Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Cold War Museum: Experience a Critical Part of American and World History

From 1946 until the breakup of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s, the world was gripped by the superpower competition between the US and the USSR known as the Cold War. This face off between the two most powerful nations on the planet at the time was often fought by proxies, and it involved every corner of the globe, from Asia to Africa, and as the Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated, even close to our shores.

While many veterans of the Cold War are still active, most Americans have little knowledge or understanding of this seminal period of world history. There is a way, though, to learn about the Cold War. Visit the Cold War Museum in Vint Hill, Virginia - itself a place that has played a key role in American history since World War II and throughout the Cold War as the US Army Security Agency Field Station. Better yet, consider becoming a member of the museum. Information on the museum's history, and how to join can be found at its Web site.

Founded in 1996 by Francis Gary Powers, Jr., son of Air Force officer Francis Gary Powers of 1960 U-2 incident fame, and John Welch, a retired military officer and history buff, the Cold War Museum houses one of the most comprehensive collections of Cold War documents and artifacts in the world. Currently open only on Saturdays and Sundays, but available for special tours by arrangement, this is a place that will astound you.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, for instance--not many people know just how close the world came to nuclear war during this crisis. The exhibit on Soviet submarine B-59 tells about a nuclear-torpedo-armed vessel that was inside the embargo line whose skipper considered launching his nuclear torpedo in a desperation move. Only the refusal of his second in command to endorse the launch saved thousands--if not millions--of lives.

Soviet B-59 submarine off the coast of Cuba during the
Cuban Missile Crisis being shadowed by a U.S. heli-
copter. This vessel came close to starting World War III.


Visit the museum website--or better yet, make it a weekend and take the family to the museum itself. It's located at 7142 Lineweaver Road, Warrenton, VA, inside the former Vint Hill Farm military base. It's open on Saturdays from 11 am to 4 pm and Sundays from 1 to 4 pm, and by special arrangement at other times by contacting Executive Director Jason Hall at Jason@coldwar.org.

The museum also publishes the online journal The Cold War Times, a journal to chronicle the history of the Cold War. A copy of the current issue can be seen here.

The Cold War Museum
P.O. Box 861526
(7142 Lineweaver Road)
Vint Hill, VA 20187
(540)-341-2008



Saturday, April 25, 2015


There's still time to support independent film producer Josey Wells efforts to bring to the film the story of the life of Bass Reeves, one of the most famous deputy US marshals in history.


Find the Greatest Tickets in the Nation at VenueKings.com!

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Jim Kukral - Author Marketing Live! Virtual 2015

Hybrid Warfare: Where's the Beef?

An excellent analysis of warfare in the current age can be read at 'War on the Rocks.'

“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
— Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.”
— Carl von Clausewitz, Vom Kriege

Lately, a lot has been said and written down on hybrid war and hybrid warfare. The hybrid war thesis has been advocated to depict the new reality of contemporary warfare. Although the concept is not a new one, it has been proposed that today we are witnessing some new features in warfare. Russia’s capture of the Crimean peninsula and its support to the separatists in Eastern Ukraine have been presented as the contemporary pinnacle of hybrid warfare. For many analysts of contemporary security and defense issues, the hubris around this buzzword seems to neglect the very basic principles of war that have been discussed and theorized for centuries. Namely, war is not — and has actually never been — a “pure” military matter that is executed only by military forces. When looking closely at the various attributes of Russian and separatist warfare in Ukraine that together are said to constitute hybrid warfare, it becomes clear that none of this is new or unique to a special kind of warfare known as hybrid.
To read more go here.


http://warontherocks.com/2015/04/hybrid-warfare-wheres-the-beef/

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

AFSA 2015 Governing Board Election Town Hall at AFSA HQ

The Effective Global Leadership Forum














The Meridian International Center and the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Washington, DC Alumni Chapter is the venue for

The Effective Global Leadership Forum

Hosted by Ambassador Stuart Holliday, President and CEO Meridian International Center
and
Dr. Allen Morrison, CEO and Global Director
Thunderbird School of Global Management
Featuring
Ambassador (retired) Charles A. Ray - former Ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe

**
Sonia Patterson - President and CEO of Five Talents

April 30, 2015
6:00 - 9:30 PM
         at
Meridian International Center
1630 Crescent Pl. NW
Washington, DC 20009
http://www.meridian.org/

For more information on this event, contact:  Lori Foster (415) 450-0312 or  lorimfoster1228@yahoo.com

Friday, April 10, 2015

Help needed at Cold War Museum

Help needed at Cold War Museum. Located at Vint Hill Farm near Warrenton, VA, this small museum catalogues a significant period in American history.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Association of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA) Endorse my candidacy for AFSA Retire Vice President


The ABAA Executive Committee has fully endorsed the candidacy of our own Amb. Charles Ray for AFSA Vice President for Retiree Affairs.   We encourage ABAA members who are AFSA members in good standing to vote for Amb. Ray in the 2015 -2017 AFSA Governing Board elections. 

 AFSA members who are active duty may vote online; retiree members will receive paper ballots in the mail between now and the end of May.   AFSA must receive completed ballots by June 3rd; ballots will be counted on June 4.  

For more information go to www.FutureForwardAFSA.com.   You may also wish to attend a retiree town hall at AFSA on April 8 where candidates for AFSA Vice President and Retiree Representative will present their positions.

You Can Say That Again by Marcia Johnston

Featured Post

Vida Designs - A New Place to Get My Photographs

If you like fine photography and fashion, you can now get them both in one place. Voices - Vida now hosts an online shop of custom-designed...