The Cold War (1945-1991) with Dave Mills, Gates Brown and Sean Kalic from the Command and General Staff College

March 26–April 30 | 2–4 pm | In Person or Online – $40

Come learn about the diplomatic, informational, military, and economic actions that shaped history as the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in an ideological global struggle to gain and influence allies. We’ll also provide a detailed discussion on actions taken by the United States and the Soviet Union as they sought strategic advantage, the withering of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War.

The six lesson course will detail the history and evolution of the Cold War from 1945 to 1991.  This course has three major objectives. The first objective is to provide an understanding of the diplomatic, informational, military, and economic actions that shaped the period 1945-1991 as the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an ideological global struggle to gain and influence allies. The second objective is to provide a detailed understanding of actions taken by the United States and the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War as they attempted to achieve a strategic advantage specific topics covered will be (The Iron Curtain, the Berlin Blockade, The Marshall Plan, the formation of NATO, Korean War, the Space Race, the kitchen debate, Cuba, Vietnam, Nuclear strategy, Red Spring, Détente, Helsinki Accords/Human Rights, Strategic Defense Initiative, the Withering of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War.) Each instructor will cover two lessons, associated with their research and expertise, as all three professors are subject matters experts on the history of the Cold War and have published widely on the various topics and periods listed above

Lesson 1: What Went Wrong? Comrades, Occupied Germany, and the Iron Curtain, 1917-1948  (Dr. Mills)

Lesson 2: The Cold War Begins: The Marshall Plan, Berlin, and NATO, 1946-1949 (Dr. Mills)

Lesson 3: Changes abroad and challenges at home: the Cold War in the 1950s (Dr. Brown)

Lesson 4: Winning hearts and minds at home and abroad: Vietnam, Mutually Assured Destruction, and the challenges of ideological warfare1960-1969 (Dr. Brown)

Lesson 5: A Thaw or Third World Adventurism? Détente, Nixon, Carter, and Brezhnev, 1969-1980 (Dr. Kalic)

Lesson 6: The Denouement of the Cold War: Reagan, SDI, and Gorbachev 1981-1991 (Dr. Kalic)

Command and General Staff College Instructors

Gates Brown is an Associate Professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His main research focus is the Cold War. He earned his doctorate from the University of Kansas. He served in the United States Army and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Dave Mills is an associate professor at the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he teaches military history to senior Captains and Majors from each branch of the military. He spent ten years in the United States Army, then moved on to academia. He holds a PhD from North Dakota State University and is the author of three books on military and Cold War history. He was also a Fulbright Scholar, where he taught in Russia for six months, teaching American history to Russians. His current research project is through the Minnesota Historical Society and examines the Cold War in that state. He has been married to his wife, Ann, for almost 33 years, and they have three grown sons, two daughters in law, and two grandchildren.

Sean N. Kalic is a Cold War historian. He lectures and publishes widely on topics such as U.S. space policy, the Cold War, the post-Cold War security environment, and transnational terrorism. Prior to CGSC, he taught at Youngstown State University, Kansas State University, and Norwich University.  He has presented lectures for the U.S. Naval War College’s Fleet Seminar Program, The Slovenian General Staff, The Slovenian Command and General Staff College, The U.S. Army’s Futures Command, as well as numerous international conferences. Currently, he is a Professor, and serves as the Director, of the Department of Military History at the US Army Command and General Staff College where he has taught since 2004.