The War College did take place, minus some and plus others. I want to express my appreciation to all who appeared and gave a lecture. I also have to note that I was just about always in attendance at the start of the lecture and at the end to count noses and collect tickets. The middle? Well, running a booth demanded quite a bit of time, and appearing on the various news shows took more, so I missed most of the lectures. I'll comment a bit on what I can...
Matt Caffrey
He always gives a great lecture, and I've attended enough of his over the years. Then again, he's at the USAF Wargaming Center, so he gets lots of practice. Of major note to me was not his lecture ability, but his willingness to pitch in when I was away.
Caffrey wonders what in the heck did he get himself into...
He counted heads, so there was an accuracy in our head count from two sources, and when I was away, he introduced the lectures and collected the tickets. All in all, he did a superb job.
Phil Viverito
He gave a talk on Roman Mile Forts, as well as demonstrating how to build one! Phil is a master craftsman for large scale models, especially siege type battles, and ran numerous miniature wargames covering ancients battles, including the Siege of Tyre, and the Attack on Alexandria.
Kevin Zucker
Wargame designer extraordinaire gave a couple of talks, one on Austerlitz and one on the Character of Napoleon. Unlike most lectures of podium and ranks of chairs, Zucker opted for a more intimate gathering of a circle (oval) of chairs in the center of the room like a roundtable.
Here, Zucker (center) affixes his Speaker's Ribbon prior to the start of his roundtable while participants read the handout.
THE NSDM Gang
The most attended of the events were the lectures given by the NSDM folks, led by the McDonough brothers--Dan and Mark. These started at 8am and ran for two hours (and this is where we double booked 'em), after which thesey ran the NSDM game all day. Then these guys came back at 10pm and gave another 2-hour plus lecture! Did these folks sleep? Hard to say, but they were universally enjoyable, informative, and entertaining.
Lectures included: Deceeving Hitler (parts 1 and 2), Secret Agencies and Secret Warriors, Submarine and Anti-Sub Warfare, War on Terror, National Security Planning Policy, India vs. Pakistan, Global Hot Spots, and the Operational Art of Campaign Planning.
All these guys worked in and around the military and state departments, and their insights are intriguing.
Dave Powell
The American Civil War expert designed a number of wargames. He concentrated on 1863 with a series of lectures, including one on Chickamauga. I caught a little bit of the talk on strategic options, and later a bit of the cavalry operations.
Frank Chadwick
A favorite speaker and wargame designer followed the Russian Army in three lectures: 7 Years War, at Borodino 1812, and at Borodino 1941. He also ran several wargames in the gaming area.
Barton Redmon
A 7 Years War expert and re-enactor, he gave a talk about British techniques and modifications in fighting a primarily "woodland" war, which I caught a bit, and about 7YW supply for Braddock's expedition, which I enjoyed sitting in for about 20 minutes or so.
Ben Hull
I rushed back to catch the very tail end of his Knights in Light Armor: USMC Gulf War Tactics talk, but caught only the very, very last two minutes. Dang. He also gave a talk on 17th century armies, which I caught the front end of.
John Setear
A professor at the Univ. of VA Law School, I sat through two of his incredibly interesting lectures on international law: one on POWs (EPWs) and War Crimes, and the other on China and the P-3 Orion incident. They were fascinating looks at incidents from a different perspective.
Dustin Huber
Although suffering technical difficulties with the high-tech gear he brought, Matt Caffrey graciously loaned his setup so the show could go on. He spoke about "Future Force" and included a 20 minute video on infantry equipment the US Army is investigating. It's not exactly Star Wars computer graphics, but it got the point across.
Dr. J. Guilmartin: Keynote Speaker
He flew helicopters in Vietnam (120 missions), and participated in the Mayaguez operation, winnning two Silver Stars during his service days. He's also Professor of Military History at Ohio State, and he gave an overview of the Myaguez "rescue" in detail, including his personal observances during the operation. It was absolutely incredible to combine a historian's eye view of the operation with combat experience during the operation.
The operation was not exactly a smooth one, and he cataloged the mistakes as well as the inspiration that characterizes military combat.
Russ Lockwood
Yours truly gave a lecture: The Development of the Tank 1332-1918, using a wide variety of sources and illustrations. The full 9-part article is in the MagWeb.com WarLore section.
The program listed other speakers, most of which I was not in the building at the time of their lectures, so I can't say much. I will say that having one person be a master of ceremonies from 8 am to midnight every night certainly takes a lot out of you! It was great to meet the folks and attendees. We'll see what 2004 brings.
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