Vietnam and Iraq Wars: Comparisons, Similarities & Lessons Learned

When:

Mar 28, 2019 3:00 PM

Today the grandchildren of Vietnam War veterans are attending middle and high schools throughout America, sitting side-by-side with the children of those who served more recently in Desert Storm and the Iraq War. But how much do they really know about these conflicts and the sacrifices their dads, moms and grandparents proudly made?

Joining with social studies departments throughout the Country, the Veterans National Education Program (V-NEP) is teaching the lessons of these wars in the classroom. During the 2018-2019 school year, V-NEP will provide teachers with a free, collection of video clips and classroom lesson plans designed to support up to a 10-day learning experience. Our series of short video clips will bring history to life for students through expert interviews and highly visual, archival footage highlighting key events during Desert Storm and the Vietnam and Iraq Wars.

Registration is limited to the first 100 participants.

About the Veterans National Education Program (V-NEP)

The Veterans National Education Program (V-NEP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity, organized for the purpose of educating students about Modern History by providing historically accurate, relevant educational resources. The team was formed in 1999 on Veterans Day. V-NEP educates others through the viewpoint of “the eyes of those who serve, ” to the concept of preserving history through eyewitness accounts. Who better to teach succeeding generations of Americans than the men and women with boots-on-the-ground experience?

V-NEP provides tools that educators need to engage students, modern history documentaries including Band of Brothers, War in Europe, War in the Pacific, Tuskegee Airmen, The Humanitarian Effort in Vietnam, and Women in the Military. Online media content and lesson plans, a unique and engaging way for students to learn about U.S. Modern Military History: WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and now Iraq and Afghanistan, from the men and women, history-makers, who offer first-hand accounts. All of these tools are provided complimentary to educators.

Presenters

Maureen Hopkins Weigl, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

Colonel (ret) Maureen Weigl retired from the Army in May 2016 after serving for 25 years. In her last assignment, she served as the Director of Military Personnel for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PAARNG) where she was responsible for all human resource and personnel policies, guidance and actions for over 15,000 military members of the PAARNG.

Colonel Weigl is Airborne qualified and received numerous awards including the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and combat tour awards. Maureen holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and Communications from the University of Pittsburgh, a Masters in Business Ethics from Duquesne University, and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. She also holds a Post Graduate certificate in Human Resources from the Pennsylvania State University, and completed both the United States Northern Command Joint Domestic Operations Course and the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Seminar in National and International Security. Colonel Weigl is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Project Manager, Executive Leadership Coach and a member of the American Legion. She is currently serving on the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania’s Military Veteran Task Force and focuses on employment and transition assistance for Service Members and Veterans. Maureen continues to serve Veterans and has been partnering with clothing manufacturers to make adjustable clothing for Veterans and others with prosthetic limbs. Maureen resides in Harrisburg, PA with her husband and two children.

Tom Draude, General, U.S. Marine Corps (ret.)

Brigadier General Thomas V. Draude served in the United States Marine Corps for 30 1/2 years, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Marine Corps University Foundation (MCUF) and The General Robert H. Barrow Distinguished Chair of Military Studies at the Marine Corps University. He retired from MCUF in 2015 and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Warfare Studies from the Marine Corps University. He is currently an adjunct teacher at St. Leo University teaching The MiddleEast and Modern War and The Vietnam War.

Bob McMahon, Chairman, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army (ret.)

Bob McMahon has served as an elected official for 37 years, the last 27 years as the Mayor of Media, PA. He also spent 35 years as a Financial Consultant. On the advice of PA Governor Tom Ridge, Bob co-founded V-NEP in 2009 to teach our Country’s history “through the eyes of those who serve”. Bob has worked with both the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation on educational issues during the last 20 years.

Bob served in Vietnam in 1968 with the 1st Infantry Division during the TET Offensive and later served as Senior Advisor for Mobile Advisory Team 44, a pilot program. He lived in 3 separate villages in Vietnam.