Staff sergeant

Staff Sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of several countries. It is also a police rank in some police services.

History of title

In origin certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervisory, or other specialist duties as part of the staff of a British army regiment. As such they held seniority over sergeants who were members of a battalion or company, and were paid correspondingly increased wages. Their seniority was indicated by a crown worn above the three sergeants' stripes on their uniform rank markings.

National variations

Australia

In the Australian Army and Cadets, the rank of staff sergeant is being phased out. It was usually held by the company quartermaster sergeant or the holders of other administrative roles. Staff sergeants are always addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff", never as "Sergeant" as it degrades their rank. "Chief" is another nickname though this is only used for the company chief clerk (in some instances the chief clerk role can be filled by another non-commissioned rank (but not warrant officer) and still be referred to as "Chief"). A staff sergeant ranks above sergeant and below warrant officer class 2.

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the United States of America's highest military honor, awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. The medal is awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress to U.S. military personnel only. There are three versions of the medal, one for the Army, one for the Navy, and one for the Air Force. Personnel of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard receive the Navy version.

The Medal of Honor was created as a Navy version in 1861 named the "Medal of Valor", and an Army version of the medal named the "Medal of Honor" was established in 1862 to give recognition to men who distinguished themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity" in combat with an enemy of the United States. Because the medal is presented "in the name of Congress," it is often referred to as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". However, the official name is the "Medal of Honor," which began with the U.S. Army's version. Within United States Code the medal is referred to as the "Medal of Honor", and less frequently as "Congressional Medal of Honor".

Salvatore Giunta

Salvatore Augustine "Sal" Giunta (/ˌsælvəˈtɔːreɪ ˈdʒʊntə/; born January 21, 1985) is a former United States Army soldier and the first living person since the Vietnam War to receive the U.S. military's highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. Giunta was cited for saving the lives of members of his squad on October 25, 2007 during the War in Afghanistan. He left the U.S. Army in June 2011.

Early life and education

Giunta was born in Clinton, Iowa, on January 21, 1985, to an Italian American family. Giunta grew up in Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha. His parents, Steven, a medical equipment technician, and Rosemary, a preschool teacher, live in Hiawatha. He has two younger siblings, Mario and Katie. Giunta attended John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. At age 17, while working in a Subway, he decided to enlist and joined the Army in November 2003.

Career

Giunta attended basic training and infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was deployed to Afghanistan from March 2005 until March 2006 and again from May 2007 until July 2008. He was promoted to staff sergeant in August 2009. Giunta was last stationed at Caserma Ederle, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team's base near Vicenza, Italy. He served in the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, and worked in a support role for members of his unit then deployed in Afghanistan.

Melania Trump

Melania Trump (née Knauss, born Melanija Knavs,Germanized to Melania Knauss; April 26, 1970) is a jewelry and watch designer and former model. She is married to American billionaire real estate developer and 2016 U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Born in Slovenia, Knauss-Trump became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006.

Early life

Knauss was born in Sevnica, in Slovenia's Lower Sava Valley (then part of Yugoslavia) in 1970. Her father, Viktor Knavs, who managed car and motorcycle dealerships, was from the nearby town of Radeče; her mother, Amalija, a fashion designer, came from a village in the area surrounding Sevnica, within the confines of Sevnica Castle. Knauss grew up in a modest apartment in a concrete housing block. She began her modeling career at age 16, and at age 18 signed with a modeling agency in Milan. She is fluent in English, French, Slovenian, Serbian, and German.

Career

Modeling career

After studying design and architecture at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, Knauss worked as a model for major fashion houses in Milan and Paris before relocating to New York City in 1996. Working with photographers including Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, and Mario Testino, Knauss subsequently appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Ocean Drive, In Style, New York Magazine, Avenue, Allure, Vanity Fair, Self, Glamour, GQ, Elle, FHM, and was featured as a bikini model in the 2000 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. As a model, she was associated with several well-known modeling agencies, including Donald Trump's Trump Model Management.

Serbian General Staff

The Serbian General Staff (Serbian: Генералштаб Војске Србије / Generalštab Vojske Srbije) is the highest authority within the Serbian Armed Forces. It is composed of five seniors ranking officers who make strategic and tactical preparations and procedures for use during peace time and war.

Current members of the General Staff

The Members of the General Staff:

Organization

Departments of the Serbian General Staff: