A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given.

The term General is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer; and as a specific rank. Since the late twentieth century, the rank of General is usually the highest active rank of a military not at war.

All general officer ranks

The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers are known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers. All officers who commanded more than a single regiment came to be known as "general officers". The word "general" is used in its ordinary sense in English (and other languages) as relating to larger, general, military units, rather than smaller units in particular.

Common systems

There are two common systems of general ranks.

Variations of one form, the old European system, were once used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom (although it did not originate there), from which it eventually spread to the Commonwealth and the United States of America. The General Officer ranks are named by prefixing General, as an adjective, with field officer ranks, although in some countries the highest general officers are titled Field Marshal or Marshal.

The other is derived from the French Revolution, where generals' ranks are named according to the unit they (theoretically) command.

Old European system {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" |align="center"| Field Marshal or General Field Marshal |- |align="center"| ''Colonel General'' |- |align="center"| General or Captain General |- |align="center"| Lieutenant General |- |align="center"| Sergeant Major General or Major General |- |align="center"| ''Brigadier (General)'' |}

The system used either a ''brigadier general'' rank, or a ''colonel general'' rank (i.e. exclude one of the italicised ranks.)

The rank of field marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank, while in other countries it was used as a divisional or brigade rank. Many countries (notably pre-revolutionary France and eventually much of Latin America) actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia. (Mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks.)

In some nations (particularly in the Commonwealth), the equivalent to Brigadier General is Brigadier, which is not always considered by these armies to be a general officer rank, although it is always treated as equivalent to the rank of Brigadier General for comparative purposes. Unlike other general officers, the brigadier general rank is not derived from a ''field'' rank of brigadier.

The rank of ''major general'' is a shorter form of ''sergeant major general'', and is lower than lieutenant general as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, although outranked by a major.

French (Revolutionary) system {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" |align="center"| Marshal |- |align="center"| Army General |- |align="center"| Corps General |- |align="center"| Divisional General |- |align="center"| Brigade General |} More information about this system can be found on the page: Général.

Other variations

Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks:

Adjutant General

Commandant-General

Inspector General

Captain General

General-in-Chief

General of the Army (which is distinct from the title Army General)

General of the Air Force (USA only)

General of the Armies of the United States (of America), a title created for General John J. Pershing, and subsequently granted posthumously to George Washington.

General Admiral (German Navy)

Air General and Aviation General (Chilean Air Force; roughly equivalent to Air Chief Marshal and Air Vice-Marshal respectively)

Wing General and Group General (Mexican Air Force; roughly equivalent to Air Commodore and Acting Air Commodore respectively)

Lieutenant-Colonel General (A Serb rank immediately inferior to Colonel General, and roughly equivalent to Commonwealth/US Major General)

Director General (a common administrative term sometimes used as an appointment in military services)

Director General of National Defence (most senior rank in the Mexican Armed Forces)

Director of Intelligence Bureau (senior most 4 star Indian Police Service post in India)

Controller General (general officer rank in the French National Police)

Prefect General (the most senior rank of the Argentine Naval Prefecture)

Master-General of the Ordnance

In addition to militarily educated generals, there are also generals in medicine and engineering. The rank of most senior chaplain, Chaplain General, is also considered to be a general officer rank.

The specific General rank

In the Old European system, a General, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior type of general, above Lieutenant General and directly below Field Marshal. Usually it is the most senior peace-time rank, with more senior ranks (for example, Field Marshal) being used only in wartime, or as honorary titles.

In some armies, however, the rank of Captain General, General of the Army, Army General or Colonel General occupied or occupies this position. Depending on circumstances and the army in question, these ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full General or to a Field Marshal.

The rank of General came about as a "Captain-General", the captain of an army in general (i.e., the whole army). The rank of Captain-General began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. In most countries "Captain-General" contracted to just "General".

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of General, or its equivalent, as it is or was employed in the militaries of those countries.

General (Australia)

General (Canada)

Shang Jiang (China) - People's Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan)

Kenraali (Finland)

Kindral (Estonia)

Général (France)

General (Germany)

Obergruppenführer (Nazi Germany, SS rank)

Strategos (Greece)

Aluf (Israel)

Generale (Italy)

Daejang (Korea - DPRK and ROK)

General (Mexico)

Generał (Poland)

Army General (Philippines)

Army General (Russia)

General (Sri Lanka)

General (Sweden)

General (Switzerland)

General (United Kingdom)

General (United States)

Army generals' insignia

Air force generals' insignia

Generals' insignia of disbanded armies

Air Force and Navy equivalents

Some countries (such as the United States) use the General Officer ranks for both the army and the air force; others only use the General Officer ranks for the army, while in the air force they use Air Officers as the equivalent of General Officers. They use the air force rank of Air Chief Marshal as the equivalent of the specific army rank of General. This latter group includes the British Royal Air Force and those based on it (e.g., India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nigeria, etc.).

In most navies, Flag Officers are the equivalent of General Officers, and the naval rank of Admiral is equivalent to the specific army rank of General. A noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank ''General at sea''. In recent years in the American service there is a tendency to use ''Flag Officer'' and ''Flag Rank'' to refer to generals and admirals of the services collectively.

See also

Général

Generalissimo

List of comparative military ranks

List of Roman generals

Shogun

References

External links

Generals of World War II

Schema-root.org: US Generals News feeds for US Generals in the news

Marines.mil: General Officer Biographies Biographies of US Marine Corps General Officers

Bios & Information on Generals of Western History Information on 10 Generals who influenced Western History

Category:Generals Category:Military ranks

ar:فريق أول (رتبة عسكرية) bn:জেনারেল অফিসার bs:General bg:Генерал ca:General ceb:Heneral cs:Generál da:General de:General et:Kindral el:Στρατηγός es:General eo:Generalo fa:تیمسار fr:Général ko:장군 hr:General io:Generalo id:Jenderal os:Инæлар it:Generale he:גנרל kn:ಜನರಲ್ ka:გენერალი sw:Jenerali lv:Ģenerālis lt:Generolas mk:Генерал mr:जनरल ms:Jeneral nl:Generaal ja:将軍 ce:Инарла no:General nn:General nds:General pl:Generał pt:General ro:General qu:Wamink'a ru:Генерал sq:Gjenerali simple:General officer sk:Generál sl:General sr:Генерал sh:General fi:Kenraali sv:General tl:Heneral tr:General uk:Генерал ur:منصبِ جامع vec:Generałe (exercito) vi:Đại tướng yi:גענעראל zh:將軍 (中國古代)

name	El General
background	solo_singer
birth name	Edgardo Franco
origin	Republic of Panama
genre	Reggae en Español / Reggaeton
years active
notable instruments	}}

El General (born Edgardo Franco) is a Panamanian Reggae artist considered by some to be one of the Fathers of Reggaeton. During the early 1990s, he initiated the Spanish spoken dancehall that would later become reggaeton. Early examples of this were the international and somewhat mainstream songs, “Te Ves Buena” and “Tu Pum Pum.” Both songs, performed in Spanish rap, were very successful in North America. After getting his foot in the door of the commercial market, many other Spanish rappers became famous in the mainstream as well, such as Vico C and DJ Negro. He has a unique, easy to listen to style of dance music and has produced many well known songs all over Latin America. His musical works have become popular in Latin America over the last few years. This style is called Reggae en Español or Reggaeton, because he makes reggae music with Spanish lyrics.

Early history

El General began singing and composing songs at the age of 12 in Rio Abajo, his home. After getting a scholarship, the young artist moved to the U.S. to study business administration, soon becoming a professional accountant. He started his career when he was 19 years old, and during 17 years, his albums achieved gold status 32 times and platinum 17 times, and several other awards. El General's type of music from Panama was something much different from the reggae of Jamaica. The popular music in Panama was called petroleo.

Songs like "Muevelo" (1991), "''Tu Pum Pum''" (1988), "''Rica y Apretadita''", and "''Te Ves Buena''" are among his greatest hits. In 1992, El General received the an MTV award for best Latin video with the great success of "Muevelo".

His breakout performance came in 1995, when he was featured on the song Robi-Rob's Boriqua Anthem Part 2 from C+C Music Factory's self titled album.

Later career

In 2004, he announced his retirement from the music industry after an incident with the government of Panama because of the cancellation of his diplomatic passport. However, he alleged he would dedicate more time to his career as a producer and entrepreneur.

Retirement

He is currently dedicated to his foundation ''Niños Pobres Sin Fronteras'' (Poor Children Without Borders) in Panama City hosting a program of his own called ''Sal, Azúcar, Miel y Canela'' (Salt, Sugar, Honey and Cinnamon) at Radio Kids.

In 2007, he became a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, to which his grandmother also is a member. Now he spends his time teaching others about the Bible.

Discography

''La Ficha Clave'' (2004)

''"To' Rap-Eao"'' (2003)

''El General The Hits'' (2003)

''Move it Up'' (2003)

''"General De Fiesta"'' (2002)

''IS BACK'' (2001)

''Back to the Original'' (2001)

''Serie 2000: El General'' (2000)

''Colección Original: El General'' (1998)

''Grandes Exitoss'' (1998)

''Rapa Pan Pan'' (1997)

''Clubb 555'' (1995)

''Es Mundial'' (1995)

''El Poder de El General'' (1992)

''Muevelo Con El General''(1991)

''Estas Buena'' (1990)

''No Me Va a Matar'' (1990)

External links

About El General at latin-artists.com

References

Category:Panamanian reggaeton artists Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Panamanian singers Category:Panamanian songwriters

ca:El General de:Edgardo Franco es:El General

birth name	Sacha Noam Baron Cohen
birth date	October 13, 1971
birth place	Hammersmith, London, England
height	6'3" (1.91 m)
nationality	British, Israeli
occupation	Stand-up comedian, actor, writer, voice artist, comedian
years active	1995–present
spouse
children	2 daughters }}

Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, voice artist, and comedian. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno. In his routines, Baron Cohen's characters interact with unsuspecting people who do not realize they are being set up for comic situations and self-revealing ridicule.

Baron Cohen's work has been recognised with several Emmy nominations, an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, a BAFTA award, and a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his work in the feature film ''Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan''. After the release of the movie ''Borat'', Baron Cohen stated that because the public had become too familiar with the characters, he would retire Borat and Ali G. Similarly, after the release of ''Brüno'', he has stated he would also retire the title character.

Early life

Family

Baron Cohen was born Sacha Noam Baron Cohen in Hammersmith, West London, England. His mother, Daniella (née Weiser), was born in Israel, while his father, Gerald, was originally from Pontypridd, Wales. Sacha is the second of three sons, with elder brother Erran and younger brother Amnon. His family is Jewish. His maternal grandmother, who lives in Haifa, Israel, trained as a ballet dancer in Germany. Erran is a composer and has worked on several of his films. Internationally renowned autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen is his cousin.

Education

Baron Cohen first attended St Columba's College Prep School, St Albans, Hertfordshire, before moving on to attend Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, a private school in Elstree, Hertfordshire, near London. He went on to the University of Cambridge, entering Christ's College, Cambridge, where he read history under Niall Ferguson and wrote his dissertation on Jewish involvement in the American Civil Rights movement, with emphasis on the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in Mississippi.

At the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, Baron Cohen acted in plays such as ''Fiddler on the Roof'' (in which he played Tevye) and ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. While at Cambridge, he performed in Habonim Dror Jewish theatre performances.

Early roles

After leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model, appearing in many fashion magazines. By the early 1990s, he was hosting a weekly programme on Windsor cable television's local broadcasts with Carol Kirkwood, who later became a BBC weather forecaster. In 1995, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its series ''The Word'', and disseminated an open call for new television presenters. Baron Cohen sent in a tape of himself in the character of Kristo, a fictional television reporter from Albania (who developed into the Kazakh Borat Sagdiyev), which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen hosted Pump TV from 1995–1996. In 1996, he began presenting the youth chat programme F2F for Granada Talk TV. The late nineties saw Baron Cohen make his first feature film appearance in the British comedy ''The Jolly Boys' Last Stand'', then in 2000 Baron Cohen played the part of Super Greg for a series of TV advertisements for Lee Jeans which never aired, yet the website for Super Greg created an internet sensation. He also attended Ecole Philippe Gaulier, studying under Philippe Gaulier whom he credits with enabling him to find the play and pleasure to create characters such as Ali G and Borat.

Characters

Ali G

Baron Cohen appeared during 2-minute sketches as his fashion reporter Brüno on The Paramount Comedy Channel during 1998. He shot to fame when his comic character Ali G, an uneducated, boorish junglist, started appearing on the British television show ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' on Channel 4, which first went to air 8 September 1998.

''Da Ali G Show'' began in 2000, and won the BAFTA for Best Comedy in the following year. Also in 2000, Baron Cohen as Ali G appeared as the limousine driver in Madonna's 2000 video "Music", directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who was also responsible for directing the titles for ''Da Ali G Show''.

In 2002, Ali G was the central character in the feature film ''Ali G Indahouse'', in which he is elected to the British Parliament and foils a plot to bulldoze a community centre in his hometown, Staines. His television show was exported to the United States in 2003, with new episodes set there, for HBO.

Ali G's interviews with famous people (often politicians) gained notoriety partly because the subjects were not privy to the joke that Ali G, rather than being a real interviewer, was a comic character played by Baron Cohen. According to ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, Baron Cohen would always enter the interview area in character as Ali G, carrying equipment and appearing to be an insignificant crew member. He would arrive with a suited man, whom the interviewee naturally thought was the interviewer. Baron Cohen, as Ali G, would sit down to begin conducting the interview by asking the interviewee some preliminary questions. The interviewee, however, would remain under the impression that the smartly-dressed director would be conducting the interview until short notice prior to cameras rolling: this would grant an advantage of surprise, whereby the interviewee would be less likely to opt out of the Ali interview prior to its commencement.

The resulting willingness of Baron Cohen's targets to answer his frequently risqué questions often created surprising conversations. Interviewees have included:

astronaut Buzz Aldrin

politician and consumer advocate Ralph Nader

writer Gore Vidal

real estate mogul Donald Trump

former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop

basketball players Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace and Robert Horry

former US Secretary of State James Baker III

former US Attorney General Dick Thornburgh

businessman and billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed

Professor Heinz Wolff

former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich

political commentator Pat Buchanan

Professor Noam Chomsky

footballer David Beckham and his wife, ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, for the UK's Comic Relief

former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (whom Baron Cohen, in his Ali G character, referred to as 'Boutros Boutros ''Boutros''-Ghali')

former Conservative Party MP Neil Hamilton

journalist Andy Rooney

Labour politician Tony Benn

DUP politician Sammy Wilson

Baron Cohen is a supporter of ''Comic Relief'' and as Ali G has hosted some interviews for the benefit of the charity.

Borat

''Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'', a feature film with Borat at the centre, was screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and released in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2006, in the United States on 3 November 2006 and Australia 23 November 2006. The film is about a journey across the United States in an ice cream truck, in which the main character is obsessed with the idea of marrying Pamela Anderson. The film is a mockumentary which includes interviews with various American citizens that poke fun at American culture, as well as sexism, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, jingoism and ''Baywatch''.

It debuted at the #1 spot in the US, taking in an estimated $26.4 million in just 837 theatres averaging $31,600 per theatre, the fourth highest per-theatre average of all time for movies opening wide (500 screens or more), behind ''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' and ''Spider-Man''.

Baron Cohen won the 2007 Golden Globe in the "Best Actor – Musical or Comedy" category, his sixth such award. Although Borat was up for "Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy", the film lost to ''Dreamgirls''. On 23 January 2007, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He shared his nomination with the film's co-writers, Ant Hines, Peter Baynham, Sy Mordecai Finesto, Dan Mazer, and Todd Phillips.

Aside from the comic elements of his characters, Baron Cohen's performances are interpreted by some as reflecting uncomfortable truths about his audience. He juxtaposes his own Jewish lineage with the anti-Semitism of his character Borat.

In 2007, Baron Cohen published a travel guide as Borat, with dual titles: ''Borat: Touristic Guidings To Minor Nation of U.S. and A.'' and ''Borat: Touristic Guidings To Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan''.

On 21 December 2007, Baron Cohen announced he was retiring the character of Borat.

Brüno

Another alter ego Sacha Baron Cohen performed as is 'Brüno', a flamboyantly gay allegedly-19-year-old Austrian fashion show presenter, who often lures his subjects, unwittingly, into making provocative statements and engaging in embarrassing behaviour, as well as leading them to contradict themselves, often in the same interview. Brüno asks the subjects to answer 'yes or no' questions with either "Vassup" (whats up), or "Ich don't think so" (No), or sometimes "Ach, ja!" (Ah yes!) or "Nicht, nicht" ("Nicht" means "not" in German). In one segment on ''Da Ali G Show'' he encouraged his guest to answer questions with either "Keep them in the ghetto" or "Train to Auschwitz". Brüno's main comedic satire pertains to the vacuity and inanity of the fashion and clubbing world. In May 2009, at the MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen appeared as 'Brüno' wearing a white angel costume, a white jock strap, white go-go boots and white wings, and did an aerial stunt where he dropped from a height (using wires) onto Eminem, Baron Cohen landed on his lap and his rear in Eminem's face, prompting Eminem to exit the venue with fellow rappers of D12. Eminem later admitted to staging the stunt with Baron Cohen.

Film

After an intense bidding war that included such Hollywood powerhouses as DreamWorks, Sony, and 20th Century Fox; Universal Pictures paid a reported $42.5 million for the rights to the movie. A number of shill companies and Web sites were created in order to draw potential interviewees into interviews by creating an illusion of legitimacy. The film was released in July 2009.

Performer versus characters

Baron Cohen has often been confused with the identity of one of his characters. When he posed as Borat to host the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, the central Hungarian news wire agency MTI reported that the host was 'Borat Sagdiyev'. As most Hungarian newspapers and television networks take MTI as their official source, the misinterpretation of the character spread rapidly in Hungary, with some sources (such as TV2) emphasising that a Kazakh news reporter hosted the awards, while others (such as Index.hu) noticed and pointed out the error.

Controversies

Baron Cohen has encountered many controversies regarding some of his comic characters: In an interview with former British MP Neil Hamilton in 2000, Ali G offered Hamilton what was allegedly cannabis, which Hamilton accepted and smoked, creating some minor controversy in the British media.

At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Borat introduced Gnarls Barkley's performance of "Crazy", where he made a comment about Jessica Simpson, saying that he liked her mouth and that he could see it clearly through her denim pants. His appearance was cut from subsequent rebroadcasts.

Baron Cohen has had some trouble because of racist or prejudiced comments his characters have made (see ''Da Ali G Show''). HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer has replied to criticism concerning Baron Cohen's characters: 'Through his alter-egos, he delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the same way ''All in the Family'' did years ago.' Regarding his portrayal as the anti-Semitic Borat, Baron Cohen says the segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry", rather than a display of racism by Baron Cohen himself. "Borat essentially works as a tool. By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice", Baron Cohen explains. Addressing the same topic in an NPR interview with Robert Siegel, Baron Cohen says "...and I think that's quite an interesting thing with Borat, which is people really let down their guard with him because they're in a room with somebody who seems to have these outrageous opinions. They sometimes feel much more relaxed about letting their own outrageous, politically incorrect, prejudiced opinions come out."

Baron Cohen, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, says he also wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference in that genocide. "When I was in university, there was this major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw, who said, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic." Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song, "Throw The Jew Down The Well", he says, "Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."

Baron Cohen walked onto the runway during the Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada fashion show in Milan on 26 September 2008. In the character of his latest alter-ego Brüno, he was wearing a costume made out of velcro. He appeared on the stage with a blanket and items of clothing stuck to his velcro suit. Lights were turned off while security intervened and escorted him off the stage, and the fashion show resumed normally shortly thereafter. Baron Cohen and his team allegedly accessed the fashion show using fake IDs.

During an appearance on ''Late Show with David Letterman'', Baron Cohen stated he was restricted from answering David Letterman's question as to how he managed to get an interview with Pat Buchanan while in character as Ali G due to pending "legal reasons".

While introducing an award at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen was lowered upside-down from the rafters dressed as an angel right into rapper Eminem's lap after an apparently staged problem with his wire harness. Baron Cohen had only a jockstrap on underneath and fully exposed his buttocks in Eminem's face. Eminem swore repeatedly, demanding that his friends, members of D12, each of whom were sitting next to Eminem, remove Baron Cohen, then left the auditorium. Baron Cohen then announced the winner (Zac Efron) while still hanging from the wires above the stage. It was later revealed that Eminem and Baron Cohen had planned the gag together.

Pauly Shore claimed, in 2009, that Baron Cohen's film, ''Brüno'', was "stolen from Shore's 'mockumentary'", as the film ''Brüno'' had started production after the start of production for ''Adopted'' and also featured the main character adopting a child from a Third World nation.

Future projects

It has been confirmed that Baron Cohen will star as Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen in an upcoming film about the period in the band's history from 1971 leading up to the Live Aid concert in 1985. It was Baron Cohen himself who contacted screenwriter Peter Morgan with the idea of portraying the flamboyant lead singer. ''TIME'' commented with approval on his singing ability and visual similarity to Mercury. Baron Cohen will appear in Martin Scorsese's upcoming adventure film ''Hugo''. Cohen's next film, ''The Dictator'', will be a loose adaptation of the novel ''Zabibah and the King'', written by Saddam Hussein. It will tell "the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed". Cohen will play the part of a Saddam Hussein type ruler who gets secretly replaced by a lookalike and then flees to New York. ''Borat'' and ''Bruno'' film director Larry Charles will direct the film.

Television, radio and magazine appearances

Baron Cohen guest-starred in the finale of the fifth season ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', with Dustin Hoffman as a guide to Heaven. He also provided the voice of the ring-tailed lemur king, King Julien, in DreamWorks' family movie ''Madagascar'' (2005) as well as its 2008 sequel, and appeared as Will Ferrell's arch rival the French Formula One speed demon Jean Girard in the 2006 hit ''Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby''. He also appeared alongside Johnny Depp in the 2007 film ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' as Signor Adolfo Pirelli.

Baron Cohen tends to avoid doing interviews out of character. However, in 2004, he did the talk show circuit appearing as himself on ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''The Opie and Anthony Show'', ''The Howard Stern Show'', and others in order to promote the upcoming season of his show on HBO. He was also interviewed on NPR's ''All Things Considered''. He also did an interview with ''Rolling Stone'', published in November 2006, that the magazine labelled as "his only interview as himself". He also appeared in an interview out of character with Terry Gross on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' on 4 January 2007.

Baron Cohen has twice presented the MTV Europe Music Awards, first as Ali G on 8 November 2001, in Frankfurt, Germany, and then as Borat on 3 November 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal. Baron Cohen appeared out of character to accept an award at the British Comedy Awards in December 2006. He said at the time that Borat could not make it to the awards as "he's guest of honour at the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran", referring to the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.

''Borat'' director Larry Charles explains that Baron Cohen generally appears in character partly to "protect his weakness", by focusing public interest on his characters rather than himself. His other reason, ''Newsweek'' claims, is that Baron Cohen is fiercely private: "...according to the UK press, his publicists denied not only that he attended a party for the London premiere of ''Borat'', but also that a party even occurred."

It was reported online that Baron Cohen might play Freddie Mercury in a biographical film, but his publicist later declared that Baron Cohen would not do so. However, on 16 September 2010, representatives for Cohen confirmed that he would indeed be playing the role in an as-of-yet untitled biopic about Mercury.

Baron Cohen shot a spread with supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for ''Marie Claire'' magazine to promote the film ''Brüno''.

''Sports Illustrated'''s 6 November 2006 issue contains a column called "Skater vs. Instigator", which illustrates various amusing "parallels" between Baron Cohen and figure skater Sasha Cohen, ranging from their mutually held personal significance of the number 4, to their mutual romantic interests in redheads.

Baron Cohen was featured on Australian talk show ''Rove'' as Brüno on 28 June 2009.

Baron Cohen was featured in the Time 100 list for 2007.

In 2010, Cohen guest-starred on ''The Simpsons'' in the episode "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" as Jakob, an angry Israeli tour guide.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Baron Cohen married Australian actress Isla Fisher on 15 March 2010. After three years of study, Fisher converted to Judaism in early 2007, saying "I will definitely have a Jewish wedding just to be with Sacha. I would do anything – move into any religion – to be united in marriage with him. We have a future together, and religion comes second to love as far as we are concerned." She has received the approval of Baron Cohen's observant Jewish parents. Baron Cohen and Fisher have two daughters: Olive, born on 19 October 2007 in Los Angeles, and Elula, born in the summer of 2010.

Legal issues

Two residents of Glod, the Romanian village in which the opening scenes of ''Borat'' were filmed, hired attorney Edward Fagan to sue the makers of ''Borat'' for $30 million. They alleged that the intent of the film was misrepresented to them, that the poorest members of their village were made to look like "savages", and that they were underpaid, particularly when their minute salaries were compared to the millions earned by the completed movie. During several segments, children were filmed with guns and other weapons and in another scene, an amputee who lost his arm was told to wear a rubber fist sex toy. The lawsuit was dismissed in New York hearing on the grounds that the allegations were too vague to stand up in court.

The government of Kazakhstan threatened Baron Cohen with legal action following the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony in Lisbon, and the authority in charge of the country's country-code top-level domain name removed the website that he had created for his character Borat (previously: http://www.borat.kz) for alleged violation of the law—specifically, registering for the domain under a false name. ''The New York Times'', (among others), has reported that Baron Cohen, (in character as Borat), replied: "I'd like to state that I have no connection with Mr Cohen and fully support my government decision to sue this Jew". He was, however, defended by Dariga Nazarbayeva, a politician and the daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stated, "We should not be afraid of humour and we shouldn't try to control everything, I think." The deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan later invited Baron Cohen to visit the country, stating that he could learn that "women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues". After the worldwide success of the ''Borat'' film, the Kazakh government, including the president, altered their stance on Baron Cohen's parody, tacitly recognising the invaluable press the controversy created for their country.

Baron Cohen encountered another problem around his Borat character. Two of the three University of South Carolina students who appear in ''Borat'' sued the filmmakers, alleging that they were duped into signing release forms while drunk, and that false promises were made that the footage was for a documentary that would never be screened in the US. On 11 December 2006, a Los Angeles judge denied the pair a restraining order to remove them from the film. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2007.

On 22 May 2009, a charity worker at a seniors bingo game sued Baron Cohen, claiming an incident shot for ''Brüno'' at a charity bingo tournament left her disabled. However, the worker later retracted her statement, saying the "actor never struck her", but that he "beat her down emotionally to the point she's now confined to a wheelchair". The scene did not make the final cut for the film.

A lawsuit was filed on 30 April 2010 in the District of Columbia by Palestinian Christian Ayman Abu Aita of Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, West Bank, against Baron Cohen relating to his interview which was used in ''Brüno''. Aita alleges that he has been defamed by false accusations that he is a terrorist. Aita included David Letterman in the suit based on comments made during the 7 July 2009 appearance by Baron Cohen on the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. On 4 November 2010, the DC Case was dismissed with Aita given 120 days to file in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, or have the case permanently dismissed (see DC Case Docket Sheet).

Israel and Judaism

Baron Cohen first acted in theatrical productions featuring the Socialist-Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror.

He spent a year in Israel at Kibbutz Rosh HaNikra and Kibbutz Beit HaEmek as part of the Shnat Habonim Dror, as well as taking part in the programme Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz for Jewish youth movement leaders.

According to Baron Cohen, "I wouldn't say that I am a religious Jew, but I'm still proud to be Jewish". However, he keeps kosher and attends synagogue about twice a year.

Baron Cohen frequently speaks in Hebrew while playing the anti-Semitic character Borat. He also sang the lyrics from an old kibbutz song (pretending that it was the Kazakh national anthem) in an episode of ''Da Ali G Show''. In one of the deleted scenes of his movie, after being asked by the host-pastor to lead the table in a pre-meal prayer service, Baron Cohen, in his character role of Borat, sings a lengthy hymn (not Hebrew) that has clear similarities to the Mussaf prayer service of the Jewish High Holidays. He actually repeatedly sings two Polish phrases (slightly mispronounced) "Excuse me ma'am do you speak English?" and "Could you speak slowly please?"

Awards and nominations

1999 – Won British Comedy Award, Best Male Comedy Newcomer for ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' (1998)

2000 – Nominated BAFTA TV Award, Best Entertainment Performance for ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' (1998)

2000 – Nominated National Television Awards, UK, Most Popular Comedy Performer for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2000)

2000 – Won TV Quick Award, TV Personality of the Year for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2000)

2001 – Won BAFTA TV Award, Best Comedy (Programme or Series) for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2000) (shared)

2001 – Won BAFTA TV Award, Best Comedy Performance for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2000)

2003 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Alternative) for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2003) (shared)

2003 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Writing for Non-Fiction Programming for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2003) (shared)

2004 – Nominated Golden Satellite Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2003)

2005 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2003) (shared)

2005 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for ''Da Ali G Show'' (2003) (shared)

2006 – Won Ronnie Barker Award

2007 – Won MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss alongside Will Ferrell in ''Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby''

''Borat'' awards and nominations

2006 – Won: Los Angeles Films Critics Association Award for Best Actor.

2006 – Won: San Francisco Films Critics Circle Award for Best Actor.

2006 – Winner: Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor.

2006 – Won: Deutscher Comedypreis (German comedy award) for Best International Comedy.

2007 – Won: Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical

2007 – Nominated: Golden Globe for Best Picture Comedy/Musical.

2007 – Nominated: London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year.

2007 – Nominated: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (shared).

2007 – Nominated: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (shared).

2007 – Won: MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance and Nominated for Best Movie as well and Best Fight with Ken Davitian.

2007 – Won: The Evening Standard British Film Awards: Peter Sellers award for Best Comedy.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
	''Jack and Jeremy's Police 4''	Execution victim	TV Special
''Pump TV''	TV Presenter, UK regional cable channel	TV Special
1996	''Punch''	Unnamed	Short Film
1998	''Live from the Lighthouse''	Ali G	TV Special
1998–1999	''The 11 O'Clock Show''	Ali G	TV SeriesAlso Writer
	''The Jolly Boys' Last Stand''	Vinnie
		TV Series: 6 EpisodesAlso Writer
2002	''Ali G Indahouse''	Ali G/Borat Sagdiyev	Also Executive Producer/Writer
2003	''Spyz''	James Bond (Ali G)	Short FilmAlso Executive Producer/Writer
2003–2004			TV Series: 12 EpisodesAlso Executive Producer/Writer
	''Curb Your Enthusiasm''	Larry's Guide #2	Season 5 Episode 10 "The End"
		Voice Only
	''Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby''	Jean Girard
''Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event forAutism Education''	Borat Sagdiyev	TV Special
''Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan''	Borat Sagdiyev	Also Producer/Writer
2007
2008	''Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa''		Voice Only
2009	''Brüno''		Also Producer/Writer
2010	''The Simpsons''	Jakob	Season 21 Episode 16 "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed"Voice Only
2011		The Station Inspector	Post-Production
2012			FilmingAlso Producer/Writer
2012		Freddie Mercury	Pre-Production
2012	''Madagascar 3''		Voice OnlyIn Production

References

External links

in 2007  – biography and credits

Sacha Baron Cohen audio interview with NPR's Robert Siegel

''And Now for the World According to Borat and Sacha Baron Cohen'', ''Authors Den'', 24 March 2007

''Sacha Baron Cohen: Killing off Borat'', article at ''The Daily Telegraph'', 21 December 2007

Category:1971 births Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English film producers Category:English Jews Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English screenwriters Category:English television writers Category:English television producers Category:English voice actors Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:Living people Category:Old Columbans (St Albans) Category:Old Haberdashers Category:People from Hammersmith Category:Pranksters

als:Sacha Baron Cohen ar:ساشا بارون كوهين bs:Sacha Baron Cohen ca:Sacha Baron Cohen cs:Sacha Baron Cohen cy:Sacha Baron Cohen da:Sacha Baron Cohen de:Sacha Baron Cohen et:Sacha Baron Cohen es:Sacha Baron Cohen eo:Sacha Baron Cohen eu:Sacha Baron Cohen fa:ساشا بارون کوهن fr:Sacha Baron Cohen gl:Sacha Baron Cohen hr:Sacha Baron Cohen id:Sacha Baron Cohen it:Sacha Baron Cohen he:סשה ברון כהן jv:Sacha Baron Cohen lv:Saša Barons Koens mk:Саша Барон Коен nl:Sacha Baron Cohen ja:サシャ・バロン・コーエン no:Sacha Baron Cohen pl:Sacha Baron Cohen pt:Sacha Baron Cohen ru:Барон Коэн, Саша sq:Sacha Baron Cohen simple:Sacha Baron Cohen sk:Sacha Baron Cohen sr:Саша Барон Коен fi:Sacha Baron Cohen sv:Sacha Baron Cohen th:ซาชา บารอน โคเฮน tr:Sacha Baron Cohen uk:Саша Барон Коен yi:סאשא בארון כהן zh:沙查·巴隆·科恩

:''This article is about the pinball and video game designer. For the U.S. Air Force officer, see R. Stephen Ritchie.''

name	Steve Ritchie
birth date	February 13, 1950
birth place	San Francisco, CA
death date
resting place coordinates
known for	''Flash'', ''Firepower'', ''High Speed''
employer	Stern Pinball, Steve Ritchie Productions
occupation	Pinball designer
website	Steve Ritchie Productions

Steven Scott Ritchie (born February 13, 1950) is an acclaimed pinball and video game designer. He has been called "The Master of Flow" by pinball aficionados due to the emphasis in his designs on ball speed, loops, and the like.

Ritchie recently left Incredible Technologies for Raw Thrills, a video game production house headed by former WMS employee Eugene Jarvis. He currently suffers from tinnitus and predicts that he will be deaf by 2013. Steve is the older brother of fellow pinball designer Mark Ritchie.

The Atari Years

After serving a stint in Vietnam and Alaska in the United States Coast Guard from 1968-1972, Ritchie joined Atari and first worked on the assembly line as an electro-mechanical technician. Two years later, he was promoted to work at their fledgling pinball division, where he worked on his first game, ''Airborne Avenger''. Ritchie earned the license to make a ''Superman''-pinball based on the Superman comic book, but in the final stages of production of the table, he received an offer from Williams Electronics, a major pinball company, that Ritchie couldn't refuse.

The Williams Years

Ritchie moved to Chicago, Illinois, the home of Williams' headquarters. His first game for the company, ''Flash'' (released in 1979), was noted for its revolutionary figure-8 design and the first pinball game to feature bright Flash Lamps. It would go on to be his best-selling pinball game, having sold 19,505 units. 1980 would be the year for Ritchie, when he designed ''Firepower'' (the first electronic pinball to feature multi-ball, as well as Lane Change), and eight months later, he designed ''Black Knight'', which was noted for having the first two-level playfield and the patented "Magna-Save" feature (in which magnets help prevent outlane drains).

After 1981's ''Hyperball'', Steve took a break from designing pinball games to design a video games at his newly-formed company, King Video Design. "Devastator" was the first 68000 microprocessor video game and it was a spectacular 3D flying-shooting game with remarkable graphics. Steve pioneered automated conversion of video-taped color images into objects in the video game system. After that, he returned to pinball with 1986's ''High Speed'', which was based on a true story about him being chased by the police in his Porsche. ''High Speed'''s bill of materials was higher than other games, and some rival Williams designers nicknamed it "High Cost". The cost increase was minimal, and the game sold 17,080 units. It was the major title that revitalized the entire pinball market. After that, he released ''F-14 Tomcat'' in 1987, and in 1989, he released the sequel to 1980's ''Black Knight'', ''Black Knight 2000'', which was acclaimed for having perhaps one of the best musical soundtracks ever for a pinball game (composed by himself, Brian Schmidt, and Dan Forden). It was also one of the first games to feature a "Wizard Mode", called "The King's Ransom".

Next up was ''Rollergames'' (based on the TV show of the same name which was cancelled well before game production), it was a game with a loud and rowdy soundtrack and the first solid state game to feature mainstream advertising. Ritchie designed ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', which featured the voice and likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger. T2 was the first game by Williams to use a dot-matrix display (although Bally's ''Gilligan's Island'' beat it to the market, because T2 had a longer production schedule, and management at Williams felt that other games needed it first.) After T2, he designed ''The Getaway: High Speed II'' in 1992, a sequel to 1986's ''High Speed.'' In 1993, Ritchie released a widebody game, ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', which many pinball fans consider to be Ritchie's best game. For the game, Ritchie enlisted the entire cast of TNG, including Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, and Jonathan Frakes to reprise their roles. The game would sell 11,728 units. It was the last pinball machine to sell in the 5-digits. After he was finished with 1995's ''No Fear: Dangerous Sports'', Ritchie left Williams, feeling that he could better serve Williams/Bally/Midway by producing video games at the newly-acquired Atari Games. 1996 was the beginning of the decline of pinball with gradually diminishing sales, eventually leading to the extinction of all pinball manufacturers except Stern Pinball.

Video games and other contributions

Steve Ritchie returned to Atari Games in 1996 as a Senior Staff Producer. There, he would design and produce the racing game, ''California Speed'', which sold 7,856 units for total sales of about $40 million, on a budget of $2 million, with a crew of 16 video programmers and artists.

Ritchie is also known to be an avid fan of pc games, motocross racing, and a dedicated dirt and street motorcyclist as well.

He is a voice actor for many of his own games, as well as Williams and Midway's video games. He is best known for playing the voice of Shao Kahn in the Mortal Kombat series (''MKII'', ''MK3'', ''UMK3'', ''MKT'', ''MK:SM''). In an interview for the Australian publication Arcade and Flipper Pinball Review (December 2001 & March 2002 issues) he stated that he was the announcer in ''MK'' and ''MKII'', along with coming up with the name of Mortal Kombat, which was just called 'Mortal' before his suggestion. Ritchie was also the voice of the Black Knight in both Black Knight and Black Knight 2000, the "Demon" in No Fear, the announcer in Midway's High Impact Football, the monotoned voice of Firepower, and other small parts in many Williams, Midway, and Stern games.

Ritchie Returns: The Stern Years

After designing and selling a few redemption games, he formed Steve Ritchie Productions (SRP) in 2002, and returned to pinball design contracting with Stern Pinball to distribute his games. For his first game for Stern, ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', he once again enlisted Arnold Schwarzenegger to lend his voice and likeness to the game, and also re-assembled the same team who worked with him on the T2 pinball, including software programmer Dwight Sullivan and music composer Chris Granner. After T3, Ritchie released ''Elvis'', which was released in time for the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley's first song recording. Ritchie's third game for Stern was ''World Poker Tour''. ''World Poker Tour'' was the first game to use Stern's new hardware, S.A.M., which is the successor to their older Whitestar platform. He has recently revealed in an interview that he was forced by Gary Stern to design the game . Currently, Ritchie has just completed his fourth game for Stern, ''Spider-Man'', using characters licensed from all three movies. ''Spider-Man'' was a great success and is still available for purchase.

After completing "24", a pinball machine based on the TV series of the same name, Ritchie was laid off from Stern along with most of the company's other pinball designers. A March 3, 2011 Press Release from Stern reported that Steve had returned to Stern to design the next generation of pinball machines. .

Steve Ritchie's games

Atari

Airborne Avenger (1977)

Superman (1979)

California Speed (1996)

Williams

Flash (1979)

Stellar Wars (1979)

Firepower (1980)

Black Knight (1980)

Hyperball (1981)

High Speed (1986)

F-14 Tomcat (1987)

Black Knight 2000 (1989)

Rollergames (1990)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The Getaway: High Speed II (1992)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993; part of WMS' ''SuperPin'' series)

No Fear: Dangerous Sports (1995)

Midway (Bally)

Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989; co-designed with Dennis Nordman and Jim Patla)

*''Ritchie did parts of the game, after original designer Dennis Nordman was severely injured in an off-road motorcycle accident.''

Stern / Steve Ritchie Productions

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

Elvis (2004)

World Poker Tour (2006)

Spider-Man (2007)

"24", based on 24(2009)

References

External links

Steve Ritchie Productions

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Designers from California Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Pinball game designers

Name	Roger Clinton Locher
Birth date	September 13, 1946
Birth place	Sabetha, Kansas
Allegiance
Branch	United States Air Force
Rank	Captain
Battles	Vietnam War
Laterwork	}}

Roger Clinton Locher (born September 13, 1946) is a former F-4D Phantom weapons officer and pilot who during the Vietnam War and Operation Linebacker was shot down only from Hanoi, North Vietnam. The 23 days Locher spent behind enemy lines evading capture was a record for downed airmen during the war. USAF General Vogt "shut down the war" and sent 119 aircraft to recover him. His rescue was the deepest inside North Vietnam during the entire War.

When his aircraft was shot down by a Shenyang J-6 on May 10, 1972, he was on his third combat tour and had over 407 combat missions. He was one of the leading MIG killers in Vietnam with three kills. No one saw him eject or his parachute open, and it was unknown whether he had died or been captured. Over the next two weeks, U.S. air crews in the area tried to raise him on the radio without success. The North Vietnamese did not add his name to the roster of captured airmen, which gave the Americans some hope. Traveling only at dusk and dawn, over three weeks Locher traveled about , evading farmers and living off the land.

On June 1, Locher was finally able to successfully contact a flight of F-4 aircraft overhead. General John Vogt, commanding general of the Seventh Air Force, committed to rescue him and canceled the scheduled attack on Hanoi, diverting all of the available aircraft to assist in his rescue. Despite the proximity of the Yên Bái MiG airfield only away and its well-developed anti-aircraft defenses, there were no losses during his rescue.

Recruitment and training

Locher participated in ROTC and joined the Air Force in 1969. He completed navigator training and was assigned to the F-4 Phantom II. He received transition training at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, and was then sent to the "Triple Nickel" 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Udorn, Thailand.

MiGCAP patrol

On February 21, 1972, Locher took part in the first U.S. Air Force aerial victory in four years at night over northeast Laos, about southwest of Hanoi. Maj. Robert A. Lodge was pilot and Locher was the weapon systems officer in an F-4D flying combat air patrol to interdict North Vietnamese MiGs (MIGCAP). The two men were the most experienced crew in Southeast Asia. ''Red Crown'', the call sign for the radar-equipped USS Long Beach stationed in the northern part of the Gulf of Tonkin, "called out bandits (MIGs) at our 060° position and proceeded to vector us on an intercept,” recalls Maj. Lodge. During the air battle, they shot down a MiG-21.

Operation Linebacker

thumb|300px|Collings Foundation F-4D Phantom II marked as 555th TFS 66-7463, the same type of aircraft flown by Locher the day he was shot down. On May 10, 1972, the first major day of air combat in Operation Linebacker, Locher's group was one of two flights of the F-4D MiGCap for the morning strike force. Oyster Flight, composed of four F-4s from the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, had three of its Phantoms equipped with the top secret Combat Tree IFF interrogators. The APX-80 electronic set could read the IFF signals of the transponders built into the MiGs so that North Vietnamese radar would not shoot down their own aircraft. Displayed on a scope in the WSO's cockpit, Combat Tree gave the Phantoms the ability to identify and locate MiGs when they were still beyond visual range.

On May 8, 1972, Major Robert Lodge and Locher responded to a request for assistance from ''Red Crown'' from fighters who were engaging MiGs near Yên Bái. Their element leader was Stephen Ritchie and Charles B. DeBellevue in Oyster 03.

They scored their third MiG kill, placing them in the lead of all USAF crews then flying in Southeast Asia.

Two days later, on May 10, at 9:23 a.m., Oyster Flight was warned by EC-121 ''Disco'' over Laos, and then by the US Navy radar picket ship ''Red Crown'', of four MiGs headed towards them. These were from the 921st Fighter Wing. Four J-9s were also flying CAP to protect the Thac Ba hydroelectric power station. The Americans engaged an equal number of MiG-21s head-on, scattering them. Lodge and Locher identified two hostile contacts miles south of Yên Bái. They attacked in a modified fluid-four formation and accelerated to 1.4 mach. At 9:48 they fired two AIM-7 Sidewinder missiles, and the second destroyed one of the MiGs.

Oyster Flight shot down two more MiGs. The second MIG-21 was downed by Lodge’s wingman, 1st Lt. John D. Markle, and his WSO, Capt. Stephen D. Eaves. A few minutes later Capt. Richard S. “Steve” Ritchie and Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue, his weapon systems officer, shot down a third MiG. Lodge and Locher nearly got the fourth MiG-21, but fell victim to a MiG tactic dubbed "Kuban tactics" after those of the Soviet WWII ace Alexander Pokryshkin, in which a GCI-controlled flight of four Shenyang J-6s were launched after the MiG-21s so that they could be steered behind the American fighters maneuvering to attack the MiG-21s. Pilot Nguyen Manh Tung of No. 2 Flight came up from below in his J-6 and hit Lodge and Locher's F-4D Phantom, serial 65-0784, with his three large, 30-mm cannons as they were lining up a second shot on another MiG-21.

Ejection and evasion

Lodge and Locher thought for a few seconds their aircraft was still flyable, but then figured out that the right engine showed zero compression, and the aircraft yawed to the left. Lodge tried the stick and it was dead; the aircraft's hydraulic system was knocked out. Lodge tried the autopilot but it didn't respond. The rear of the jet was on fire, and as the plane yawed the slipstream pushed the flames up over Locher's canopy. Locher later recalled, "We immediately went out of control, flopping from side to side. Then fire started coming in the back of the cockpit. It seared my canopy with bubbles and I couldn’t see out any more. The airplane slowed down and we went into a flat spin." Locher told Lodge that it was getting too hot and he'd better get out. Lodge looked over his right shoulder at Locher and said, "Well, you better eject then."

Lodge had about three weeks previously told fellow squadron members, as he had done several times before, that he would not allow himself to be captured because of his extensive knowledge of classified and sensitive information. Locher successfully ejected at about but because the remaining planes were busy with the other MiGs, and due to smoke, no one saw his parachute canopy. A MiG-21 buzzed Locher as he descended, so he knew the enemy was aware he had survived. He estimated it took about 30 seconds for the jet to impact the ground, but never saw Lodge's chute.

Locher was afraid to use his URC-64 rescue radio as he parachuted because it was difficult to remove from the zippered pocket of his survival vest and he was not sure he could get it back in. He figured out his rough location and managed to steer his chute about away from the plane burning below him and towards a nearby mountain side. After he landed, he couldn't hide his parachute because it was stuck in the trees overhead.

He removed a couple of essential items from his survival pack and left the remainder behind. His survival vest contained a 9mm pistol, two pints of water, a first aid kit, insect repellent, mosquito netting, and a knife. He knew from prior briefings that he could not expect SAR this deep in North Vietnam, north of the Red River. Once on the ground and under the trees, he could not hear any jets overhead. He also knew his radio could not penetrate the dense jungle canopy overhead.

Locher listened to hear if a search party was looking for him. He camouflaged his trail for about and then climbed the eastern side of the mountain to its peak. He got his bearings and then hid in bushes on the west slope. For three days, Locher listened as a search party of local farmers beat the bushes up and down the east side of the mountain, searching for him. He hid in a brush pile and at one point over the next three days, a boy came within of his hiding place. In the evening he returned to the peak. On the second day he picked up radio traffic from American aircraft almost to his south, but they did not hear his radio beeper or voice.

He decided his best chance for rescue was to cross the forested, hilly terrain and get to the heavily cultivated Red River Valley, swim the river, and work his way to the sparsely inhabited mountains to the south. He figured it would take him 45 days. He traveled only at first light and at dusk, avoiding the local farmers, and living off the land.

He was able to find plenty of water but only occasionally fruit and berries to eat. He evaded capture and covered over , gradually losing and his strength. On the 10th day he came within of being discovered. Following a well-used trail early one morning, he suddenly had to evade local farmers. He hid in a nearby field where there was little concealment, but pulled leaves and debris over himself. He lay there all day as children from a village he discovered a short distance away played in his vicinity. At one point a water buffalo nearly stepped on him, and a boy came to fetch the animal, only a few feet from Locher. That evening he spotted a hill near the village alongside the Red River, the last hill before the wide open fields of the Red River basin. He was about from Yen Bai Airfield.

He hid on the hill for the next 13 days and watched for American aircraft. On June 1, 1972, he was finally able to contact a flight of American jets overhead, calling, "Any U.S. aircraft, if you read Oyster 1 Bravo, come up on Guard". Steve Ritchie, in one of the F-4 aircraft overhead and who had witnessed Locher's jet fall out of the sky, remembered Locher's call sign and answered his call. Locher calmly responded, "Guys I've been down here a long time, any chance of picking me up?" Ritchie replied, "You bet!" Locher's transmissions left some Americans who did not hear his call in doubt about the authenticity of his message, and they believed that the NVA may have manipulated a POW into impersonating him, setting a trap for the would-be rescuers.

Search and rescue

A SAR mission of several A-1E and two HH-53 with F-4 and F- 105 fighters providing air protection was launched that same day but was driven off by heavy anti-aircraft fire and MiGs. The A-1 Skyraider and HH-53C pilots came under attack from a MiG but eluded the enemy fighter in a narrow canyon. The rescue force then dodged missiles, another MiG and gunfire, but failed to get through to Locher that day.

On June 2, 1972, General John Vogt, commander of the 7th Air Force, consulted with Army MACV commander General Frederick C. Weyand. Vogt canceled the entire strike mission set for Hanoi that day. He dedicated all the available resources, over 150 aircraft, to rescuing Locher. The direct task force of 119 aircraft included two HH-53 rescue helicopters, bombers, and an array of F-4 escorts, EB-66s, A-1Es, F105G Weasels, and KC135 tankers. Vogt said,

}}

The Yên Bái MiG airfield, about northwest of Hanoi, was one of the most important and well-defended Vietnamese People's Air Force airbases in North Vietnam. The aircraft bombed and strafed around Yên Bái Airfield for two hours, reducing enemy opposition so that the helicopters could get in. Fortunately for the Americans, during the second half of May 1972 their increasingly fierce attacks on Yen Bai had forced elements of the VPAF 925th Fighter Regiment to relocate to Gia Lam Airfield. Capt. Ronald E. Smith in an A-1E guided Capt. Dale Stovall, piloting a HH-53 from the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, to Locher's position. Only when Locher rose out of the jungle canopy riding the jungle penetrator were all of the Americans sure it was him. Despite their proximity to Yen Bai airfield, no aircraft were lost during Locher's rescue. "We shut down the war to go get Roger Locher," Stovall later said.

Locher was flown back to Udorn. The first person to greet him was General Vogt, who had flown up from Saigon in a T-39. Capt. Locher had successfully evaded capture for 23 days, a record for the Vietnam War. The evening of his return, he was greeted at the Officers Club by hundreds of individuals with an ovation lasting 20 minutes.

Recognition

Capt. Stovall had twice flown his HH-53 Jolly Green Giant helicopter further into North Vietnam than had ever been done before. For their efforts in rescuing Locher, both Capt. Ronald Smith and Stovall were awarded the Air Force Cross. Stovall's citation described how "he willingly returned to this high threat area, braving intense ground fire, to recover the downed airman from deep in North Vietnam.". Stovall was also recognized with the 1973 Jabara Award for Airmanship.

Post war

After his return to the States, he attended pilot training and was assigned to the Phantom—this time in the front seat. Roger flew the F-4 in New Mexico, Alaska, and Florida before transitioning to the F-16 and serving in instructor and flight commander positions. He later played a key role in the early days of the super-secret "black program" that produced the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. He retired in Sabetha, Kansas, where he resided as of April, 2010.

In popular culture

The TV series Dogfights on the History Channel depicted the dogfight of May 10, 1972 in Season 2, Episode 10, ''The Bloodiest Day'' shown on December 3, 2007.

Notes

References

Category:Living people Category:1946 births Category:United States Air Force officers Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War