The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to host a panel presentation and discussion with the United States Air Force Air War College on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, at 7 PM at the International Cultural Center Auditorium, located on the campus of Texas Tech University.  Three students from the Grand Strategy Program will present their research on US-Vietnamese relations and the renewed US focus on Asia and Southeast Asia as part of the U.S. Global Strategy and Foreign Policy.  The formal presentations will be followed by a question/answer/discussion period.  Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the event. The presenters include:

Colonel Chee Mun Chew is currently the Singapore Defense Adviser for the United Kingdom. Prior to attending the Air War College, he was the Deputy Head of Air Operations of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) in charge of operations planning and training for the RSAF. His previous staff experiences include long-term strategic planning, research and development, and weapon systems development for the RSAF. COL Chew’s command experiences include Group Commander of the Tactical Air Support Group and Squadron Commander of a helicopter squadron. COL Chew holds a Master’s of Science in Management of Technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and he is also a graduate from the German Command and Staff College. COL Chew is proficient in English, Chinese and German.  Col Chew will examine China’s perspectives on the territorial disputes in the Asian Pacific. He will highlight some implications for the U.S. strategic pivot towards Asia. The recent developments in Asia Pacific’s territorial disputes have revealed how China and its people would perceive and behave on issues related to territorial sovereignty and regional security. Understanding China’s perspectives and behavior on such issues can better inform US strategic rebalancing efforts to enhance security in the Asia Pacific region.

Lieutenant Colonel Brian Bergeron, USAF, graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1994 with a BS in political science.  He has an MS in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.  Lt Col Bergeron is a senior pilot with 1,600 hours flying the F-15C Eagle both in the active duty and the Oregon Air National Guard.  Upon graduation from the Air War College, Lt Col Bergeron is projected to return to the cockpit as part of the 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland, Oregon.  Lt Col Bergeron will discuss the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP); a 65-nation capacity building relationship that pairs U.S. states with a foreign country.  This interaction enhances combatant commander and U.S. ambassador interests.  Only 6 nations (Mongolia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, & Cambodia) of the 65 partners are in the PACOM AOR.  In light of the US rebalance toward Asia during fiscally constrained times, a fully funded SPP focused on Asian partners is a low-cost, high yield initiative.  The paper will examine: a rising China (briefly), the nature of the US rebalance and how it cements ties with regional allies, internal changes necessary for the SPP to be relevant in Asia, and ultimately, that the SPP should be expanded into Asian countries such as Vietnam.

Lieutenant Colonel Ed Jeep, USAF, graduated from the Miami University, Ohio with a BA in English Literature in 1993. He has an MA in International Relations from the Ortega y Gasset Institute, and a Diploma of Advanced Studies from the University of Granada, Spain. Lt Col Jeep is a helicopter aviator with 3000 hours in the CH-46E. He commanded the “Purple Foxes” of HMM-364 and has served in East Timor, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  Lt Col Jeep will discuss the idea that, by 2020, Vietnamese and American interests will be convergent enough to permit a US Navy base to be reestablished in Vietnam, hypothetically represented by Camh Ranh Bay. Lt Col Jeep examines this within the context of Chinese and Vietnamese history, discusses current and pertinent local, national, and regional politics, examines available writings by Vietnamese strategic thinkers on the topic, and finally discusses scenarios within which U.S. basing in Vietnam might be feasible and whether or not the U.S. should pursue such a strategy.

The AWC student presenters will be joined by Dr. Martin Loicano.  Dr. Loicano is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Strategy at the Air War College. He holds a Ph.D. in history from Cornell University, specializing in Southeast Asia and China. Prior to joining the AWC faculty, he served with the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan from 2010-2012. Dr. Loicano previously taught at several universities in the Gulf South region as well as in Southeast Asia. His current research includes a monograph on security assistance in Afghanistan and a manuscript on the Republic of Vietnam’s military diplomacy during the Vietnam War.

The preliminary agenda for the Vietnam Center’s 2013 conference is now available online.

The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to announce that we will host our 2013 annual conference in partnership with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and the Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration. The conference will take place at the McGowan Theater in the National Archives in Washington, DC, Sept. 26-28, 2013. To organize this conference, we have worked very closely in collaboration with three important scholars of the Vietnam War to include Dr. Lien-Hang T. Nguyen (University of Kentucky), Dr. Edward Miller (Dartmouth College) and Dr. Larry Berman (Georgia State University).

The intellectual objectives of this conference are to examine the year 1963 as it has long been viewed as a watershed in both the history of the Vietnam War and in the evolution of the United States’ intervention in that conflict. The Battle of Ap Bac, the “Buddhist crisis” and the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc, the abortive “Kennedy withdrawal” of U.S. military advisors from South Vietnam, the overthrow and death of Ngo Dinh Diem in the Saigon coup of November, the Kennedy assassination that same month, the Ninth Plenum of the Vietnam Worker’s Party—all of these events and many others shaped the subsequent escalation of the Vietnam War and contributed to its transformation into a major international conflict. This conference (which will take place during the fiftieth anniversary year of these events) will highlight recent research on various aspects of 1963 in Vietnam. In addition, we expect the conference to use 1963 as a means to explore the larger themes and trends running throughout the history of the Vietnam War. This conference will bring together specialists in the history of the Vietnam War, U.S. foreign relations, international history, the Cold War, and Vietnamese studies.

More information will be added to the conference website as it becomes available.

Vietnam Center Conference – Vietnam, 1963
September 26th-28th, 2013
McGowan Theater, NARA
700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC

Conference website: www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2013_Conference

Preliminary Agenda: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2013_Conference/agenda.htm

Tet, the Vietnamese New Year
Friday, February 15th
3:00-5:00pm
The International Cultural Center’s Hall of Nations, Texas Tech University

This is a free event and open to the public.

Traditional Vietnamese food will be served, and entertainment may include a special presentation by the Vietnamese Student Association at Texas Tech. Please join us and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.

February 10, 2013, ushers in the Lunar Year of the Snake. In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year. In many Asian cultures, including Vietnam, the Year of the Snake is believed to be a year of peace and prosperity. The snake is an important part of life in Vietnam. People born in the Year of the Snake are endowed with wisdom and excel in finding solutions to problems. They are usually successful in life and lucky with money.

The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most important holiday. Food preparation for Tet is very time consuming and often requires days of cooking and, prior to the celebrations, people clean, paint, and decorate their homes. People avoid cleaning during Tet so that good luck will not be “swept away.”

We hope you will be able to join us on February 15, 2013 as we celebrate this special event!

For more information, please call 806-742-3742.

We here at the Vietnam Center and Archive would like to congragulate our co-worker Amy Mondt and her husband David on the birth of their first child.  Both mother and child are doing great.  We

Today the U. S. Marine Corps turns 237, and the Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Marine Corps and all U. S. Marines a very happy birthday!  To celebrate we have created a small exhibit of Marine related materials.  To view the exhibit, please click on the link below.

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/marines/marines12.htm

Vietnam War veteran and former Pittsburgh Steeler football player Rocky Bleier will speak this Friday at 7:00pm as part of our 2012 Guest Lecture Series. The lecture will be in the Lanier Auditorium of the Texas Tech School of Law.  Admission is free and open to the public.

The mission of the Vietnam Center and Archive Guest Lecture Series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty, and the community at large by bringing distinguished individuals to campus for presentations on specific aspects of the Vietnam War, its lasting impact on American politics, society and culture, and on contemporary issues in Southeast Asia.

This lecture series is funded in part by a generous grant from the Helen Jones Foundation.  For more information on the 2012 VNCA Guest Lecture Series or about Rocky Bleier see http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS.

The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to present Rocky Bleier on Friday, November 9th at 7:00pm in the Lanier Auditorium of the Texas Tech University School of Law.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

A star football player at Notre Dame, Bleier was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968. He also received a US Army draft notice that year. Leaving the NFL, Bleier served in Vietnam with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. Wounded when his platoon was ambushed, doctors told Bleier he would never play football again. With the support of Steelers owner Art Rooney, his coach and teammates, Bleier trained for two years and eventually became a star running back for the Steelers during their four Super Bowl wins in the 1970s.

The mission of the Vietnam Center and Archive Guest Lecture Series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty, and the community at large by bringing distinguished individuals to campus for presentations on specific aspects of the Vietnam War, its lasting impact on American politics, society and culture, and on contemporary issues in Southeast Asia.

This lecture series is funded in part by a generous grant from the Helen Jones Foundation.  For more information on the 2012 VNCA Guest Lecture Series see http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS, or contact Mary Saffell at 806-742-9010 or mary.saffell@ttu.edu.

Today is the Navy’s 237th birthday, and the Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Navy and all Navy personnel a very happy birthday.  We have prepared a small exhibit of Navy materials from our collection to commemorate the occasion.  Please click on the link below.

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/navy/navy12.htm

USAF Vietnam War pilot Dick Rutan will speak this Thursday at 7:00pm as part of our 2012 Guest Lecture Series. The lecture will be in the Lanier Auditorium of the Texas Tech School of Law.  Admission is free and open to the public.

The mission of the Vietnam Center and Archive Guest Lecture Series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty, and the community at large by bringing distinguished individuals to campus for presentations on specific aspects of the Vietnam War, its lasting impact on American politics, society and culture, and on contemporary issues in Southeast Asia.

This lecture series is funded in part by a generous grant from the Helen Jones Foundation.  For more information on the 2012 VNCA Guest Lecture Series or about Dick Rutan see http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS.

Today the Air Force turns 65!  The Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Air Force and all of its service men and women a very happy birthday.  To commemorate this event, we have created a small of exhibit of our Air Force related materials.  You can view the exhibit by clicking on the link below.