title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The aircraft received for modification as Combat Talons were assigned in July 1965 to the 464th Troop Carrier Wing at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. Because of a lack of ramp space caused by the buildup of forces for deployment to South Vietnam, they were temporarily housed at Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee. The wing's 779th TCS was designated as the training squadron for the modified C-130E(I)s, under Project "Skyhook", in addition to its normal airlift function. Selected crew members received instructor training in their respective systems and returned to Pope by 1 May to begin crew training of six crews for deployment to Vietnam under Project "Stray Goose".


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The Combat Talon I first saw operational action in the Vietnam War, beginning 1 September 1966. The six "Stray Goose" crews deployed to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, and forward deployed to Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam. The deployment, known as "Combat Spear", preceded operational deployment of other Combat Talons to Europe ("Combat Arrow") and the United States ("Combat Knife").


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: "Combat Spear" was administratively assigned as Detachment 1, 314th Troop Carrier Wing, but was operationally controlled by MACV-SOG. On 9 October 2009, Detachment 1, 314th Troop Carrier Wing received the Presidential Unit Citation for its support of MACV-SOG activities. Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Norton A. Schwartz presented the award to the unit during a ceremony at Hurlburt Field, culminating a six-year campaign by former "Stray Goose" member Richard H. Sell to achieve the recognition after the unit was not included in a PUC awarded 4 April 2001, to MACV-SOG for the same period.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: On 15 March 1968, the detachment was designated the 15th Air Commando Squadron, and then the 15th Special Operations Squadron on 1 August 1968, and made part of the 14th Special Operations Wing. In Vietnam, the aircraft was used to drop leaflets over North Vietnamese positions, and to insert and resupply special forces and indigenous units into hostile territory throughout Southeast Asia. Combat Talon crews operated unescorted at low altitudes and at night.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The 15th SOS was redesignated the 90th SOS on 23 October 1970, relocated to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, then moved to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, in April 1972 as part of the drawdown of U.S. forces in Vietnam. It was again redesignated, becoming the 1st SOS on 15 December 1972, and began transition from the "Clamp" to the "Yank" variant.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Two Combat Talons were employed as navigation escorts and for airborne control during "Operation Kingpin", the operational phase of the attempted rescue of prisoners of war from Son Tay prison camp in North Vietnam on 21 November 1970. 64-0523 was drawn from the 15th SOS at Nha Trang and 64-0558 from Det. 2, 1st SOW at Pope AFB. The aircraft were modified at LAS Ontario with installation of FL-2B FLIR sets borrowed from the "Heavy Chain" project to compensate for difficulties in terrain-following created by the slow speeds necessitated by the mixed aircraft force.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: 24 primary and five backup crew personnel, all "Stray Goose"/"Combat Spear" veterans detached from 7th SOS ("Combat Arrow") and 1st SOW ("Combat Knife"), developed helicopter-fixed wing formation procedures for low level night missions and jointly trained with selected Special Forces volunteers at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Between the end of August and 28 September 1970, Talon, helicopter, and A-1 Skyraider crews supervised by Combat Talon Program Manager Lt. Col. Benjamin N. Kraljev rehearsed the flight profile in terrain-following missions over southern Alabama, flying 368 sorties that totalled more than 1,000 hours. A month of intensive joint training with the Special Forces rescue force followed at a replica of the prison camp.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: In early November the task force deployed to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. The 24 primary crew members, a 7th SOS crew ("Cherry 01") under Major Irl L. "Leon" Franklin and a 1st SOW crew ("Cherry 02") commanded by Lt Col Albert P. "Friday" Blosch, conducted the mission, which was successfully executed without loss of any personnel. However the operation failed when the prison was found not to contain any prisoners.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: In 1974 the Combat Talon program was nearly dismantled as the Air Force sought to reverse its Vietnam emphasis on special operations. The 1st Special Operations Wing was redesignated the 834th Tactical Composite Wing and its Combat Talons of the 8th SOS became a TAC asset. However the use of 1st SOS "Yank" Talons in a sea surveillance role off North Korea in 1975 revived interest in the Combat Talon, as did the Israeli hostage rescue at Entebbe Airport. The same year, a Combat Talon of the 1st Special Operations Wing was deployed in support of US Marines forces on Koh Tang island during the Mayaguez incident, dropping a single BLU-82 6,800 kg (15,000 lb) bomb to enable their extraction. However, as late as 1978–79, Air Force Special Operations Forces was still disregarded by many staff planners, who saw it as a drain on resources and not a force enabler, and wanted the entire Talon force transferred to the Air National Guard. In early 1977 the Combat Talon was redesignated "MC-130E" by Headquarters Air Force for all three variants of the aircraft.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: By November 1979, the Combat Talon force of 14 MC-130Es was divided among three squadrons, the first two of which were operationally deployed, and the third at Hurlburt essentially the force training squadron:


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Following the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, on 4 November 1979, training operations for a rescue mission of the 53 hostages began as early as 7 November by Talon crews at Kadena AB, and 26 November by crews at Hurlburt. At that time only seven Combat Talons had the in-flight refueling capability necessary for the mission, which was to be mounted out of either Egypt or Diego Garcia (Masirah Island did not become available as a base until April 1980). All were assigned to the operation, a complex two-night plan called "Eagle Claw". Talon crews using night vision goggles practiced blacked-out landings to insert Delta Force operators and U.S. Army Rangers deep into Iran, and developed several methods for delivering extra fuel for the US Navy RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters chosen to carry out the rescued hostages. Four transcontinental, all-component, two-night rehearsals were held between December 1979 and March 1980, including a full-scale rehearsal 25–26 March that involved every element of the final plan except three EC-130s chosen to fly in fuel for the helicopters.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The four Talons (including a spare) of the 1st SOS staged to Masirah Island off the coast of Oman on 19 April 1980, to lead the Night One infiltration phase, while the three of the 8th SOS deployed to Wadi Qena, Egypt, on 21 April to lead the Night Two exfiltration phase. To establish a "normal" C-130 presence in Egypt, Talons of the 7th SOS (none of which had aerial refueling capability) conducted regular flights using Military Airlift Command call signs in and out of Wadi Qena between 2 January and 8 April 1980. They also used the deception to discreetly pre-position needed equipment, including ammunition for AC-130 gunships, at the staging base. The Talon crews also manned three borrowed EC-130E ABCCC aircraft configured to carry 68,100 L (18,000 U.S. gal) of jet fuel in six collapsible bladders for refueling the helicopters. After returning to Masirah, three of the 8th SOS Night One crews would be flown to Wadi Qena to carry out the Night Two mission.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The first phase of the rescue mission began the evening of 24 April, led by Lt Col Robert L. Brenci of the 8th SOS in Talon 64-0565, "Dragon 1". The 1st SOS Talons successfully secured the forward operating location ("Desert One") in the Iranian Desert, but the helicopter portion of the mission ended in disaster. Although the mission was an embarrassing failure costing eight lives, seven helicopters, and an EC-130E aircraft in a ground accident, the MC-130s performed nearly flawlessly. Planning initiatives for a second rescue attempt, under the project name "Honey Badger", began two weeks after the failed raid and continued through November. Combat Talon participation in "Honey Badger" amounted largely to tactics development, but ECM improvements included chaff and flare dispensers and new ALR-69 threat receivers that improved its defensive countermeasures capability well beyond that existing prior to "Eagle Claw".


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Five Combat Talons of the 8th Special Operations Squadron participated in "Operation Urgent Fury", the United States invasion of Grenada between 25 and 31 October 1983. Unlike previous operations that involved months of planning, training, and reconnaissance, the 8th SOS prepared in less than 72 hours after being alerted. Its assignment was to insert Rangers of the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions at night to capture Point Salines International Airport, defended by both Cuban and Grenadan troops, in the opening moments of the operation. The five Talons divided into three elements, two of them leading formations of Special Operations Low Level-equipped (SOLL) C-130 transports.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: In clouds at above the sea and west of its objective, the lead Talon (64-0562) experienced a complete failure of its APQ-122 radar. Reorganization of the mission formations delayed the operation for 30 minutes, during which U.S. Marines made their amphibious landing. To compound the lack of surprise, the U.S. Department of State, apparently in a good faith but inept diplomatic gesture, contacted Cuban authorities and compromised the mission, further alerting the defenses, including a dozen ZU-23-2 antiaircraft guns. An AC-130 Spectre gunship, directed to observe the main runway for obstructions, reported it blocked by construction equipment and barricades. Loadmasters aboard the inbound Combat Talons reconfigured them for a parachute drop in less than thirty minutes.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Talon 64-0568, flown as "Foxtrot 35" by 8th SOS commander Lt Col James L. Hobson and with the commander of the Twenty-Third Air Force, Maj Gen William J. Mall, Jr., aboard as a passenger, combat-dropped runway clearing teams from the Ranger Battalions on the airport, despite being targeted by a searchlight and under heavy AAA fire. Two Spectre gunships suppressed the AAA so that the other Combat Talons and the SOLL C-130s could complete the parachute drop of the Rangers, with the only damage to the Talons being three hits by small arms fire to 64–0572. For his actions, Hobson was awarded the MacKay Trophy in 1984.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Talons supported "Operation Just Cause", the United States invasion of Panama in December 1989 and January 1990. Three MC-130Es of the 1st Special Operations Wing deployed to Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia within 48 hours of being alerted, then airlanded Rangers of the 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment into Rio Hato Military Airfield on 18 December 1989. The operation was conducted under total blackout conditions, using night vision goggles, 35 minutes after the opening parachute assault. One of the MC-130s had an engine disabled by a ground obstruction while taxiing, then made an NVG takeoff on three engines under intense ground fire, earning its pilot the Distinguished Flying Cross. The lead Talon, the only MC-130E equipped with the Benson tank refueling system, remained on the airfield as a Forward Area Refueling and Rearming Point (FARRP) for U.S. Army OH-6 helicopters. When Panamanian General Manuel Noriega surrendered on 3 January, he was immediately flown to Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, by a Combat Talon.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq resulted in the deployment of four Combat Talons and six crews of the 8th SOS in August 1990 to King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia as a component of "Operation Desert Shield". During "Operation Desert Storm", the combat phase of the Gulf War in January and February 1991, the Combat Talon performed one-third of all airdrops during the campaign, and participated in psychological operations, flying 15 leaflet-drop missions before and throughout the war. Combat Talon crews also conducted five BLU-82B "Daisy Cutter" missions during the two weeks preceding the onset of the ground campaign, dropping 11 bombs on Iraqi positions at night from altitudes between and , once in concert with a bombardment by the battleship USS "Wisconsin".


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Two 7th SOS Talons deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, as part of "Operation Proven Force". They supported the first Joint Search and Rescue mission over Iraq, attempting to recover the crew of "Corvette 03", a downed F-15E Strike Eagle. However permission from the Turkish government to fly the mission was delayed for 24 hours, and the crew was not recovered.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: On 6 October 1995, the Air Force began shifting the Combat Talon I force with the transfer of MC-130E, AF Ser. No. 64-0571, to the Air Force Reserve Command's 919th Special Operations Wing, 711th Special Operations Squadron, based at Duke Field (Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3), Florida. The 919th had previously flown the AC-130A Spectre in the gunship / close air support mission, and the increasing age of the AC-130A aircraft necessitated their retirement.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Six MC-130E aircraft went to the 711th SOS over the next year for crew training, and the squadron became operational on 1 March 1997. On 5 March 1999, the 8th Special Operations Squadron became the first active force squadron to become an Associate Unit to an Air Reserve Component organization, co-located with the 711th SOS, but without aircraft of its own, flying those of the reserve unit. Ten of the Combat Talon Is were primary assigned aircraft (PAA), two were assigned to crew training, and two were placed in backup inventory aircraft (BIA) storage.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: A Combat Talon I was the first aircraft to land at New Orleans International Airport after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. On 14 July 2006, the 8th SOS flew its last Combat Talon I mission and began conversion to the CV-22 Osprey, ending 41 years of active service for the MC-130E Combat Talon I. Although retired from the Regular Air Force, the MC-130E continued to remain in service with the Air Force Reserve Command's 919th Special Operations Wing.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The MC-130E Combat Talon I has been replaced by the MC-130J Commando II, which has the capability to complete missions faster and more efficiently than its MC-130H Combat Talon II and MC-130P Combat Shadow counterparts. Recapitalization was a stated priority of Lt Gen Donald C. Wurster, former commander of Air Force Special Operations Command. Only eight MC-130E aircraft were still active in 2009, and four in 2013. On 15 April 2013, the four MC-130Es took off on their final mission. The MC-130E Combat Talon I was finally retired on 25 April 2013 in ceremonies at Duke Field. Three of the aircraft were then flown to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, while the fourth aircraft, AF Ser. No. 64-0523 (nicknamed "Godfather") was flown to Cannon AFB, New Mexico on 22 June 2012, for eventual display at that base's airpark. The retirement date marked the 33rd anniversary of the Desert One, the mission to free American hostages in Iran, of which several MC-130Es were a part.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: One of the measures considered for a second hostage rescue attempt in Iran was a project to develop a "Super STOL" aircraft, to be flown by Combat Talon crews, that would use a soccer stadium near the US Embassy as an improvised landing field. Called "Credible Sport", the project acquired three C-130H transports from an airlift unit in late August 1980, one as a test bed and two for the mission, and quickly modified them.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Designated the XFC-130H, the aircraft were fitted with 30 maneuvering rockets in five sets: eight firing forward to stop the aircraft, eight downward to slow its descent, eight rearward for takeoff assist, four on the wings to stabilize them during takeoff transition, and two at the rear of the tail to prevent it from striking the ground because of over-rotation. Other STOL features included a dorsal and two ventral fins on the rear fuselage, double-slotted flaps and extended ailerons, a new radome, a tailhook for landing aboard an aircraft carrier, and Combat Talon avionics, including a TF/TA radar, a defensive countermeasures suite, and a Doppler radar/GPS tie-in to the aircraft's inertial navigation system.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Of the three aircraft, only one received full modification. The program abruptly ended when one crashed during testing on 29 October 1980; international events soon rendered another rescue attempt moot.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: One of the two surviving "Credible Sport" airframes, 74-1686, became the "YMC-130H" test bed for the next generation of Combat Talons, under the project name "Credible Sport II". Phase I testing, conducted between 24 August and 11 November 1981, identified design deficiencies in the airframe and determined that the "Credible Sport" configuration did not have the safety margins necessary for peacetime operations. Phase II testing began 15 June 1982, continued through October 1982, and determined that the final Combat Talon II configuration, with significant improvements in design, avionics, and equipment, was ready for production.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The initial purchase was authorized in 1982 at 12 aircraft, even though war-fighting requirements were estimated at more than 100, but was cut from funding until 1984. In 1983, USAF Special Operations Forces were transferred to the Military Airlift Command, seen as another move by USAF to divest itself of its special operations role. Creation of the 23rd Air Force reinforced that perception; SOF represented less than 35% of its personnel and virtually none of its headquarters staff, dominated by the "rescue community". However, the moves did remove the Combat Talon program from three fighter-oriented commands to a single command where promotion cycles were more favorable.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: In 1983, MAC established a Special Operations Force Master Plan that called for 21 Combat Talon IIs, including two attrition backups, with initial operational capability in the third quarter of 1987 and full delivery by 1991. The first Combat Talon II, 83-1212, was delivered in June 1984, but an earlier decision by USAF not to equip it with the navigational radar suite of the MC-130E slowed its development for years. In the meantime, Initiative 17, part of the "31 Initiatives" agreement between the Army and Air Force in May 1984, was deferred later that year (and eventually killed) after objections from members of Congress who saw it as a divestiture of the SOF role by the Air Force. As a result, the Air Force cut procurement of new HH-60D Nighthawk combat rescue aircraft from its budget requests—further delaying the Combat Talon II program, whose glass cockpit and integrated avionics systems were tied, for cost reasons, to those of the HH-60D.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Five Combat Talon IIs were delivered in 1985 but the problem of acquiring a navigation radar had not been resolved (the APQ-122 was no longer being built). IBM was contracted to develop a new terrain following/avoidance radar, who then subcontracted the task to Emerson Electric Company. The resulting radar performed so poorly that the Combat Talon II was nearly cancelled, but special operations advocates in Congress kept the program alive. Ultimately the AN/APQ-170(V)8 radar was developed into a system that exceeded specifications, but at a large cost overrun and with a further three-year delay in the Combat Talon II becoming operational. Deliveries in 1987, 1988, and 1989 brought the inventory to 18 aircraft, but all were still in modification, testing, or long term storage.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The first fully operational MC-130H Combat Talon II (87-0024) was received by the 8th SOS on 29 June 1991, with three others delivered over the summer. The official acceptance ceremony for the Talon II was held at Hurlburt in October, and by December 1991 the 8th SOS was equipped with six. The Combat Talon II features a stronger airframe and modifications to the rear and aft cargo doors. The electronics suite has been upgraded, and includes Global Positioning System navigation, special radars for navigating in adverse weather, and night vision goggles (NVG) capability. These new technologies allow the Combat Talon II to fly as low as above ground level (AGL) in inclement weather, and make faster, more accurate airdrops. The MC-130H Combat Talon II, like the MC-130E Combat Talon I, can perform a variety of mission profiles, from daytime mid-level overwater flight and Jumpmaster Directed (JMD) personnel airdrop to night-time adverse weather terrain-following flight in mountainous terrain supporting airdrop and airland to covert and clandestine objectives. Increases in automation reduced the aircrew by two and allowed the Combat Talon II to carry an additional pallet of cargo when compared to the Combat Talon I. Initial Operational capability was reached on 30 June 1993.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Three MC-130H Combat Talon IIs of the 7th SOS were deployed in December 1995 to deliver peacekeeping forces to Tuzla and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of "Operation Joint Endeavor", during which one Talon was hit by ground fire. The first combat deployment of a Combat Talon II was on 8 April 1996, during "Operation Assured Response". Special operations forces were deployed to Liberia to assist in the evacuation of 2000 civilians from the American embassy when the country broke down into civil war. However orders to combat drop an 18-man SEAL team off Monrovia were rescinded and the mission landed in Sierra Leone. Similar circumstances brought the Combat Talon II to Zaire in 1997.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Talon II deployments for joint exercises in 1997 included Australia, Guam, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand. In July 1997, three Talon IIs deployed to Thailand as part of "Operation Bevel Edge", a proposed rescue of 1000 American citizens trapped in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, by a possible civil war, but the crisis ended when the Cambodian government allowed all non-citizens who desired so to leave by commercial air. A 7th SOS Combat Talon II aircrew, "Whiskey 05", earned the Mackay Trophy for an embassy evacuation mission in the Republic of the Congo in June 1997. The crew rescued thirty Americans and twenty-six foreign nationals, and logged twenty-one hours of flight time.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Full Operational Capability for the Talon II was reached in February 2000. At that time 24 MC-130Hs were deployed to four squadrons:


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: On the night of 19–20 October 2001, four Combat Talon IIs infiltrated a task force of 199 Rangers of the 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment and tactical PSYOP teams 658 miles inside Taliban-held Afghanistan. The force dropped onto "Objective Rhino" (), an unused airfield in Kandahar Province southwest of Kandahar, to secure a landing zone as a temporary operating base for Special Forces units conducting raids in the vicinity.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: A month later, two MC-130Hs, flying from Masirah Island, inserted a platoon of U.S. Navy SEAL Team Three and four Humvee vehicles to within ten miles of the same airfield on the night of 20–21 November. The SEAL platoon was inserted to establish an observation post at the airstrip, then assist two USAF combat controllers inserted by military free fall in preparing a landing zone for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 15th MEU landed in CH-53 helicopters on 25 November 2001, and established Camp Rhino, the first forward operating base in Afghanistan for United States forces.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Combat Talon IIs of the 7th SOS, augmented by crews from the 15th and 550th SOSs, flew 13- to 15-hour airdrop and airlanding night resupply missions from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, to Special Forces Operational Detachments-Alpha (ODAs) in Afghanistan during the opening phase of "Operation Enduring Freedom" in December 2001. Operating in mountainous terrain, they innovated an airdrop tactic by replicating maximum-effort landing techniques to rapidly descend from to AGL to ensure accurate gravity drops after clearing high ridgelines into deep valleys.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The 7th SOS, commanded by Lt Col Mark B. Alsid and part of the 352d Special Operations Group, received the Gallant Unit Citation in 2006 for operations conducted during Operation Iraqi Freedom between 12 February and 12 May 2003. The 7th SOS was tasked to Joint Special Operations Task Force – North, known as Task Force Viking, whose objective was to hold 13 Iraqi Army divisions along the "Green Line" in northeastern Iraq to prevent those divisions from reinforcing other Iraqi operations against United States forces invading from Kuwait. Forward-based at Constanţa, Romania, its primary mission was to infiltrate the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Army's 10th Special Forces Group and the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group into Kurdish-held territory in preparation for Operation Northern Delay. Denied permission by Turkey to fly into Iraq from its airspace, the 7th SOS flew the first 280 troops on a circuitous path around Turkey to a base in Jordan on 20–21 March 2003.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: On 22 March, six Combat Talon IIs (four from the 7th SOS) infiltrated 16 ODAs, four ODBs, battalion command elements, and Air Force Combat Control Teams to complete the fifteen-hour mission, the longest in U.S. Special Operations history. The insertion profile consisted of a four and one-half-hour low level flight at night through western and northern Iraq to Bashur and Sulaymaniyah airfields, often taking heavy ground fire from the integrated air defenses. The Talon IIs, at emergency gross weight limits, operated blacked-out, employed chaff and electronic countermeasures, flew as low as AGL, and carried their troops tethered to the floor of the cargo holds. Three of the Talons were battle-damaged, with one forced to seek permission to land at Incirlik Air Base. The operation became known informally as "Operation Ugly Baby". Major Jason L. Hanover was individually honored for commanding a mission that seized two austere airstrips during the operation. After airlanding their troops, the Talon IIs then had to fly back through the alerted defenses to recover to their launching point.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Overflight permission was granted by Turkey on 23 March, and the Combat Talon IIs delivered a total of 50 ODAs into Iraq. The Talon IIs then resupplied Task Force Viking, assisted in operations to capture Kirkuk and Mosul, airlanded supplies at remote outposts using Internal Airlift Slingable Container Units (ISUs), and acted as pathfinders for conventional C-130 airlift missions.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The MC-130P series of aircraft entered service in 1965 during the Vietnam War as HC-130H CROWN airborne controllers to locate downed aircrew and direct Combat Search and Rescue operations over North Vietnam. After tanker equipment was added to 11 HC-130Hs, they entered service as HC-130P SAR command and control/helicopter aerial refueling aircraft in November 1966. Combat Shadows have been part of the Air Force special operations force since 1986. In February 1996, AFSOC's 28-aircraft tanker fleet was redesignated the MC-130P, aligning the variant with other M-series special operations mission aircraft.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Combat Shadows provided air refueling support in Panama to Army and Air Force helicopters during "Operation Just Cause". In 1990, four Combat Shadows of the 9th Special Operations Squadron deployed to King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia for "Desert Storm", and three of the 67th Special Operations Squadron to Batman Air Base, Turkey for "Proven Force". Since the Gulf War, the MC-130P has been involved in numerous operations, including "Northern Watch" and "Southern Watch" (Iraq), "Deny Flight" (Yugoslavia), "Restore Democracy" and "Uphold Democracy" (Haiti), "Deliberate Force" and "Joint Endeavor" (Bosnia), "Assured Response" (Liberia), "Guardian Retrieval" (Zaire), "Enduring Freedom" (Afghanistan) and "Iraqi Freedom".


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The Combat Shadow flew single or multi-ship low-level air refueling missions for special operations helicopters conducting infiltration, exfiltration, and supply missions, with command and control capability in limited situations. The primary emphasis for Combat Shadows was on night operations using NVGs, to reduce probability of visual acquisition and intercept by airborne threats.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The last two AFSOC MC-130Ps were retired on 15 May 2015. However, four MC-130P aircraft continue to be flown by the 129th Rescue Wing (129 RQW) of the California Air National Guard. Although the MC-130P was ostensibly an AFSOC aircraft, the examples still flown by the 129 RQW are part of a rescue squadron assigned to a combat search and rescue/personnel recovery (CSAR / PR) mission and are therefore operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC) versus AFSOC. These MC-130P aircraft will eventually be replaced by the HC-130J Combat King II.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The MC-130W Combat Spear, unofficially and facetiously nicknamed the "Combat Wombat", performed clandestine or low visibility missions into denied areas to provide aerial refueling to SOF helicopters or to air drop small SOF teams and supply bundles.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The first of 12 MC-130Ws, AF Ser. No. 87-9286, was presented to Air Force Special Operations Command on 28 June 2006. The aircraft was developed to supplement the MC-130 Combat Talon and Combat Shadow forces as an interim measure after several training accidents and contingency losses in supporting the Global War on Terrorism. The program modified C-130H-2 airframes from the 1987–1990 production run, acquired from airlift units in the Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard. Use of the H-2 airframe allowed installation of SOF systems already configured for Combat Talons without expensive and time-consuming development that would be required of new production C-130J aircraft, reducing the flyaway cost of the Spear to $60 million per aircraft. The Combat Spears, however, do not have a Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance capability.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: A standard system of special forces avionics equips the MC-130W: a fully integrated Global Positioning System and Inertial Navigation System, an AN/APN-241 Low Power Color weather/navigation radar; interior and exterior NVG-compatible lighting; advanced threat detection and automated countermeasures, including active infrared countermeasures as well as chaff and flares; upgraded communication suites, including dual satellite communications using data burst transmission to make trackback difficult; aerial refueling capability; and the ability to act as an aerial tanker for helicopters and CV-22 Osprey aircraft using Mk 32B-902E refueling pods.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The MC-130Ws were assigned to the 73rd Special Operations Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, with all twelve operational by 2010. Initially nicknamed the "Whiskey" (NATO phonetic for the "W" modifier), the MC-130W was officially dubbed the Combat Spear in May 2007 to honor the historical legacy of the Combat Talons in Vietnam.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Operational demands on aging AC-130s led the Air Force to seek a replacement until new AC-130Js could enter the fleet. A first idea—acquire and develop an AC-27J "gunship light"—fell through, so in May 2009, the Air Force began looking at converting MC-130Ws into interim gunships. On 17 November 2009, a contract was awarded to Alliant Techsystems to produce 30 mm ammunition for the Dragon Spear.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: In September 2010, the Air Force awarded a $61 million contract to L-3 Communications to give a gunship-like attack capability to eight MC-130W Combat Spear special-mission aircraft. Under the deal, L-3 added the weapons kits, called "precision strike packages". MC-130Ws fitted with the weapons were renamed "Dragon Spears". Air Force Special Operations Command eventually converted all 12 MC-130W aircraft to Dragon Spears.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The Dragon Spears were equipped with a Bushmaster II GAU-23/A 30mm gun (an improved version of the MK44 MOD0 30mm gun), sensors, communications systems, and the Gunslinger precision-guided munitions system: a launch tube designed to fire up to 10 GBU-44/B Viper Strike or AGM-176 Griffin small standoff munitions in quick succession. Initial supplemental funds to the 2010 Defense Authorization Bill were for two kits to be installed in 2010.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The MC-130W Dragon Spear went from concept to flying with a minimum capability in less than 90 days, and from concept to deployment in 18 months. Its success won its program the William J. Perry Award, and it became the model for the AC-130J gunship program.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The first partially converted MC-130W arrived in Afghanistan in late 2010. It fired its first weapon one month after arriving, killing five people with a Hellfire missile. In May 2012 the Dragon Spear was redesignated the AC-130W Stinger II. By September 2013, 14 aircraft had been converted into gunships. The conversion added a sensor package consisting of day/night video cameras with magnification capability.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Beginning in 1997, studies of the vulnerability of the non-stealthy MC-130 force reflected concerns about its viability in modern high-threat environments, including the prevalence of man-portable air-defense systems in asymmetric conflicts. At least two studies were conducted or proposed to explore the prospect of a replacement aircraft (known variously as "MC-X" or "M-X"), with USAF at that time hoping for an Initial Operating Capability date of 2018. One analyst questioned the survivability of slow non-stealthy platforms such as the MC-130 in future threat environments in a 2007 presentation to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and stated his opinion that development of a stealthy replacement for the MC-130 is a "strategic priority". The U.S. Department of Defense's "2006 Quadrennial Defense Review Report" also recognized the concern, asserting DoD's intention to "enhance capabilities to support SOF insertion and extraction into denied areas from strategic distances."


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Despite these concerns, the USAF decided to proceed with modernization of the current force. The Air Force stated it is to build 37 MC-130Js to replace its MC-130Es and MC-130Ps, both of which were 40 years old. Based on the KC-130J tanker operated by the United States Marine Corps, the new MC-130J has added features for both combat search and rescue and special operations missions, introducing major modifications to the Block 6.5 KC-130J. The MC-130J adds an Enhanced Service Life Wing, an Enhanced Cargo Handling System, a Universal Aerial Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation (UARRSI) boom refueling receptacle, more powerful electrical generators, an electro-optical/infrared sensor, a combat systems officer (CSO) station on the flight deck, provisions for the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures System, and armor.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Production of the first MC-130J aircraft was started at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Marietta, Georgia, on 5 October 2009. Lockheed Martin also contracted to build an HC-130J tanker variant for Air Force Special Operations Command on its standard C-130J production line. The MC-130J is the first C-130 specifically built for special operations, making it lighter and more efficient. Most special operations aircraft are modified after production to accommodate special operations missions. The MC-130J was initially called the Combat Shadow II to honor the service of the aging MC-130P platform that it was replacing but was officially named the Commando II in March 2012.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The Air Force Special Operations Training Center conducted the initial MC-130J training program in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 193rd Special Operations Wing, using its four EC-130J Commando Solo aircraft to develop the training syllabus for MC-130J aircrew members. The MC-130J operates with a 5-member crew, eliminating the CSO navigator and the enlisted flight engineer positions that had been in the Combat Shadow's crew, with the remaining CSO handling electronic warfare as well as the navigation and aerial refueling duties formerly conducted by the navigator and flight engineer. The 415th Special Operations Squadron, a unit of the 58th Operations Group at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, was reactivated on 22 September 2011 as the main training unit for both MC-130J and HC-130J Combat King II crews.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: The 522nd Special Operations Squadron was the first unit to operate the MC-130J Commando II, and achieved Initial Operational Capability in 2012. The first MC-130J, AF Ser. No. 09-6207, undertook its initial test flight on 22 April 2011. The 522nd Special Operations Squadron received its first MC-130J in late September 2011.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: A total of 37 MC-130J aircraft are programmed to replace all other MC-130 variants by the end of the fiscal year 2017. MC-130Js completely replaced Combat Talons at RAF Mildenhall in 2014 and began replacing those at Kadena AB in 2015. 20 were in service in FY 2015 with seven additional airframes in production. On 26 October 2019, MC-130J Commando II special mission aircraft accompanied Joint Special Operations Command 160th SOAR MH-60 and MH-47s, which carried 1st SFOD-D and 75th Ranger RRC operators, into Idlib province during the Barisha raid.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Between 1967 and 2005, nine MC-130 special operations aircraft have been destroyed in operations, two of them in combat in the Vietnam War, resulting in the deaths of 68 crewmen and passengers:


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Two of the four aircraft assigned to Project "Stray Goose" were lost in combat: 64-0563 was destroyed on 25 November 1967, by a direct hit of a mortar round while parked on the Nha Trang flightline. The aircraft had been scheduled for a mission and had just completed preflight of the exterior when the mission was cancelled. Soon after the crew left the ramp, the aircraft was hit and destroyed by fire.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: 64-0547 was missing-in-action with its entire 11-man crew on 29 December 1967, on a mission to drop leaflets inside North Vietnam. The Blackbird had completed its leaflet drop leg of the mission at and begun its descent to its terrain-following exit altitude. Communication was lost without the Blackbird reporting any threats detected. SOF commanders at the time discounted the possibility of its being shot down because the flight, conducted by an inexperienced aircraft commander under new moon conditions, was not claimed as such by North Vietnam. In November 1992 the wreckage was located near the peak of a mountain northeast of Dien Bien Phu, and it was surmised that its descent was too steep for its TF/TA radar to stabilize. 64-0547 was the only special operations MC-130 lost on a combat mission over hostile terrain in the history of the program.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: 64-0558 was lost in a mid-air collision during a night training exercise 15 miles north of Conway, South Carolina on 5 December 1972. An F-102 Delta Dagger of the South Carolina Air National Guard, attempting a night intercept of the Talon, flew into the fuel drop tank on its right wing, with the loss of both aircraft, killing all 12 aboard the C-130E(I). 64-0558 had been one of the two Talons assigned to the Son Tay POW camp rescue mission.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Former "Heavy Chain" and Desert One veteran 64-0564 crashed into the ocean shortly after a pre-dawn takeoff from NAS Cubi Point, Philippines, on 26 February 1981, killing 15 passengers and eight of nine crewmen. The Talon was taking part in "Special Warfare Exercise 81" and had flown 12 missions in the preceding 16 days. Following an administrative flight the day before, the crew was scheduled for its last mission, a night exercise that was set back from 01:00 local time to 04:30. The flight profile consisted of a normal takeoff, a tactical landing a half-hour later to onload 15 Navy SEALs, followed by a tactical takeoff. The Talon reported normal flight conditions six minutes after the tactical takeoff, but crashed nine minutes later. No cause was determined, but investigators found that the likely causes were either crew fatigue from operations tempo, or failure of the terrain following radar to enter "override" mode while over water.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Combat Shadow 66-0213 ("Ditka 03") was lost when it flew into a mountain top in eastern Afghanistan on 13 February 2002. Assigned to the 9th SOS, the aircraft was refueling an MH-47E helicopter on a CSAR mission when it was forced to make an emergency climb in poor visibility to escape a box canyon in the mountainous terrain. The MC-130P ran out of climb performance and crash-landed wheels-up in deep snow. The aircraft was a total loss but the crew of eight survived with relatively minor injuries.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Combat Talon II 84-0475, assigned to the 15th SOS, was lost in a takeoff crash on 12 June 2002, near Gardez, Afghanistan. During a night exfiltration mission of two Special Forces soldiers from a landing strip at the Sardeh Band dam, the Talon crashed less than three miles from the airstrip shortly after takeoff. Conflicting reports point to overweight cargo and windshear as possible causes. The Talon's two loadmasters and a passenger were killed. According to Steve Coll in his 2018 book "Directorate S", this C-130 was actually blown up by Taliban or Al-Qaeda guerrillas while sitting on a runway. The Pentagon released a false story about the incident to downplay the dangers of Afghanistan.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Combat Talon II 90-0161, also of the 15th SOS, crashed into Monte Perucho, south of Caguas, Puerto Rico, during a training mission on 7 August 2002, killing all ten aboard. The Talon was flying a terrain-following night mission in blowing rain and fog, along a low level route commonly used by the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. The crew misinterpreted and disregarded terrain obstacle warnings.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: Combat Talon II 85-0012 was severely damaged during a landing accident at Mosul, Iraq, on 29 December 2004. The 15th SOS aircraft was on a resupply mission and struck a repair trench dug into the runway while still at 80 knots, shearing off part of its landing gear and partially separating its left wing from the fuselage. The trench was part of a U.S. Army construction project and a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) warning had not been filed by the airfield or disseminated to the aircrew, despite a safety hazard report filed in the week previous by another aircrew. No fatalities occurred but the aircraft was destroyed by explosive demolition to prevent its classified equipment from being compromised.


title: Lockheed MC-130

text: A Combat Talon II of the 7th SOS, 87-0127 ("Wrath 11"), crashed during a terrain-following-and-avoidance night training exercise on 31 March 2005, near Rovie, in the Drizez Mountains in southeast Albania, 60 miles southeast of Tirana. The Talon had taken off from Tirana-Rinas Airport 20 minutes before and was one of two flying at AGL at a reduced power setting. An investigation revealed that the plane stalled attempting to clear terrain following the crew's "loss of situational awareness." All nine crew members aboard were killed.


title: Christian Wood

text: Christian Marquise Wood (born September 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. He has also played in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets.


title: Christian Wood

text: Wood originally attended Los Alamitos High School for his first year of high school. He moved and transferred to Knight High School in Palmdale, California for one year before transferring to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada prior to his senior year. In Findlay, he helped the Pilots win 54 consecutive games and an ESPN National High School Invitational championship in 2012. Wood was ranked as the No. 36 overall player in the class of 2013 (no. 8 at his position) by Rivals, Scout listed him at No. 10 at his position and ESPN listed him as the No. 71 prospect overall.


title: Christian Wood

text: Wood played at UNLV from 2013 to 2015. As a freshman, he played in 30 games with two starts and averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he played in 33 games and averaged 15.7 points, 10 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, earning first team All-Mountain West honors. After the season, Wood declared for the 2015 NBA draft.


title: Christian Wood

text: Wood was originally projected to be drafted late in the first round before his stock dropped, which led to more consistent second round projections. Wood ultimately went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, and subsequently joined the Houston Rockets for the 2015 NBA Summer League. On September 27, 2015, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. On October 28, he made his debut for the 76ers, recording two rebounds in five minutes off the bench in a loss to the Boston Celtics. During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. On January 4, 2016, he was waived by the 76ers.


title: Christian Wood

text: On January 6, 2016, Wood was acquired by the Delaware 87ers. On March 4, he returned to the 76ers, signing a 10-day contract with the team. However, his stint lasted just three days as he was waived by the 76ers on March 7. Two days later, he was reacquired by Delaware.


title: Christian Wood

text: Wood was called up again on March 27, signing another 10-day contract with the 76ers. On April 7, he signed with the 76ers for the rest of the season.


title: Christian Wood

text: On July 14, 2016, Wood signed with the Charlotte Hornets. On November 7, he made his debut for the Hornets in a 122–100 win over the Indiana Pacers, recording two rebounds in three minutes off the bench. During his sophomore season, he had multiple assignments with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA Development League.


title: Christian Wood

text: After his second season in the NBA, Wood entered free agency due to his second year being a team option. Wood would later join the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns for the 2017 NBA Summer League out in Orlando and Las Vegas, respectively. Wood was a member of the Mavericks team that won the Summer League Championship in Orlando that year.


title: Christian Wood

text: On August 9, 2017, Wood signed with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association. However, Wood never played a game for Fujian as he was waived by the team, which allowed him to return to the Delaware 87ers that same year.


title: Christian Wood

text: On August 14, 2018, Wood was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 18, 2019, Wood was waived by the Bucks.


title: Christian Wood

text: Given Nikola Mirotić's departure, and Anthony Davis expressing his desire to be traded and subsequent reduction in playing time and occasional rest, Wood had an opportunity to get substantial minutes for the first time in his career. On March 24, he made his debut with 7 points in 8 minutes of playing time. On March 26, he put up 23 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, three steals and an assist in over 32 minutes in the Pelicans' loss to the Hawks. He was waived by the Pelicans on July 15, 2019.


title: Christian Wood

text: On March 14, 2020, Wood was reported to be tested positive for COVID-19 amidst the pandemic and the subsequent suspension of the season. He had 30 points and 11 rebounds against Rudy Gobert, who was the first player to test positive, and the Utah Jazz on March 7.


title: Christian Wood

text: On November 24, 2020, Wood was signed-and-traded to a three-year, $41-million contract from the Pistons to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Trevor Ariza, the draft rights to Isaiah Stewart, a future second round pick, and cash considerations. On December 26, 2020, Wood made his Rockets debut, putting up 31 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and one block in a 128–126 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. During a road trip game win against the Memphis Grizzlies, Wood suffered a right ankle injury and left the arena in the third quarter. Without Wood, the Rockets were vulnerable and started losing seventeen games throughout the 2021 season.


title: Christian Wood

text: On January 3, 2022, the Rockets suspended Wood for one game without pay for poor behavior. On March 21, Wood recorded a career-high 39 points on a career-high eight three-pointers made in a 115–97 win over the Washington Wizards. On March 29, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury.


title: Christian Wood

text: On June 24, 2022, Wood was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Boban Marjanović, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, Sterling Brown, and the draft rights to Wendell Moore Jr. He became the first player in franchise history to score at least 25 points each in his first two games.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: Shonen Jump, <onlyinclude>officially stylized SHONEN JUMP and abbreviated SJ, was a "shōnen" manga anthology published in North America by Viz Media. It debuted in November 2002 with the first issue having a January 2003 cover date. Based on Shueisha's popular Japanese magazine "Weekly Shōnen Jump", "Shonen Jump" is retooled for English readers and the American audience, including changing it from a weekly publication to a monthly one. It features serialized chapters from four manga series, and articles on Japanese language and culture, as well as manga, anime, video games, and figurines. Prior to the magazine's launch, Viz launched an extensive marketing campaign to promote it and help it succeed where previous manga anthologies published in North America had failed. Shueisha purchased an equity interest in Viz to help fund the venture, and Cartoon Network, Suncoast, and Diamond Distributors became promotional partners in the magazine.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: In conjunction with the magazine, Viz launched new imprints for releasing media related to the series presented in the magazine, and other shōnen works. This includes two new manga imprints, an anime DVD imprint, a fiction line for releasing light novels, a label for fan and data books, and a label for the release of art books.</onlyinclude>


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: Targeted towards young adult males, the first issue required three printings to meet consumer demand, with over 300,000 copies sold. It was awarded the ICv2 "Comic Product of the Year" award in December 2002, and continued to enjoy high sales with a monthly circulation of 215,000 in 2008. Approximately half of its circulation comes from subscriptions rather than store sales. After the end of its physical circulation, sealed polybagged issues of Shonen Jump are now considered highly sought after among fans and comic book collectors.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: "Shonen Jump" published its final issue in April 2012 when Viz decided to focus on a weekly digital manga anthology. "Weekly Shonen Jump" (initially named "Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha") launched in January 2012. Based on Shueisha's popular Japanese magazine "Weekly Shōnen Jump", "Weekly Shonen Jump" is an attempt to provide English readers with easily accessible, affordable, and officially licensed editions of the latest installments of popular "Shōnen Jump" manga soon after their release in Japan, as an alternative to popular bootleg scanlation services.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: Viz Media published its final digital issue of "Weekly Shonen Jump" and launched the Shonen Jump digital vault on December 10, 2018, providing access to a limited number of free digital chapters and a subscription service to access their back catalogue of "Shonen Jump" titles. A global version of "Shonen Jump+" was also launched on January 28, 2019 called "Manga Plus" by Shueisha.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: In June 2002, Viz Media (at the time called "Viz Communications"), and Shueisha announced that Viz would begin publishing "Shonen Jump", an English spin on Shueisha's highly popular manga anthology "Weekly Shōnen Jump". Cartoon Network, Suncoast, and Diamond Distributors signed on as promotional partners. Though based on "Weekly Shōnen Jump", Viz noted that it would not be a "word for word" copy. Rather, Viz would select series for its magazine that it felt were the most appropriate for its American readers. Viz's version was also set to be monthly, rather than having weekly, to better fit the American comic distribution system.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: Jason Thompson, one of Viz's manga editors for series including "Dragon Ball" was selected as the magazine's first editor-in-chief. Initially, Viz hoped to have the magazine targeted to all age groups, however to allow for greater freedom on content, the decision was made to mark the magazine as being for readers 13 years of age and older. However, with greater attention being focused on manga as it became available in mainstream outlets, some titles were edited for content. Thompson noted that it was a challenge working with some of the artists whose works would appear in the first issue, who worried about excessive alterations.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: With manga anthologies having met with little success in North America, Viz desired "Shonen Jump" to have a circulation of 1 million within its first three years. To aid in this goal, Viz launched the magazine with a multimillion-dollar advertising budget, they advertised and distributed the title through mass market outlets rather than just pop culture stores, ensuring the magazine included series already popular with the North American audience due to their airing on Cartoon Network. To help fund the lengthy, expensive marketing campaign developed around "Shonen Jump", Shueisha purchased an equity interest in Viz in August 2002.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: Unlike with most magazine launches, Viz decided to allow retailers to return the first two issues. This gave retailers a chance to see how well the magazine would sell in markets where manga anthologies were an unknown. Retailers were also given a quantity of free samples, distributed 100,000 free samples at Comic Con, and another 100,000 were made available to its partner Suncoast. Cartoon Network began providing sample chapters and streaming video content to its Adult Swim website, along with prominent links to "Shonen Jump's" official site.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: The first issue was released November 26, 2002, with a January 2003 cover date. It premiered with five series: "Dragon Ball Z", "Sand Land", "Yu-Gi-Oh!", "YuYu Hakusho", and "One Piece". With the launch of the magazine considered successful, Thompson was offered an opportunity to intern in Japan with Shueisha's editors, but declined, due to a lack of interest in the management aspects of the business and a desire to work on his own projects. After six issues had been released, Thompson desired to work on authoring and illustrating his own comic "The Stiff". Reflecting back later, he states in an interview with "The Comics Journal" that "I basically told Viz that I wanted to work part time or I'd quit. It probably wasn't a really nice thing to do." He eventually stepped down as editor-in-chief, being replaced by his former boss Yumi Hoashi.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: In February 2005, Viz announced the creation of "Shojo Beat", a sister publication of "Shonen Jump" geared towards female readers. The first issue was released in June 2005 with a July 2005 date cover; it ran for 47 issues until it was discontinued with the release of the July 2009 issue. In 2006, Marc Weidenbaum was named as the Editor-in-Chief for both magazines. Weidenbaum remained the magazine's editor until February 13, 2009, when Viz announced that he had left the company; the magazine's new editor-in-chief has not been named.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: As of the June 2011 issue, only 10 issues were published in a year. The magazine is printed at Transcontintental Printing RBW Graphics in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: In October 2011, Viz announced that "Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha", a weekly digital version of the magazine would be made available to the public beginning on January 30, 2012. Viz also released its final "Shonen Jump" print publication in March of that year after "Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha" was released.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: The bulk of each issue of "Shonen Jump" is composed of chapters from the seven manga titles currently in serialization. Each issue also includes product reviews for anime and manga related games and toys, articles on Japanese language and culture, interviews with manga artists, anime and manga related news, fan related sections such as fan art and letters from readers, and interactive games and trivia sections. Issues also regularly include free premiums, such as rare cards for manga and anime collectible card game adaptations, DVD previews, and video game demo discs.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: The magazine's official website includes information on all series released under the "Shonen Jump" label, biographies of the manga artists whose works have been serialized in the magazine, and previews of upcoming issues. Subscribers to the magazine have access to an additional area of the site where they can view preview chapters of manga series in the magazine and being published under the various "Shonen Jump" imprints, download desktop wallpapers, send e-cards, and play games.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: As with "Weekly Shōnen Jump", special edition stand alone issues of "Shonen Jump" are released several times a year that focus on a manga series. These issues, which are considered collector's items, include extensive details on the series plot and characters, information on related adaptations of the series, and free premium items, such as full-size posters. Anniversary editions are released yearly, usually featuring higher page counts, color manga pages, and higher end premiums. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the magazine, Viz also introduced hardback "Collector Editions" of some of the magazine's most popular series as a part of their main "Shonen Jump" manga imprint. The new editions were larger sized, with color dust jackets and higher quality paper than the normal volumes. They also included several full-color pages not seen in the initial releases. Viz also released "Shonen Jump Fifth Anniversary Collector's Edition", a hardcover book containing chapters from its best selling series, along with various articles and interviews that appeared in the magazine during its first five-year history, a timeline tracking the history of manga, and essays written by editors from "Shonen Jump" and "Weekly Shōnen Jump".


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: The premiere issue of "Shonen Jump" contained chapters from five different manga series, before it was expanded to include chapters from seven series. Fourteen series were featured in the magazine, with seven having ended their runs to be replaced with other series. Only four of those remained in the magazine until all of their chapters had been published. Each title serialized in the magazine is also published in "tankōbon" volumes under the company's related "Shonen Jump" and "Shonen Jump Advanced" labels.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: This is a complete list of all titles to be serialized in "Shonen Jump". It does not include previews of titles. The titles that were running in the magazine when it was discontinued are highlighted.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: In conjunction with the "Shonen Jump" anthology, Viz Media has created multiple new imprints in its various divisions. "Shonen Jump" is the primary manga imprint for releasing the "tankōbon" volumes of the series that have appeared in the magazine, as well as other similar "shōnen" titles that were serialized in other "Jump" magazines in Japan. A second manga imprint, "Shonen Jump Advanced", was launched in April 2005 to target older teenage and young adult readers with more "mature themes."


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: In October 2005, Viz expanded the "Shonen Jump" imprint into their home video releases. "Shonen Jump Home Video" offers anime series and original video animations adapted from manga series appearing in "Shonen Jump".


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: In 2006, the "SJ Fiction" imprint, part of the Viz Fiction line, was announced. The imprint is used for light novel releases related to manga series appearing in "Shonen Jump". "SJ Profiles" prints fan books, data books, and other similar works for the Shonen Jump series, while art books are released under the "Art of SJ" imprint.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: The initial issue of "Shonen Jump" sold over 300,000 copies, far exceeding Viz's expected 100,000 copies and making it one of the top comic titles in 2002. The first printing of 250,000 copies was sold out before the issue was released, and two additional printings were necessary to fully meet the demand. After the initial launch, the magazine had an average monthly circulation of 190,000, but it quickly grew to 305,000 by its first anniversary. The August 2003 issue, which included a demo version of an upcoming "Yu-Gi-Oh!" PC game, was the top issue with 540,000 copies sold. As of 2008, the magazine had a circulation of 215,000, with subscriptions constituting 54% of the copies distributed.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: Though targeted towards "tween & teen male consumers", according to Viz Media the magazine enjoys a relatively high number of female and adult readers as well, comprising 36% and 37% of its readership, respectively. The "Shonen Jump" reader has a median age of 16 years, and over half of the audience is between the ages of 13 and 17. Official measurements by Simmons notes that among minor age readers the female readership is slightly lower and the median age is 12.


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: "Shonen Jump" was considered the "most successful and widely read" manga anthology in North America. In addition to the unparalleled circulation numbers, the "Shonen Jump" manga imprint has had consistently high sales, with many of its titles being top sellers. "Naruto" has been the line's top seller, accounting for nearly 10% of all manga sales in North America in 2006. In December 2002, the magazine received the ICv2 Award for "Comic Product of the Year" due to its unprecedented sales numbers and its successfully connecting comics to both the television medium and the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" collectible card game – one of the top CCG games of the year. In the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards from 2009, "Shonen Jump" was the winner in the category "Best Publication".


title: Shonen Jump (magazine)

text: Reviewers of the magazine applauded the selection of series and the various articles included in each issue. In his coverage of the magazine's debut issue, John Jakala of Anime News Network, compared it to the debut issue of competing work "Raijin Comics" and was surprised to find himself preferring "Shonen Jump", despite it being targeted for a younger age group than "Raijin Comics". Calling it an "impressive debut issue", Jakala predicted that its high quality content and high value for the price would result in the anthology becoming a successful anthology in North America. In succeeding reviews, Jakala stated that "Shonen Jump" put "American comics to shame", particularly in terms of the size of the magazine for the price versus the normal size of a similarly priced issue of a regular comic book. He did, however, note that the episodic nature of some of the series included had started to become repetitive after three issues, and that while the articles might appeal to many readers, he himself skipped over them. In addition to praising the value for the dollar, Comic Book Bin's Leroy Douresseaux felt that each of the chapters included were "a self-sustaining and satisfying tale with a beginning, middle, and end" that, coupled with the character and story summaries included for each series, made it easy for readers to keep up with a series even if they missed an issue.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She was made a dame in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to charity, entertainment and the arts.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman was born on 10 May 1946 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Maurice Julius Lipman and Zelma Pearlman. Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the Ferens Art Gallery and Monument Bridge. Lipman grew up Jewish and found post-war Hull a welcoming place for the Jewish community. She lived on Northfield Road, Hull and attended Wheeler Primary School.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman then attended Newland School for Girls in Hull, and became interested in performing as a youth; she performed in school shows, attended an early Beatles concert, and watched Elizabeth Taylor's "Butterfield 8" fifteen times. Her first performances at home included impersonations of Alma Cogan; "a nice Jewish girl, she was big in our house", and she was encouraged into an acting career by her mother, who used to take her to the pantomime and push her onto the stage.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman worked extensively in the theatre following her début in a stage production of "The Knack" at the Palace Theatre, Watford. In order to get the post, she pretended that a documentary producer wanted to follow her finding her first job – this was a lie but it seemed to work.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She was a member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic from 1971 to 1973 and of the Royal Shakespeare Company for its 1973 Stratford season.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She has continued to work in the theatre for over thirty years, playing, among other roles, Aunt Eller in the National Theatre's "Oklahoma!".


title: Maureen Lipman

text: From November 2005 to April 2006 she played Florence Foster Jenkins in the Olivier Award-nominated show "Glorious!" at the Duchess Theatre in London's West End.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: From October 2010 to February 2011, Lipman starred in a production of J.B. Priestley's "When We Are Married" at the Garrick Theatre. In 2012 she directed and appeared in a production of "Barefoot in the Park" on tour and starred in "Old Money" at the Hampstead Theatre. In 2013, she starred in "Daytona" at The Park Theatre followed by a tour, and in 2014 a season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In 2015, she starred with James Dreyfus in Mary Chase's play "Harvey" at Birmingham Rep, on tour and at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In 2016, she starred in "My Mother Said I Never Should" at the St. James Theatre. In 2017, she starred with Felicity Kendal in a revival of "Lettice and Lovage" at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In 2018, she starred with Martin Shaw in "The Best Man" at the Playhouse Theatre, as well as returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time in fifty years with a one-woman show of jokes and storytelling called "Up For It".


title: Maureen Lipman

text: After early appearances in the sitcoms "The Lovers", and "Doctor at Large", and a role in "The Evacuees" (1975), Lipman first gained prominence on television in the situation comedy "Agony" (1979-1981), in which she played an agony aunt with a troubled private life. In her role as Stella Craven in "Smiley's People" (1982), Lipman appeared with Alec Guinness.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She performed the Joyce Grenfell monologue "The Committee" for the first time on "The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog", which was recorded 1982, and broadcast by Channel 4 in 1983.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She played the lead role in the television series "All at No 20" (1986–87) and took on a range of diverse characters when starring in the series of comedy plays "About Face" (1989–91). She is known for playing Joyce Grenfell in the biographical show "Re: Joyce!", which she co-wrote with James Roose-Evans.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She appeared as snooty landlady Lillian Spencer in "Coronation Street" for six episodes in 2002. The character was employed by Fred Elliott (John Savident) to run The Rovers Return Inn. She re-joined the cast of "Coronation Street" in August 2018, this time playing Evelyn Plummer, the long-lost grandmother of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall).


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman played Maggie Wych in the children's television show "The Fugitives" broadcast in 2006. She has narrated two television series on the subject of design, one for UKTV about Art Deco and one about 20th-century design for ITV/Sky Travel. In 2003 she appeared in "Jonathan Creek" in the episode "The Tailor's Dummy".


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She performed as a villain, The Wire, in the 2006 series of "Doctor Who" in the episode entitled "The Idiot's Lantern".


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She has also appeared on "Just a Minute", "The News Quiz", "That Reminds Me", "This Week" and "Have I Got News for You". In 2007, Lipman appeared as a celebrity contestant on "Comic Relief Does The Apprentice" to raise money for Comic Relief. The show saw her helping to run a funfair. Later in 2007, she made a guest appearance in "Casualty"; this was followed by an appearance in a December 2011 episode of the "Casualty" spin-off "Holby City", playing a different character.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: In May 2008, she appeared in the BBC documentary series "Comedy Map of Britain". On Sunday 11 January 2009, BBC Four was devoted to a "Maureen Lipman Night". On 5 February 2009, she appeared in the third series of teen drama "Skins", in the episode entitled "Thomas" as Pandora Moon's Aunt Elizabeth.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She appeared twice on "The Paul O'Grady Show" during its run, once alongside Julie Walters to promote her most-recent book "Past-It Notes", the other to speak about her appearance as the wheelchair-bound Madame Armfeldt in the Sondheim musical "A Little Night Music", showing at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In both of these appearances, she also spoke briefly about her role as Irene Spencer in the ITV3 comedy "Ladies of Letters", in which she leads alongside Anne Reid. The show's first series started in 2009, and returned for a second series in 2010.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman made an early film appearance in "Up the Junction" (1968). She played the title character's mother in Roman Polanski's film "The Pianist" (2002).


title: Maureen Lipman

text: In 1987, she was cast as the character "Beatrice Bellman" ("Beatie/BT"), a Jewish grandmother in a series of television commercials for British Telecom, a role which became sufficiently well known to launch a book "You Got An Ology" in 1989, and which was still referred to 25 years later by politicians.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: After her husband died in May 2004 she completed his autobiography "By Jack Rosenthal", and played herself in her daughter's four-part adaptation of the book, "Jack Rosenthal's Last Act" on BBC Radio Four in July 2006. Her anthology, "The Gibbon's In Decline But The Horse Is Stable", is a book of animal poems which is illustrated by established cartoonists, including Posy Simmonds and Gerald Scarfe, to raise money for Myeloma UK, to combat the cancer to which she lost her husband.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She also wrote a monthly column for "Good Housekeeping" magazine for over ten years, which formed the basis for several autobiographical books, including "How Was It For You?", "Something To Fall Back On", "Thank You For Having Me", "You Can Read Me Like A Book" and "Lip Reading". Lipman has also contributed a weekly column in "The Guardian" in the newspaper's "G2" section.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman is Jewish. She lives in Muswell Hill, north London and has two children, writers Amy and Adam Rosenthal.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: She was married to dramatist Jack Rosenthal from 1974 until his death in 2004, and has had a number of roles in his works.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Retired computer expert Guido Castro, an Egyptian Jew, was her partner from 2008 until his death in January 2021.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman supports the work of the Burma Campaign UK, Europe's largest NGO regarding Myanmar (Burma). Lipman supports the process of democratisation in the country. Lipman also supports the work of Prospect Burma, a non-political charity that offers Burmese students the opportunity to study at university overseas. Lipman spoke on behalf of Prospect Burma in the BBC Radio 4 Appeal, broadcast in September 2009.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman supported Israel during the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah conflict. On 13 July 2006, in a debate on the BBC's "This Week", she argued that "human life is not cheap to the Israelis, and human life on the other side is quite cheap actually, because they strap bombs to people and send them to blow themselves up." These comments were condemned by columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown who said "Brutally straight, she sees no equivalence between the lives of the two tribes". Lipman responded to Alibhai-Brown's accusation of racism by arguing that the columnist had deliberately misrepresented Lipman's comments as generalisations about Muslims rather than specific comments about terrorists.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: In "The Jewish Chronicle", Lipman argued that media reporting of the conflict was "heavily distorted":


title: Maureen Lipman

text: In May 2015, Lipman joined pro-Israel groups including the Zionist Federation in a protest outside the London premiere of a Palestinian play, "The Siege", at Battersea Arts Centre.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: In an interview with "The Guardian" on 18 August 2020, Lipman inaccurately asserted that Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for the 2020 Beirut explosion, stating: "I’m very grateful that Hezbollah said they did it". She intimated that she would not be prepared to work alongside some pro-Palestinian actors, citing Maxine Peake and Miriam Margolyes as examples, the latter of whom she worked with repeatedly in the 1980s and 1990s in the series of adverts she did with BT.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: In a January 2015 interview on LBC Radio, Lipman said she was considering emigrating to the United States or Israel in response to perceived increased antisemitism in the UK.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman previously supported the Labour Party but declared in October 2014 that she could no longer do so due to the then-leader Ed Miliband's support for a parliamentary motion in favour of recognising the State of Palestine.


title: Maureen Lipman

text: In April 2018, Lipman criticised Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for antisemitism in the Labour Party and the party's reputed failure to address the issue. Lipman attended a protest outside the Labour Party head office and said she attended the protest “as a disenfranchised socialist”. She identified with a placard reading “Corbyn made me a Tory”. In a 2020 interview, she described herself as a "Labour luvvie" under the tenure of Tony Blair, as opposed to a "party member". However, she also said she'd have to be "stark raving mad to support Boris Johnson".


title: Maureen Lipman

text: Lipman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1999 New Year Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to charity, entertainment and the arts. Accompanied by her son, Adam Rosenthal, she received her award from Charles, Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle on 28 October 2021.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: Paradise Hills is a 2019 Spanish science fantasy thriller film directed by Alice Waddington in her feature directorial debut. It stars Emma Roberts as Uma, a young woman sent to Paradise, a mysterious behavioural modification centre for women who have displeased their families, alongside Danielle Macdonald, Awkwafina, Jeremy Irvine, Arnaud Valois, Eiza González, and Milla Jovovich.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2019. It was released in Spain on 11 October 2019 by Alfa Pictures and in the United States on 25 October 2019 by Samuel Goldwyn Films.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: At her wedding, rich socialite Uma is toasted by her guests, who compliment her new attitude. Later, she is pinned to a bed by her husband, Son, who happily remarks on how much more obedient she is.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: Two months earlier, Uma awakens in a strange room and realizes that she is trapped on an island called Paradise. She runs away from her captors, but is caught and returned by a fellow patient, Amarna. It is explained to Uma that Paradise is essentially a sort of treatment center for rebellious young women; in Uma's case, she was admitted to the center for rejecting a marriage proposal her mother wants her to accept. Uma becomes friends with her roommates Chloe and Yu, as well as befriending Amarna, a well-known singer sent to Paradise after clashing with her management company.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: As Uma adjusts to life on the island, her boyfriend from the mainland, Markus, sneaks onto the island posing as a gardener and promises that he can rescue her. A jealous Amarna tells Uma to be careful and reveals that she has her own secret plan to escape as her fans have smuggled her a rowboat she and Uma can use to leave. Before they can put their plan into action, Amarna is informed that she has graduated early. She tells Uma to rescue herself and Markus. Before she leaves, Amarna also reveals that the milk the women drink each day is drugged so they sleep through the night. Amarna parts from Uma with a kiss.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: After a treatment during which Uma is forced to watch old news reports of her father's suicide, Uma reacts badly and is drugged and put into solitary confinement. She awakens two weeks later and meets with the Duchess, who runs the Paradise program. Learning that she will be sent home the next day, Uma decides to leave and convinces Chloe and Yu to run away with her in the night. Before they can escape, Yu is taken to an operating room for a final treatment. When Uma and Chloe try to rescue her, the doctors attack them, and the women are forced to kill them.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: Uma, Chloe, and a badly injured Yu manage to escape. They stumble into a control room where they learn that their therapy has not been to rehabilitate them, but to replicate them. Uma learns that Markus never intended to rescue her, but was hired by Paradise to determine her behavior in sexual situations. As Uma and her friends run from the guards, they stumble into a room where they meet their "replicants"; poor and lower-class women who have undergone extensive plastic and cosmetic surgeries and been trained to mimic the voices and personalities of the patients so they can assume their identities. Yu dies and Chloe and Uma are forced to move on without her, but before they go, Uma leaves behind her memory locket of her father for her replacement and tells her that in order to fully embody Uma, she must hate Son, the man responsible for her father's death.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: Uma and Chloe make their way into a garden where they see the lifeless bodies of former Paradise captives, including Amarna, ensnared in rose thorns. Uma sees the Duchess, who is revealed to be a vampiric rosebush, feeding on Chloe's body and is wrapped up in vines as the Duchess prepares to make her her next victim. However, Uma's replicant saves her by pretending to be the real Uma, distracting the Duchess enough so that Uma can fatally stab her with a scalpel. Uma and her replicant, Anna, manage to escape in the rowboat. Anna reveals she cannot return to her former life and so she and Uma develop a plan. Anna returns to Uma's wealthy family pretending to be Uma, and marries Son. On their wedding night, she remains downstairs while Uma herself seduces Son and stabs him before they can have sex. Anna is thus free from blame as she was downstairs among many witnesses when the murder occurred. Anna "discovers" Son's body and screams for help, now free to live her life as a wealthy widow. Uma, having secured her revenge, flees into the night to begin a new life.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: In November 2017, Emma Roberts and Danielle Macdonald joined the cast of the film, with Alice Waddington directing from a screenplay by Nacho Vigalondo and Brian DeLeeuw, with Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls producing under their Nostromo Pictures banner. In March 2018, Eiza González joined the cast of the film. In April 2018, Milla Jovovich, Jeremy Irvine, and Awkwafina joined the cast of the film.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: Principal photography began in April 2018. Filming took place in the Spanish municipality of Gáldar, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. Two locations near Barcelona were also used: "La Fábrica", a former cement factory repurposed as headquarters by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura in Sant Just Desvern, and the nearby palatial house complex of Xavier Corberó in Esplugues de Llobregat.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: "Paradise Hills" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2019. Shortly after, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released in Spain on 11 October 2019, by Alfa Pictures. In the United States, it was released on 25 October 2019, followed by video on demand on 1 November 2019.


title: Paradise Hills (film)

text: It holds a 67% rating and an average score of on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 70 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Its ambitious reach occasionally exceeds its grasp, but "Paradise Hills" offers fans of thoughtful sci-fi a visually distinctive treat with timely themes." Leslie Felperin of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote, "Words can't do justice to the truly lavish sets and costumes on display here which are so dazzling, intricate and bizarre they serve as a useful distraction." Louisa Moore, writing for "Screen Zealots", similarly stated, "Sometimes a film [...] is so well made and has something so interesting to say that it would be a crime not to applaud the effort.". Carlos Aguilar of The Wrap wrote, "Challenging the narrative frameworks, the film turns obsolete archetypes into individuals with agency. [...] Princesses don't need a knight to escape their prisons; they can blow them up themselves"


title: Common Admission Test

text: The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer based test for admission in graduate management programs. The test consists of three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. The exam is taken online over a period of three hours, with one hour per section. In 2020, due to the COVID precautions, The Indian Institutes of Management Indore decided to conduct the CAT Exam in 2 hours with 40 minutes devoted to each section. The Indian Institutes of Management started this exam and use the test for selecting students for their business administration programs (MBA or PGDM). The test is conducted every year by one of the Indian Institutes of Managements based on a policy of rotation.


title: Common Admission Test

text: In August 2011, it was announced that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) would also use the CAT scores, instead of the Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), to select students for their management programmes starting with the 2012-15 batch.


title: Common Admission Test

text: Before 2009, CAT was a paper based test conducted on a single day for all candidates. The pattern, number of questions and duration have seen considerable variations over the years.


title: Common Admission Test

text: On 1 May 2009, it was announced that CAT would be a Computer Based Test starting from 2009. The American firm Prometric was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the test from 2009 to 2013. The first computer based CAT was marred with technical snags. The issue was so serious that it prompted the Government of India to seek a report from the convenor. The trouble was diagnosed as 'Conficker' and 'W32 Nimda', the two viruses that attacked the system display of the test, causing server slow down. Since 2014 onward, CAT has been conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). CAT 2015 and CAT 2016 were 180-minute tests consisting of 100 questions (34 from Quantitative Ability, 34 from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension , and 32 from Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. CAT 2020 onwards, the exam duration has been reduced to two hours, with 40 minutes allotted per section.


title: Common Admission Test

text: The Common Admission Test (CAT), like virtually all large-scale exams, utilises multiple forms, or versions, of the test. Hence there are two types of scores involved: a raw score and a scaled score.


title: Common Admission Test

text: The raw score is calculated for each section based on the number of questions one answered correctly, incorrectly, or left unattempted. Candidates are given +3 points for each correct answer and -1 point for each incorrect answer. No points are given for questions that are not answered. The raw scores are then adjusted through a process called equating. Equated raw scores are then placed on a common scale or metric to ensure appropriate interpretation of the scores. This process is called scaling.


title: Common Admission Test

text: The change in the total number of questions and number of questions per section in cat merely happens, on a broader perspective there are 100 number of questions combining each section. The very first section which is the verbal ability and reading comprehension contains 34 questions, further bifurcating 24 questions of reading comprehension and 10 questions of verbal ability, then next section is of data interpretation and logical reasoning which contains 32 questions and the last section is of quantitative ability which contains 34 questions making it to 100 questions in total. Which had a variance since 2020 as the paper has got trimmed for the number of questions.


title: Common Admission Test

text: The Quantitative Ability and Verbal & Reading Comprehension sections consisted 34 questions each, whereas the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section had 32 questions. This distribution of questions was same since CAT 2015. Before this, the distribution of questions was different.


title: Seann Walsh

text: Sean Christopher Walsh (born 2 December 1985), known professionally as Seann Walsh, is an English stand-up comedian.


title: Seann Walsh

text: Walsh was born in Camden in London, but was brought up in Brighton. He left school with one GCSE examination pass, in Drama.


title: Seann Walsh

text: Walsh is a graduate of Jill Edwards' comedy workshops and performed his first gig in November 2006. He won several awards early in his career including "Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year (2009)" and "Chortle Best Newcomer (2009)". Walsh supported Stephen K. Amos on his 2008/09 "Find the Funny" and 2009/10 "The Feelgood Factor" tours, as well as at the 2010 "Reading and Leeds Festival".


title: Seann Walsh

text: Walsh was resident host at Komedia's "Comic Boom" in Brighton and has also been an 'audience wrangler' (a more recent version of the traditional warm-up comedian) for "QI".


title: Seann Walsh

text: Walsh performed his 2012 show "Seann to Be Wild" at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and toured the country with it. He has performed shows with fellow comedian Josh Widdicombe named "Ying and Young". His 2013 Edinburgh Fringe show "The Lie-In King" received good press.


title: Seann Walsh

text: From 8 September 2018, Walsh participated in the sixteenth series of "Strictly Come Dancing" with professional dance partner Katya Jones. Early in the series, it was reported that he had become romantically involved with Jones despite both of them being in long-term relationships, and his popularity suffered as a result. Walsh and Jones did an interview with Zoe Ball following the controversy, where after a televised grilling from Ball, Walsh apologised. The couple was voted out in Week 6.


title: Seann Walsh

text: Seann hosted "Flinch", a physical gameshow for Netflix, alongside Lloyd Griffith, and Desiree Burch. The show is produced by Stellify Media.


title: Seann Walsh

text: In 2022, Walsh participated in Series 22 of "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" on ITV1, and finished in 5th place on 25 November 2022.


title: Seann Walsh

text: His relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries ended in October 2018 after a video and photos of him kissing his "Strictly Come Dancing" partner Katya Jones were published.


title: Seann Walsh

text: Walsh subsequently incorporated his experiences on "Strictly" into his standup act. It was later reported that Katya and her husband Neil Jones had separated as an indirect result of the incident. During an interview with Ellie Calnan in March 2022, Walsh described how the incident was still "trauma" for him and how he underwent treatment for depression and anxiety, to help him cope with the fallout.


title: Seann Walsh

text: Walsh has been in a relationship with dance teacher Grace Adderley since 2019. In 2022, the couple announced they were expecting their first child.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: A Love So Beautiful () is a Chinese streaming television series starring Hu Yitian and Shen Yue, based on the novel "To Our Pure Little Beauty" by Zhao Qianqian. It aired on Tencent Video from 9 November until 7 December 2017.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: The series was popular during its run, and received positive reviews for its characterization and story. It surpassed more than 10.5 billion views on its online streams.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: Chen Xiaoxi (Shen Yue) and Jiang Chen (Hu Yitian) are classmates at Chenxi Secondary School and have been neighbors since kindergarten. Chen Xiaoxi, a cheerful girl who doesn't study much, is expressive about her admiration towards Jiang Chen, a popular student known for his good looks and high grades. However, Jiang Chen is very distant and indifferent towards people because of his father's early death. Together with their friends—the funny yet dirty-minded Lu Yang, athletic but blunt Lin Jingxiao, and joyful national swimmer Wu Bosong—Chen Xiaoxi and Jiang Chen prepare for their " Gaokao", a university entrance examination, during their journey through secondary school and towards adulthood leading to the bloom of love in Jiang Chen towards Chen Xiaoxi, and eventually the two end up together.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: Chen Xiaoxi and Jiang Chen are neighbors. She has a very passionate and expressive crush on Jiang Chen, who keeps rejecting all her expressions of affection. They have been studying together since kindergarten. Chen Xiaoxi makes a lot of effort in high school to get Jiang Chen's affection, like writing a love letter, preparing for his mother's visit, running for the class monitor, trying to acquire tickets for the Manchester United match, competing in a hurdle race, directing a play, and getting humiliated in front of the whole school due to the recording of the wrong recording played during their class's play. Jiang Chen also has feelings for Xiaoxi, but he doesn't show them. He helps her every time she lands in trouble. She is motivated by Lin Jingxiao, who supports her in all her efforts to grab Jiang Chen's attention. Lu Yang gets attracted to Jingxiao's bold attitude and harbors a crush on Jingxiao which she brushes off light-heartedly. Jingxiao begins to crush on the school Dr Li after he gives his shirt to her after her pant get torn when she jumps over the wall to meet her father who stays overseas. Wu Bosong starts to like Xiaoxi after she cheers for him in a swimming event even though he finishes second. He goes to great lengths to show his affection for her. Thus Jiang Chen and Wu Bosong always have tension in the air regarding Xiaoxi.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: Jiang Chen gets jealous of Wu Bosong's closeness to Xiaoxi and rebuffs her at times when Wu Bosong comes to Xiaoxi's aid. On the day of the field trip, Xioaxi plans fireworks for Jiang Chen. But circumstances turn against her and she witnesses Li Wei embracing Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen tries to make up to a heartbroken Xiaoxi, but in vain. Li Wei cheats on an exam and gets caught. She is revealed to be diagnosed with depression. She steals diazepam from the school infirmary and tries to commit suicide. She is saved in the nick of time by Dr. Li and Jiang Chen. Dr. Li takes responsibility for the missing pills, leading to his suspension from the school. Jingxiao takes the blame to save Dr. Li making Lu Yang realize that Jingxiao likes Dr. Li. He starts to run on realizing this and falls unconscious due to his heart problems. He is saved by Dr. Li. Dr. Li leaves the school and Lu Yang publicly acknowledges his feelings for Jingxiao in the school assembly.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: Lu Yang is hospitalized and refuses to meet Jingxiao. Wu Bosong gets injured and has to pull out of the national swimming championship. After an incident where Wu Bosong's grandmother gets lost due to her dementia and her praise for his swimming abilities, he decides to give up on Xiaoxi, leave school, and concentrate on swimming. Jiang Chen gets into a prestigious university in Beijing, but he decides to study medicine nearby as he doesn't want to leave behind Xiaoxi. Xiaoxi's college application gets rejected and she prepares for the art entrance exam. She passes and takes up an art major in the same university as Jiang Chen. Jiangxiao and Lu Yang start to date officially. Jiang Chen gets more expressive regarding his feelings for Xiaoxi.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: When they near graduation, Lu Yang decides to get his heart surgery which is a success. Jiang Chen gets busier and has very little time to spend with Xiaoxi. Jiang Chen gets the opportunity to get advanced training in Beijing for 4 years. But he is reluctant to take it up and leave behind Xiaoxi. Xiaoxi decides to search for a home on her own, where she gets attacked by the agent. She runs to the hospital to meet Jiang Chen where she gets to know about Jiang Chen going to Beijing. Upset, Xiaoxi decides to break up with Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen, upset due to losing his first patient in the surgery, goes to meet Xiaoxi. She turns a cold shoulder to him. The next day, Jiang Chen misreads the situation of Lu Yang and his friend helping Xiaoxi moving out of the hostel and decides to go to Beijing.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: After 3 years, Wu Bosong is a celebrity, Jingxiao is pursuing masters in astronomy, Lu Yang is a professional e-sports gamer, and Xiaoxi is a cartoonist. When Xiaoxi's father slips and breaks his spine and gets admitted to the hospital, she meets Jiang Chen again who has returned from Beijing. He is resolved to take Xiaoxi back. He brings a fake girlfriend to Jingxiao and Lu Yang's bachelor party and sells his car to get Xiaoxi's comic book published. Xiaoxi is torn between her feelings as Jiang Chen says he wants her back. Wu Bosong, insecure after the return of Jiang Chen, proposes to Xiaoxi, who refuses. Drunk, Wu Bosong gets Jiang Chen to confess his feelings towards Xiaoxi which she hears through the phone. Jiang Chen and Xiaoxi reconcile and got engaged. Xiaoxi's comic book, "A Love So Beautiful" based on her school life is a hit. The five friends meet together at Xiaoxi's book signing event and go out for a meal together. In the end, we get to hear Jiang Chen's perspective of the story, the way he used to have feelings for her and so on.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: In the last episode, we are taken back to their school days where an upset Xiaoxi, wrongly accused of stealing a shopping voucher by her father runs away to participate in a singing competition. She is brought back home by Jiang Chen.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: Kakao M announced on July 1, 2020 that they will remake the series under a short drama version. The company announced that they have started full-fledged preparations.


title: A Love So Beautiful

text: On July 27, 2020, the company announced that So Joo-yeon, Kim Yo-han, Yeo Hoe-hyun and Jo Hye-joo were cast for the lead roles. Produced by WhyNot Media, a short form drama with eponymous title having 24 episodes of 20 minutes each premiered on KakaoTV on 28 December 2020 and is available for streaming on Netflix.


title: Lorelei

text: The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 1930s Loreley Amphitheatre is on top of the rock.