Where
Old Bust Head Brewing Company 7134 Farm Station Road
Warrenton, VA 20187
Driving Directions
Mike Winters
AFA Gabriel Chapter #433
703-409-7474
va433.gabriel@afa.org
Air Force Association
Gabriel Chapter #433
Notification
Cold War Museum Presentation
Former Army Security Agency NCO
Lonnie Long
& Former Air Force Security Service Member Gary Blackburn
"By Order of the President: The Army Security Agency's Secret War in Vietnam: 1961-1973"
& Cold War Museum Tour
October 20, 2019
The AFA Gabriel Chapter wants to let you know about a presentation at our AFA Community Partner, the Cold War Museum. The guest speakers are fomer Army Security Agency NCO Lonnie Long and former Air Force Security Service member Gary Blackburn.
In early May 1961, soldiers of the Uinted States Army Security Agency arrived in Vietnam under an Executive Order signed by President John F. Kennedy. Every man carried copies of his orders and records in an identical brown Manila envelope, and each man's medical records were stamped "If injured or killed in combat, report as training accident in the Philippines." In such clandestine fashion, the first fully operational U.S. military unit arrived in Southeast Asia. This singular event marked the beginning of a transition from strategic Cold War to tactical intelligence. Some lessons learned during the Korean War would be used, but most were forgotten or ignored.
Gary Blackburn and Lonnie Long, co-authors of the book UNLIKELY WARRIORS: The Army Security Agency's Secret War in Vietnam 1961-1973, will discuss the history of signals intelligence, the Army Security Agency, and Air Force Security Service during the transition from Cold War to tactical military operations, and their personal experiences in Taiwan (Cold War) and Vietnam. They will discuss the problems that were encountered, along with the successes and failures of the various units.
Gary B. Blackburn is a native Iowan and served with the U.S. Air Force Security Service from April 1961 to November 1964. He studied Chinese at the Institute of Far Eastern Languages - Yale University, and Technical Chinese at Goodfellow AFB, Texas. He is a graduate of John Wesley University in High Point, North Carolina, and is retired from Eastern Air Lines and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He served as Commandant of Cadets and Vice-President/Director of Public Relations and Alumni Affairs at Oak Ridge Military Academy, Oak Ridge, North Carolina. For more information about Gary, see the link below.
Lonnie M. Long was born in North Carolina and served with the U.S. Army Security Agency from August 1962 to November 1965. Afrer completion of his ASA training at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts, Lonnie began a fifteen-month tour with the 76th Special Operations Unit at Shu Lin Kou Air Station, Taiwan. Lonnie is a graduate of the University of Miami and the Wharton Executive Education Program, University of Pennsylvania. He is retired from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America and is a published author. For more information about Lonnie, see the link below.
To Register for this event, and obtain more information: To Register -- Secret War in Vietnam
The museum has requested that AFA members SIGN UP for tickets IN ADVANCE, so that the museum can plan for the number of attendees with Old Bust Head.
The timeline is:
* 1330-1400 - Participants arrive; they may get their beer or other drink at this time.
* 1400-1410 - Jason Hall, Executive Director of the Cold War Museum, introduces the Museum, then Gary and Lonnie.
* 1410 -1530 - Gary and Lonnie present on the Army Security Agency's secret war in Vietnam.
* 1530-1600 - Q&A opportunity for the audience.
* 1600-1700 - The Museum (next door) will be open for event participants, with staff providing a tour for those interested.
The cost is $35, including the presentation; a $7 coupon toward a craft beer draft, Kombucha, or other drink; a $10 contribution to the Cold War Museum; and special access to the Museum (next door) for the events participants following the presentation. Tickets at the door, if available, will be $45.
For the kids, the appropriate drinks will be available.
Chapter links:
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AFAGabrielChapter/
We're also on Linkedin: Linkedin
