The registration form for our upcoming conference is available online: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2010_Conference/registration.php

Also, the special hotel rate has been extended to February 24th.  The reservation instructions are listed on our conference page here: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2010_Conference/

Conference Information:

2010 Vietnam Center Conference: Lessons Learned, Lessons Lost: Counterinsurgency from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan

Sponsored by:
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
The Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech University
The Center for a New American Security

March 4th-5th, 2010
SAIS Kenney Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

“You have to learn from history,” President Obama recently observed. “On the other hand, each historical moment is different. You never step into the same river twice. And so Afghanistan is not Vietnam.” [New York Times, September 13, 2009]

Perhaps not. But Vietnam is certainly a reference point for many Americans as the war in Afghanistan approaches its ninth year. Comparing Vietnam and Afghanistan is a popular and sometimes lucrative undertaking for scores of historians, journalists and politicians. Google “Vietnam-Afghanistan” and you get about 36 million returns. Analogies abound; analysts debate. What are the lessons of Vietnam? What can we learn about counterinsurgency from our experience in Vietnam? Does Vietnam offer important insights to guide counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan? Have we already applied our Vietnam experience in these conflicts? Or are Iraq and Afghanistan so unique as to defy comparison with past insurgencies?

This conference asks what we should have learned about counterinsurgency from Vietnam and whether, or how, these lessons are being exploited in today’s conflicts. Military experts and civilian analysts will debate these questions and more over two days at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies on March 4 and 5. You are most cordially invited to join the discussion

The agenda for our upcoming conference is now available here: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2010_conference/2010agenda.pdf

A registration form is being developed and will be available on our website soon. Please check our conference page periodically for updates: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2010_Conference/

Also, a block of hotel rooms has been reserved at a reduced rate of $99/night.  Please reserve your room by February 17th.  Reservation information available on our website: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2010_Conference/

Detailed conference information:

Lessons Learned, Lessons Lost: Counterinsurgency from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan

Sponsored by:
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
The Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech University
& The Center for a New American Security

March 4th-5th, 2010
SAIS Kenney Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

“You have to learn from history,” President Obama recently observed. “On the other hand, each historical moment is different. You never step into the same river twice. And so Afghanistan is not Vietnam.” [New York Times, September 13, 2009]

Perhaps not. But Vietnam is certainly a reference point for many Americans as the war in Afghanistan approaches its ninth year. Comparing Vietnam and Afghanistan is a popular and sometimes lucrative undertaking for scores of historians, journalists and politicians. Google “Vietnam-Afghanistan” and you get about 36 million returns. Analogies abound; analysts debate. What are the lessons of Vietnam? What can we learn about counterinsurgency from our experience in Vietnam? Does Vietnam offer important insights to guide counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan? Have we already applied our Vietnam experience in these conflicts? Or are Iraq and Afghanistan so unique as to defy comparison with past insurgencies?

This conference asks what we should have learned about counterinsurgency from Vietnam and whether, or how, these lessons are being exploited in today’s conflicts. Military experts and civilian analysts will debate these questions and more over two days at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies on March 4 and 5. You are most cordially invited to join the discussion.

The Vietnam Center and Archive is holding its annual Tet celebration today, Friday, February 12th from 3:00-5:00 at the Hall of Nations in the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech.  Please note that this is a new location for this event.  It is NOT being held in the Southwest Collection Building.  For a map to the International Cultural Center, please visit this link:

http://www.ttu.edu/campusMap/buildings/icc.php

Event information:

Friday, February 12, 2010
3:00-5:00pm
The Hall of Nations at the International Cultural Center
With a Presentation by the Vietnamese Student Association

Admission is free and open to the public.

The Vietnam Center cordially invites you to join us as we celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, on Friday, February 12, 2010. Please come sample Vietnamese cuisine and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.

February 14, 2010 ushers in the Lunar Year of the Tiger. In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year. The tiger is the third sign of the zodiac and symbolizes passion and integrity. Tigers are considered “king of the jungle” and are therefore protective of family and friends. It is said that people born in the year of the tiger are sensitive and respected, but can also be indecisive.

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 12, 2010 as we celebrate this special event!

For more information, please call 742-3742.

Friday, February 12, 2010
3:00-5:00pm
The Hall of Nations at the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech
With a Presentation by the Vietnamese Student Association.

The Vietnam Center cordially invites you to join us as we celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, on Friday, February 12, 2010. Please come sample Vietnamese cuisine and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.

February 14, 2010 ushers in the Lunar Year of the Tiger. In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year. The tiger is the third sign of the zodiac and symbolizes passion and integrity. Tigers are considered “king of the jungle” and are therefore protective of family and friends. It is said that people born in the year of the tiger are sensitive and respected, but can also be indecisive.

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 12, 2010 as we celebrate this special event!

For more information, please call (806) 742-3742

Public lecture by Joe Galloway, co-author of We Were Soldiers Once… And Young

Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11th at 3:00 pm

Mass Communications Building, Room 101, Texas Tech campus

Sponsored by the Vietnam Center

Mr. Joe Galloway’s career as a journalist has spanned nearly five decades and he is best known for his combat reporting from the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam, made popular by the book he co-authored with General Hal Moore, We Were Soldiers Once… and Young, and made even more popular by the movie We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson. Mr. Galloway also has the distinction as being the only civilian to have been awarded the US Army Bronze Star for Valor during the Vietnam War for his actions in support of the wounded during that battle. In addition to Vietnam, Mr. Galloway has reported from the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Mr. Galloway received the 1991 National Magazine Award for an Oct. 29, 1990 U.S. News cover story marking the 25th anniversary of the first major battle of the Vietnam War, and the 1992 News Media Award of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States for his coverage of the Persian Gulf War.

A book signing will take place at the end of the lecture.  Copies of Mr. Galloway’s book will be available for sale. 

For more information, please call the Vietnam Center at 742-3742.

Ron Milam, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History at Texas Tech University, will deliver a public lecture on his new book Not a Gentleman’s War:  An Inside View of Junior Officers in the Vietnam War on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2009, at 6:30 pm in the Senate Room of the Student Union Building on the Texas Tech campus.  The Veteran’s Association at Texas Tech will sponsor a reception just prior to the lecture at 5:30 at the same location.  A book signing will be held at 7:30 directly after the lecture.  An additional book signing will be held from 11am-1pm at the campus bookstore.  All authors’ proceeds will be donated to the Veterans Association at Texas Tech.

Dr. Milam is a Vietnam Veteran and a strong supporter of the Vietnam Center and Archive.  He serves on the Vietnam Center Advisory Board, serves as a faculty advisor on the Vietnam Center Summer Study Abroad program in Southeast Asia, and has contributed his oral history and personal collection to the Vietnam Archive.

For more information about this event, please contact Michael Flores, President of the Veterans Association at Texas Tech, at (806) 787-1203.

The Vietnam Center and Archive has a listserv, newsletter, and facebook page. For more information, please follow the links below:

Listserv (to receive email updates):
http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/vietnamcenter/general/mailing.htm

Newsletter:
http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/pages/newsletters.php

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/vietnamTTU

The newest issue of the Friends of the Vietnam Center newsletter is now available for download on the Vietnam Center newsletters page.

Friends of the Vietnam Center Newsletters Page