The Berlin Wall comes down ending the Cold War, NATO expands, and Russia gets nervous.

Roughly thirty years ago, the Cold War came to an end. This multi-generational struggle, which did not always remain “cold,” came to define the security environment and, arguably, the social milieu for much of the world’s population. It certainly was prominent in the life experiences of the contributing authors to this volume, perhaps beginning with “duck and cover” drills in schools to being surrounded by the ubiquitous “Fallout Shelter” signs on public buildings. For most of the authors, it also involved service in the armed forces both in active combat, for instance in Vietnam, and in units preparing for a hot war in Europe that, thankfully, never came. Their service also included time on staffs developing plans and policies to manage the military competition, and in arms control, working to reduce the chances of war. One thing all the authors share vis-à-vis the Cold War is the desire to study it, learn from it, and share their insights with others.

Mark R. Wilcox, Ph.D.(Lt. Colonel, U.S. Army retired) is a professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS. He served as a politico-military staff officer at the U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany; a Joint Chiefs of Staff representative to the United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, Austria; and a security cooperation liaison officer representing U.S. Central Command in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Sean N. Kalic, Ph.D. is Professor, Department of Military History, as well as Assistant Dean at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. A Cold War Historian, he lectures and publishes widely on topics such as the interwar period 1919-1939, the Cold War, the post-Cold War security environment, and transnational terrorism. He has presented lectures for the U.S. Naval War College, The Slovenian Armed Forces, U.S. Army Futures Command, and numerous international conferences.