) microprocessors were the first commercial single-chip superscalar microprocessors. RISC microprocessors like these were the first to have superscalar execution, because RISC architectures free transistors and die area which can be used to include multiple execution units (this was why RISC designs were faster than CISC designs through the 1980s and into the 1990s).


title: Superscalar processor

text: Except for CPUs used in low-power applications, embedded systems, and battery-powered devices, essentially all general-purpose CPUs developed since about 1998 are superscalar.


title: Superscalar processor

text: The P5 Pentium was the first superscalar x86 processor; the Nx586, P6 Pentium Pro and AMD K5 were among the first designs which decode x86-instructions asynchronously into dynamic microcode-like "micro-op" sequences prior to actual execution on a superscalar microarchitecture; this opened up for dynamic scheduling of buffered "partial" instructions and enabled more parallelism to be extracted compared to the more rigid methods used in the simpler P5 Pentium; it also simplified speculative execution and allowed higher clock frequencies compared to designs such as the advanced Cyrix 6x86.


title: Superscalar processor

text: The simplest processors are scalar processors. Each instruction executed by a scalar processor typically manipulates one or two data items at a time. By contrast, each instruction executed by a vector processor operates simultaneously on many data items. An analogy is the difference between scalar and vector arithmetic. A superscalar processor is a mixture of the two. Each instruction processes one data item, but there are multiple execution units within each CPU thus multiple instructions can be processing separate data items concurrently.


title: Superscalar processor

text: Superscalar CPU design emphasizes improving the instruction dispatcher accuracy, and allowing it to keep the multiple execution units in use at all times. This has become increasingly important as the number of units has increased. While early superscalar CPUs would have two ALUs and a single FPU, a later design such as the PowerPC 970 includes four ALUs, two FPUs, and two SIMD units. If the dispatcher is ineffective at keeping all of these units fed with instructions, the performance of the system will be no better than that of a simpler, cheaper design.


title: Superscalar processor

text: A superscalar processor usually sustains an execution rate in excess of one instruction per machine cycle. But merely processing multiple instructions concurrently does not make an architecture superscalar, since pipelined, multiprocessor or multi-core architectures also achieve that, but with different methods.


title: Superscalar processor

text: In a superscalar CPU the dispatcher reads instructions from memory and decides which ones can be run in parallel, dispatching each to one of the several execution units contained inside a single CPU. Therefore, a superscalar processor can be envisioned having multiple parallel pipelines, each of which is processing instructions simultaneously from a single instruction thread.


title: Superscalar processor

text: Existing binary executable programs have varying degrees of intrinsic parallelism. In some cases instructions are not dependent on each other and can be executed simultaneously. In other cases they are inter-dependent: one instruction impacts either resources or results of the other. The instructions codice_1 can be run in parallel because none of the results depend on other calculations. However, the instructions codice_2 might not be runnable in parallel, depending on the order in which the instructions complete while they move through the units.


title: Superscalar processor

text: Although the instruction stream may contain no inter-instruction dependencies, a superscalar CPU must nonetheless check for that possibility, since there is no assurance otherwise and failure to detect a dependency would produce incorrect results.


title: Superscalar processor

text: No matter how advanced the semiconductor process or how fast the switching speed, this places a practical limit on how many instructions can be simultaneously dispatched. While process advances will allow ever greater numbers of execution units (e.g. ALUs), the burden of checking instruction dependencies grows rapidly, as does the complexity of register renaming circuitry to mitigate some dependencies. Collectively the power consumption, complexity and gate delay costs limit the achievable superscalar speedup.


title: Superscalar processor

text: However even given infinitely fast dependency checking logic on an otherwise conventional superscalar CPU, if the instruction stream itself has many dependencies, this would also limit the possible speedup. Thus the degree of intrinsic parallelism in the code stream forms a second limitation.


title: Superscalar processor

text: Collectively, these limits drive investigation into alternative architectural changes such as very long instruction word (VLIW), explicitly parallel instruction computing (EPIC), simultaneous multithreading (SMT), and multi-core computing.


title: Superscalar processor

text: With VLIW, the burdensome task of dependency checking by hardware logic at run time is removed and delegated to the compiler. Explicitly parallel instruction computing (EPIC) is like VLIW with extra cache prefetching instructions.


title: Superscalar processor

text: Simultaneous multithreading (SMT) is a technique for improving the overall efficiency of superscalar processors. SMT permits multiple independent threads of execution to better utilize the resources provided by modern processor architectures.


title: Superscalar processor

text: Superscalar processors differ from multi-core processors in that the several execution units are not entire processors. A single processor is composed of finer-grained execution units such as the ALU, integer multiplier, integer shifter, FPU, etc. There may be multiple versions of each execution unit to enable execution of many instructions in parallel. This differs from a multi-core processor that concurrently processes instructions from "multiple" threads, one thread per processing unit (called "core"). It also differs from a pipelined processor, where the multiple instructions can concurrently be in various stages of execution, assembly-line fashion.


title: Superscalar processor

text: The various alternative techniques are not mutually exclusive—they can be (and frequently are) combined in a single processor. Thus a multicore CPU is possible where each core is an independent processor containing multiple parallel pipelines, each pipeline being superscalar. Some processors also include vector capability.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: A Skylit Drive is an American post-hardcore band from Lodi, California. The band has released one DVD, one EP and five studio albums: "Wires...and the Concept of Breathing" (2008), "Adelphia" (2009), "Identity on Fire" (2011), "Rise" (2013) and, most recently, "ASD" (2015). The band has toured internationally both as headliner and supporting act. In 2017, the band broke up after a dispute between Nick Miller and Michael Jagmin.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: A Skylit Drive's original members met while attending Lodi High School in Lodi, California. Original vocalist Jordan Blake served as the band's vocalist until late 2007, before leaving the band due to health concerns. Their debut EP, "She Watched the Sky", was released January 2007 on Tragic Hero. Following this, the group toured with Four Letter Lie, Blessthefall, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Greeley Estates, Oh, Sleeper, The Blackout, Alesana, Before Their Eyes, Dance Gavin Dance, Kenotia, Pierce the Veil and From First to Last.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: Jordan Blake left the band mid-tour around November 2007 because of health issues making him unable to tour. He was briefly replaced by Jonny Craig, who also recorded a demo version of "Knights of the Round". He was replaced by Craig Mabbitt (formerly of blessthefall) before Michael "Jag" Jagmin joined to complete the current lineup. Jordan Blake went on to form the band Speak of the Devil in 2013.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: The full-length "Wires...and the Concept of Breathing" (produced by Mitchell Marlow and Allen Jacob) appeared in May 2008. The album reached No. 171 on the U.S. "Billboard" 200, and No. 20 on the Top Independent Albums chart. Jagmin later described "Wires... "as "kind of the staple album that everybody goes back to for us" although it "took a year to really catch on". Shortly after the release of the album they filmed a music video for the nonprofit group To Write Love on Her Arms directed by Robby Starbuck. They appeared at The Bamboozle Left in 2008 and toured in the summer of that year with Sky Eats Airplane, Breathe Carolina, and Emarosa.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: They toured with Greeley Estates, August Burns Red, Sky Eats Airplane, This or the Apocalypse, Escape the Fate, Alesana, Chiodos, and Silverstein during fall in 2008. They also filmed a live DVD called "Let Go of the Wires", which was released on December 9, 2008.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: In mid-November the band released a music video for the song "Wires and the Concept of Breathing". The video can be viewed through their MySpace profile. Their song "This Isn't the End" is now the music video on their MySpace directed by Robby Starbuck about teen suicide in conjunction with the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms. Both videos are on their first full-length album, "Wires... and the Concept of Breathing", and the band has shot other videos for songs on the album. They announced that there will be five brand new videos on their upcoming DVD "Let Go of the Wires" as well as live performance footage from a show at the Glasshouse in Pomona, CA. The DVD was released exclusively at Hot Topic on December 9, 2008.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: In early 2009 the band signed Fearless Records and announced co-headlining tour Dance Gavin Dance in April/May. The band was a part of Warped Tour for the 2009 season. On May 26, 2009, A Skylit Drive released a new song, entitled "Those Cannons Could Sink a Ship" onto iTunes and also for play on their MySpace page. Their second full-length album, Adelphia, was released on June 9, 2009, and peaked at number 64 on the "Billboard" 200. Singer Jagmin described it as "our most experimental album". The band released a music video for "Those Cannons Could Sink A Ship!" on October 19, 2009, directed by Spence Nicholson. The band filled in a support slot for Senses Fail in October, before they embarked on their first ten-date tour of Europe. The band recorded a cover of Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" for the next Punk Goes compilation. The band signed with Hassle Records in the UK, where the album was released in October 2009. From February to April 2010, the band toured the US and Europe as the main support to Alesana, on their 'The Emptiness Tour'.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: Jagmin indicated that the band would begin writing and recording a follow-up to "Adelphia" in the middle of 2010 and suggested that the album would see an early 2011 release. The band announced in May 2010 that Desires of Sires will debut on their Adelphia tour. In July 2010 it was announced that the 6-piece had entered the studio recording together with Cameron Webb. The band was on the "Average Guys with Exceptional Hair" tour with bands Woe, Is Me, For All Those Sleeping, Motionless in White and Scarlett O'Hara.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: On December 7, 2010, the band announced the track listing for the album and a date set on February 15, 2011. They toured mid January through February with Underoath, Thursday, and Animals as Leaders, and released a music video for "Too Little Too Late" on January 12, 2011. They were part of the Warped Tour 2011 at the Ernie Ball stage. The band also announced a European tour in late 2011 along with Woe, Is Me, I Set My Friends on Fire, and Sleeping with Sirens, and recorded the cover "Love the Way You Lie" for the Punk Goes... Compilation.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: On January 20, 2012, A Skylit Drive released The Cali Buds music video, via Altpress.com, and in February toured South East Asia with Australian band, For This Cause.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: By the middle of 2012 the band had begun the pre-production and would be entering the studio with Cameron Mizell in June 2013. On September 21, 2012, lead guitarist Joey Wilson confirmed that he had left the band, citing that it was "time for us both to move on to different things".


title: A Skylit Drive

text: The band recorded a new single; entitled "Fallen", which was released on November 30, 2012 on the band's YouTube channel. After two albums, A Skylit Drive returned to Tragic Hero Records as they felt "like we needed a little bit more personal attention, [and they were] just able to give us a little more personal attention. They wanted us to be in the position where we were confident with the album". On November 26, the band embarked on the Nut Up or Shut Up tour, supporting Bless The Fall. Further pre-production took place in February 2013 in LA.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: It was announced on April 22, 2013, that the band entered the studio a week before to continue writing their album with Jim Wirt (Hoobastank, Alien Ant Farm), while Kit Walters, Mitchell Marlow and Al Jacobs also participated. With the time available to them, Jagmin explained that "we definitely gave each song more time than we were ever able to before. Everything was done minus the vocals on two songs, so I had a whole month to write vocals for two songs". In April 2013 the band played the Pulp Summer Slam XIII Til Death Do Us Part rock festival in Manila, Philippines. while they wrapped up pre-production with Jim Wirt in Cleveland at the start of May.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: The official recording sessions with producer Cameron Mizell began on June 1 at the Chango Studios in Lake Mary, Florida. Drums, bass, guitar and electronics were completed by mid-June, with the band moving to Cameron Mizell's studio in Phoenix, to record vocals. The band finished recording on June 30, 2013. On July 18, the band announced that their brand new album would be entitled "Rise", and set for release on September 24, followed by a headlining tour in support of the new album. Drummer La Quay commented that "[We] really sat down for almost nine months and [...] wrote a bunch of songs and had a bunch of different ears on it, and a bunch of different perspectives on it". On July 31, the band released the first single and title track off their new album, "Rise". By mid August the band released the track listing and announced an Australian tour supporting Dream On, Dreamer for November 2013. On September 6, the band released the second single of the album titled "Unbreakable".


title: A Skylit Drive

text: "Rise" sold over 10,000 copies in its first week of release, leaving Jagmin to comment that the album had "caught on faster than the other ones". In March–April 2014 they were a supporting act on the Memphis May Fire "The Unconditional Tour". They also announced that they would once again be performing on Warped Tour for the 2014 season.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: On October 21, both Brian White and Cory La Quay announced that they would be leaving the band due to creative differences, while the rest of the band decided to continue. On January 6, 2015, an acoustic version of the last album, entitled "Rise: Ascension", was released. The following March they announced the addition of two new members, Michael Labelle (ex-Of Reverie, Preeminent) on guitars and Brandon Richter (formerly of Motionless in White) on drums. On March 10, 2015, they released the music video for "Within These Walls", and announced a North American tour. They released their fifth regular studio album "ASD" on October 9, 2015, and embarked on a tour in support of it. As of September 2016 the band are reduced to a four piece, without a permanent drummer. In March 2017 it was announced that band was on hiatus following Jagmin's departure.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: Jagmin took control of the band's social media to announce a name change to Signals. The new Signals band included Jagmin and guitarist Jon Kintz, both ex-members of Odd Project. Signals released the single "The Vulture (All It Takes II)". The debut Signals album, "Death in Divide", was produced by Curtis Douglas and released on November 27, 2020.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: On February 16, 2022, a song entitled "Dead Serious" was released under the name A Skylit Drive, and shared onto the Facebook page for Signals, which had changed its profile picture to an A Skylit Drive logo. This led to speculation that Jagmin was attempting to take control of the band.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: On January 23, 2022, the Instagram and Twitter accounts of the band's original 2006 lineup announced that they were reuniting in celebration of the 15th anniversary of their debut EP "She Watched the Sky". The reformed group booked festival appearances at So What?! and Swanfest 2022.


title: A Skylit Drive

text: While the band's debut EP involved predominantly screaming vocals, this was changed during the recording of the "Wires..." album when Jagmin became the lead vocalist. The band were "happy with the vocal style we've chosen [as] the popularity of "Wires" along with it [...] gives us a good enough thumbs up that the singing/screaming ratio we've stuck to is what works for us".


title: Battle of Beersheba (1917)

text: The Battle of Beersheba (, ) was fought on 31 October 1917, when the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) attacked and captured the Yildirim Army Group garrison at Beersheba, beginning the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I. Infantry from the 60th (London) and the 74th (Yeomanry) Divisions of the XX Corps from the southwest conducted limited attacks in the morning, then the Anzac Mounted Division (Desert Mounted Corps) launched a series of attacks against the strong defences which dominated the eastern side of Beersheba, resulting in their capture during the late afternoon. Shortly afterwards, the Australian Mounted Division's 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments (4th Light Horse Brigade) conducted a mounted infantry charge with bayonets in their hands, their only weapon for mounted attack, as their rifles were slung across their backs. Part of the two regiments dismounted to attack entrenchments on Tel es Saba defending Beersheba while the remainder of the light horsemen continued their charge into the town, capturing the place and part of the garrison as it was withdrawing.