We are pleased to publish the video of the Masterclass lectured by Dr. Kirklin Bateman within the framework of the Area on Security and Defense and the Master’s Degree in Military History of INISEG, the International Institute for Studies on Global Security, and FUINMA, the International University Foundation of Madrid.

During the Vietnam War, U.S. Marines established a forward base just 14 miles south of the demilitarized zone (17th parallel) separating the two Vietnams, near the village of Khe Sanh. In early 1968, the Khe Sanh military outpost came to the world’s attention when its approximately 6,000 defenders were attacked and besieged by 3 regiments (nearly 20,000 troops) of the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong. During the 77 days that the siege lasted, the Marines found themselves isolated and desperately outnumbered.

Dr. Kirklin Bateman is a historian and researcher on the Vietnam War. He holds a B.A. in History from University of Kansas and both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in History from George Mason University. He is also a 2002 graduate of the US Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting.

He was principal author of the 2004 and 2005 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Risk Assessment of the National Military Strategy and was a member of the writing team of the 2004 National Military Strategy and 2005 National Defense Strategy.

Dr. Bateman has twelve years of experience in teaching, curriculum development and academic leadership in Professional Military Education and Joint Professional Military Education programs at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. He retired as a colonel in 2013 after twenty-five years of commissioned service.

Blog GRIP will keep publishing a selection of Masterclasses and lectures on military history and military conflicts, with a special emphasis, albeit not exclusive, on the Vietnam War (the Second Indochina War), direct consequence and legacy of the First Indochina War, a conflict taught by Professor Juanjo Alarcón in the Master’s Degree in Contemporary Military Conflicts, whose video presentation is also available on Blog Grip. Incidentally, Prof. Juanjo Alarcón is the host of these lectures.

We really hope that this series of selected lectures may spark your interest in the topics presented in each one of them. And since they are all part of the Area on Security and Defense and the Master’s Degree in Military History of INISEG, we provide you with the links to INISEG’s academic offer directly related to the lectures we publish: