Military History Lectures and Events held at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, brought to you in podcast form. Our lecturers are scholars, soldiers, and authors who are speaking to a U.S. Army audience about military history and the history of war.
Dr. Robert F. Williams, Army University Press Research Historian & author, delivers his lecture titled “The Airborne Mafia: Organizational Culture and Institutional Change in the Cold War US Army” at the United States Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC).
The lecture explores how a small group of World War II airborne officers took control of the US Army after World War II. Dominating institutional thought and imparting their values, beliefs, and norms throughout the service they enjoyed a special privilege within the group culture. Focusing on the paratrooper triumvirate of Matthew Ridgway, Maxwell Taylor, and James Gavin and the lasting impression they made on how the US Army fought.
18 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT
Strike Cell
Major Brennan Deveraux a U.S. Army strategist serving as a national security researcher at the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, delivers his lecture, "Strike Cell: Exterminating ISIS during Operation Inherent Resolve".The lecture will explore Major Deveraux’s 2016 deployment to Iraq as the theater-level rocket artillery liaison in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The presentation covers critical themes of, employing emerging technologies, airspace deconfliction on a modern battlefield, collateral damage in urban warfare, the dehumanization of the enemy, and the impact of “virtual warfare” on service members and will conclude looking to the future and a tie-in to modern conflicts from the transparent battlefield to the controversial components of drone strikes.Major Brennan Deveraux has three defense-related master’s degrees and focuses his research on military adaptation, emerging-technology management, and the characteristics of future warfare. Deveraux is the author of numerous books; his most recent book is the war memoir Exterminating ISIS: Behind the Curtain of a Technological War.
26 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT
Patton's Finest Hours
The General Omar N. Bradley Memorial Lecture, Patton's Finest Hours, explores how Third Army commander George S Patton performed at his very best during the deadliest battle of WW2 for the US Army. Alex Kershaw is a journalist and a New York Times bestselling author of books on World War II. Born in York, England, he is a graduate of Oxford University and has lived in the United States since 1994.
Inside a recent episode
Airborne Mafia
Published 8 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Matthew Bunker Ridgeway, Maxwell Davenport Taylor, and James Maurice Gavin. I say those because apparently you have to have an incredible middle name to be an airborne mafia pioneer. All incredible. But anyways, Ridgway, Taylor, Gavin, and their colleagues answered Franklin's question. They built that force, they shaped that doctrine, and transformed the institution. My math might be wrong here. 86 years later, after the first American paratrooper volunteered for duty, their legacy remains. Not necessarily in museums, although I think you still have the jump simulator. It's incredible. When I was researching, I'd come do that just to get motivated before I go to the archives. […]
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