General Lessons of the Vietnam War
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Is war an unchangeable and permanent part of the human experience? Why?
Compare and contrast the experiences of two soldier-protagonists from war novels and/or memoirs that
we have read this semester (Kovic, Ninh, Lifton, Grossman, Hallock, for example). How do their
commonalities or differences affect your understanding of the Vietnam conflict?
Show how your participation in this course has influenced your desire to rely on violence to protect
yourself whether directly (carry a gun) or indirectly (support wars). Has your participation reinforced
your original, pre-course position or has it altered your pre-course position?
Identify a relevant current event and show whether or not there is evidence of the application of a
lesson from the Vietnam War in that event.
What are the most significan lessons to be learned from the Vietnam War? Demonstrate your
comprehension of the complexity of these lessons by showing how they might actually be false
lessons. In other words, how might the context of the Vietnam War differ from the Global War on
Terror enough that the lesson does not apply.
Identify three lessons that should be learned from the US experience in Vietnam. Who most needs to
learn each lesson (The US Military Organization; individual soldiers; the American people)? Why?
Define the general strategy, “winning the hearts and minds.” Is this an appropriate mission for our
military? Why or why not? How does this effort conflict with total war strategy?
Are we fighting a total or limited war today? What are the pros and cons of choosing to fight limited
wars?
Cite five human “secondary costs” of war other than the obvious or “primary costs” (individual death,
bodily harm, emotional harm).
What are the pros and cons of the draft? Do you support the system currently in-place (Volunteer
Force, Involuntary extensions for service members, multiple deployments for Reserve and National
Guard, heavy use of private soldiers)? What changes do you propose that would improve our current
system?
Do you believe the American people live in a credibility gap today? Compare and contrast the relation
of the people to their leaders today and forty years ago.
Atrocity
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Do you think atrocity is a permanent part of war? Why or why not?
What are the Milgram and Stanford Prison experiments? How do they help to clarify the actions of
those who do (or do not) commit atrocities in conditions of warfare?
Explain Zimbardo’s use of the “Apple Barrel” metaphor. Why is his reconsideration of this metaphor
important in understanding wartime atrocity? Do you agree with Zimbardo’s characterization of why
wartime atrocities occur?
Why was Lieutenant Calley convicted for his conduct at My Lai?
What are Lieutenant Calley’s strongest defenses for his conduct at My Lai?
What makes atrocity so bad, compared to ‘un-atrocious’ killing?
How do we stop atrocity?
Veterans and War Stress
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What are the most significant effects of war stress and post-traumatic stress disorder on veteran’s
lives?
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What are some things that you can do as an individual to help a veteran friend re-integrate into civilian
life?
What are some things that we can do as a society to help our veteran citizens re-integrate into civilian
life?
If you could speak to a group of Vietnam Veterans, what message would you say?
Blackwater and PMCs: Considerations and Issues
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List three issues related to privatization of the military. For each issue, discuss how the issue supports
the case for privatizing. Also, show how the issue detracts from the case.
Briefly describe a plan for assessing the overall contribution privatization makes to the defense of the
United States. Your plan should list at least two questions that must be answered in order to arrive at an
assessment.
Some would state that the rise of companies such as Blackwater is one consequence of the American
experience of the Vietnam War. Explain this rationale. Identify and discuss two elements of this
rationale.
Imagine that your uncle is a Vietnam veteran, who knows you are taking this course. He wants to know
more about the company, Blackwater, and asks for your opinion of the book. Review Blackwater and
its author Jeremy Scahill. Offer a critique of Scahill, assessing his motive for writing the book, his
slant and overriding themes. List and assess at least two of Scahill’s criticisms of the company
Blackwater.
One stated concern of the privatization of soldiering involves oversight, accountability and
responsibility. Private soldiers are held to a different standard than are government soldiers. Discuss
the differences. Include consideration of what happens during operations where a mix of private and
government soldiers are involved.
Critics cite the “subversion of national sovereignty” as one danger of military privatization. Assess this
danger.
Relative to government militaries, PMCs have a smaller footprint, lower -profile. How can this be a
positive characteristic? How can this be a negative characteristic?
Some say PMCs are profit-driven. How is this good? How is this bad?
Erik Prince offers a public image that he and his company, Blackwater (XE, Academy, etc.), are doing
a good thing for the United States and for the world. Regardless of your personal opinion, adopt
Prince’s position and defend it. You must persuade the reader about Prince’s character and the benefits
of employing Blackwater.
What is a “mercenary”? Is Blackwater a mercenary company? Are Blackwater employees
mercenaries? Why does mercenary status matter?
PMCs can serve the country in many different roles. Here are some of the typical roles: train US and
allied military personnel (Moyock, NC); secure ambassadors and other high-valued targets (Bremer);
provide logistical support to military units (KBR); conduct overt combat operations; conduct covert
combat operations; conduct domestic security operations (Katrina); conduct US border security
operations (Mexican border); protect US corporate assets overseas (Somali pirates; petroleum
company assets); conduct UN peacekeeping operations (Darfur). In which roles do you think they
should be employed? In which roles should they not be employed? Justify your answer(s).