November 18, 2015 - Gayle Lemmon

In 2010, the United States Army created Cultural Support Teams (CTS), a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations Soldiers battling in Afghanistan. The women of the CSTs put themselves in the line of fire to build relationships with the women of both the Afghan mountains and the tough streets of the Afghanistan cities. In November 2015, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) in Carlisle, PA presented a lecture by Gayle Lemmon, author and Senior Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, based on her book, Ashley’s War. Lemon discussed the complexities of war, as well as the stories of the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of the members of the CST team. Her talk also covered why the Army believed women could play a unique role on the Specials Ops teams.

To learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

August 21, 2013-Dr. Conrad Crane

Though the Korean War was a limited conflict, there were many operational and technological temptations to expand it. America's allies feared the United States would again resort to atomic bombs as they did against Japan, and Communist enemies propagated elaborate accusations about the employment of biological warfare. Political and military leaders certainly considered using such weapons, though the reasons they never did are varied and complex. Dr. Conrad Crane describes the practical and ethical reasoning behind strategic leaders' decisions, particularly emphasizing the pressures they faced in a limited war with the potential to be much worse. He also discusses the research process to investigate such decision-making and the special difficulties involved in dealing with classified sources about weapons of mass destruction. The lecture is a detective story with twists and turns and more than a little luck involved.

To learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers,researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please vist our website at www.usahec.org.

April 22, 2021 – Mr. D.M. Giangreco

On April 22, 2021 at 6:30PM EST, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed author and scholar Mr. D.M. Giangreco as he presented his lecture, Berlin 1945: The Halt on the Elbe and the Redeployment to the Pacific. In this lecture, Mr. Giangreco discusses the steep increase in U.S. losses during the "casualty surge" of 1944-45 and its relationship to "the Berlin decision" to halt the U.S. Army’s drive into Germany instead of allowing them to push on to the German capital. Manpower needs for the planned invasion of Japan and the complex redeployment to the Pacific Theater principally drove this decision and had implications for the decision to use the atomic bomb. Mr. Giangreco highlights the ethical discussions and reasoning behind these strategic decisions, their long-lasting impact, and historical significance.

To learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

February 18, 2021 – Dr. David Danks

On February 18, 2021, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in coordination with the Army Heritage Center Foundation, welcomed Dr. David Danks, who presented a live-streamed lecture via ZOOM that explored the critically important topic of military applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the ethical questions that arise with the idea of “responsible AI." In this talk, Dr. Danks provided a short history of military AI ethics discussions and looked carefully at the nature of “responsible AI,” with a particular focus on military uses. He argued that we should focus on the processes and practices that we use to design, develop, and deploy AI-enabled systems, rather than fine-grained technical details of the systems themselves.

To learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

March 11, 2021 – Dr. Reed Bonadonna

On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed author and scholar Dr. Reed Bonadonna to present his lecture, How to Think Like an Officer: The Officer as Visionary. In this lecture, Dr. Bonadonna argued that the military officer corps functions as a collective repository of knowledge of the nature of armed conflict, causes and consequences, and of peace and victory. An officers’ education and experience, combined with reflection, can equip them for visionary thought, a form of thinking that can enhance their role as a serving officer and as a citizen. He discussed a variety of facets of this topic, including careful consideration of the past and future, death and the officer, the "ethical turn," the problem of political engagement, the officer's dreams, and peace and conflict studies. He also examined the ways in which history and literature provided examples of the officer-as-visionary.

To learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

May 7, 2020 - Dr. Thomas Bruscino

On May 7, 2020, at 6:30 PM EST, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania live-streamed a lecture entitled Developing Strategists, Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Interwar Army War College by U.S. Army War College Associate Professor Dr. Thomas Bruscino. The lecture is based on a paper written by Dr. Bruscino in conjunction with the USAHEC Historical Services Division. General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, did not achieve his position or victory in World War II by accident. The overwhelming majority of senior leaders who led the United States to victory in World War II relied on world-class education and mentorship at the U.S. Army War College. Making extensive use of the Army War College’s archival records at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Dr. Bruscino’s lecture will describe the U.S. Army War College during Eisenhower’s tenure as a student in the 1927-1928 school year. He will offer insights into professional military education at the strategic level, interwar military reform, and the professional experiences of most of the senior leaders of World War II.

For video of the USHAEC's podcasts, or to learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

April 15, 2020 - Dr. Cristian Keller

On April 15, 2020, at 6:30PM, the USAHEC welcomed Dr. Christian Keller of the U.S. Army War College to give a lecture based on his latest book, The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy. The unique relationship between Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson is one mired in legend, controversy, and misconception.  These great chieftains’ command styles, friendship, and even their faith, formed the Army of Northern Virginia into a fighting machine that almost won the Civil War in the Eastern Theater.   Dr. Keller’s talk cut through the folklore surrounding the two leaders and examine why and how their collaboration was contextually one of immense strategic importance for the seceded South. His presentation challenges how we think about Confederate strategic decision-making and the value of personal relationships among senior leaders responsible for organizational survival.

For video of the USHAEC's podcasts, or to learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

March 4, 2020 - Mr. Martin King

“They’ve got us surrounded – the poor b********!” was the defiant refrain among the cold and miserable 101st Airborne Division Soldiers valiantly defending the city of Bastogne in December 1945.  Both the German and American Soldiers lost terrible casualties, but the Americans held out against Hitler’s final push west until reinforcements arrived, a crucial part of the victory in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge. On March 4, 2020, at 7:15 PM, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, hosted Emmy Award winning British military historian, author, and lecturer Martin King.  Referred to as the “greatest living expert” on the Battle of the Bulge, King presented his newest book, The Battle of the Bulge:  The Allies’ Greatest Conflict on the Western Front, and will provide a comprehensive historical and distinctly personal account of the largest, deadliest, and arguably the greatest battle in U.S. military history.

For video of the USHAEC's podcasts, or to learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

August 23, 2019 - Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs

The Hello Girls is the untold story of how America’s first female Soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the U.S. Army for recognition. In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female “wire experts,” when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire. Without communications for even an hour, the Army would collapse. While suffragettes picketed the White House and President Woodrow Wilson struggled to persuade a segregationist Congress to give women of all races the vote, these competent and courageous young women swore the Army’s oath.

For video of the USHAEC's podcasts, or to learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

November 7, 2019 - Mr. Peter Stark

In the waning and bleak months of 1753, a young and naive George Washington trekked through the Ohio frontier on behalf of the British Crown to forge a diplomatic relationship with the French and Native Americans. Washington knew this mission was a considerable honor and an opportunity for advancement to a full commission in the British Army. On Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 7:15 p.m., New York Times Best Selling author Mr. Peter Stark presented a lecture based on his newest work, Young Washington: How Wilderness and War Forged America’s Founding Father. Stark discussed how Washington’s experiences in the Ohio Territory dealing with ill-supplied militia troops, adverse weather, and intense combat forged this young officer into the future father of a great nation.

For video of the USHAEC's podcasts, or to learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.