Vietnam lecture highlights Naval operations

The eighth lecture in the Vietnam War Commemoration Lecture Series was conducted Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. Stove Factory Ballroom in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas. Dr. John T. Kuehn, professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, walked attendees through the U.S. Navy’s operations in support of the conflict in Vietnam, from a short discussion about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, to the use of the “brown water” Navy in the Mekong Delta. The bulk of Kuehn’s talk was focused on the little known maritime operations such as “Market Time” and “Sealord,” where he highlighted the advantages, not fully appreciated, that fighting in Vietnam gained by the U.S. having de facto command of the air and sea in the extensive coastal waters of the theater.

More than 50 were in attendance, with the audience made up of CGSC students and faculty, Vietnam veterans from the community and others interested in the lecture series. The next lecture in the series is scheduled for Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. at the same location. Mr. Dale Andrade from the Pentagon’s Joint History Office will present a lecture on “Pacification and CORDS.” All lectures in the series are open to the public

Kuehn did not serve in Vietnam, but he did serve in the U.S. Navy, retiring in 2004 at the rank of commander after 23 years, serving as a naval flight officer flying land and carrier-based aircraft. Kuehn has taught a variety of subjects, including military history, at CGSC since 2000. He is the author of several books, including Agents of Innovation (2008), A Military History of Japan: From the Age of the Samurai to the 21st Century (2014), Napoleonic Warfare: The Operational Art of the Great Campaigns (2015), and coauthored Eyewitness Pacific Theater (2008) with D.M. Giangreco, as well as numerous articles and editorials. Kuehn was awarded a Moncado Prize from the Society for Military History in 2011. Kuehn’s latest book from Naval Institute Press is America’s First General Staff: A Short History of the Rise and Fall of the General Board of the Navy, 1900-1950 (Fall 2017).

For more information the content of lectures in the series contact Dr. Tom Hanson, CGSC’s director of the Department of Military History: email– thomas.e.hanson.civ@mail.mil or phone– 913-684-2056. For other questions, contact Rod Cox, email– rcox@thesimonscenter.org, or Ann Soby, email– ann@cgscf.org, at the CGSC Foundation or phone 913-651-0624.

All lectures in the series are free and open to the public. This lecture series is presented by CGSC’s Department of Military History, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leavenworth and supported by the CGSC Foundation and the Henry Leavenworth Chapter of AUSA.

The CGSC Foundation has received additional support for the Vietnam lectures in academic year 2018 from the national headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Kansas City, Missouri, First Command Financial Services in Leavenworth, Kansas, and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).

For more photos from the ceremony view the CGSC Foundation photo album on Flickr.