The Secret of Seeing Charlie in the Dark: The Starlight Scope, Techno-anxiety, and the Spectral Mediation of the Enemy in the Vietnam War (October 2017)
The introduction of night vision technology during the Vietnam War transformed how U.S. military men and their communist enemies fought at night. The starlight scope’s seemingly miraculous light-amplifying powers made hitherto unseen targets easier to see. And as sole possessor of this new technology, American soldiers had a profound tactical advantage operating at night. But they also paid a price for this new edge. Burdened by the scope’s weight, untested technology, and extreme secrecy, these servicemen suffered. They endured physical, psychological, and emotional stress unforeseen by the military leaders who pushed for the scope’s development during the Cold War. The new rifle-mounted scope figuratively transformed night into day, and, paradoxically, made it harder for many American soldiers to pull the trigger.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Book
Hoffman, Jon T.;
(2009)
A History of Innovation: U.S. Army Adaptation in War and Peace
(/isis/citation/CBB001212768/)
Thesis
Haworth, William B.;
(1995)
The Bradley and how it got that way: Mechanized infantry organization and equipment in the United States Army
(/isis/citation/CBB001565522/)
Chapter
Antonius C G. M. Robben;
(2013)
The Hostile Gaze: Night Vision and the Immediation of Nocturnal Combat in Vietnam and Iraq
(/isis/citation/CBB302972270/)
Book
Lori A. Henning;
(2019)
Harnessing the Airplane: American and British Cavalry Responses to a New Technology, 1903-1939
(/isis/citation/CBB246948205/)
Book
Bridger, Sarah;
(2015)
Scientists at War: The Ethics of Cold War Weapons Research
(/isis/citation/CBB001551957/)
Article
Gross, Rachel S.;
(April 2019)
Layering for a Cold War: The M-1943 Combat System, Military Testing, and Clothing as Technology
(/isis/citation/CBB312384599/)
Article
Brown, Gates M.;
(December 2019)
Technology’s Unrealistic Promise: The US Army in the 1950s and Technological Determinism
(/isis/citation/CBB875270366/)
Book
Norman M. Camp;
(2015)
US Army Psychiatry in the Vietnam War: New Challenges in Extended Counterinsurgency Warfare
(/isis/citation/CBB642381991/)
Book
Matthew C. Ford;
(2017)
Weapon of choice: Small arms and the culture of military innovation
(/isis/citation/CBB009123351/)
Article
Hilaker, Harry J.;
(Spring 2004)
Technology and the F-16 Fighting Falcon Jet Fighter
(/isis/citation/CBB335649248/)
Article
Bedwell, Don;
(2007)
Where Am I?
(/isis/citation/CBB021912380/)
Book
Field, Alexander J;
(2011)
A Great Leap Forward: 1930s Depression and U.S. Economic Growth
(/isis/citation/CBB001421343/)
Book
Frandsen, Bert;
(2003)
Hat in the Ring: The Birth of American Air Power in the Great War
(/isis/citation/CBB000830917/)
Article
Whitcomb, Darrel;
(2011)
Pave Nail: There at the Beginning of the Precision Weapons Revolution
(/isis/citation/CBB001250076/)
Article
Parmentola, John A.;
(Fall 2004)
Army Transformation: Paradigm-Shifting Capabilities through Biotechnology
(/isis/citation/CBB828046022/)
Article
Angevine, Robert G.;
(2001)
Individuals, Organizations, and Engineering: U.S. Army Officers and the American Railroads, 1827-1838
(/isis/citation/CBB000100974/)
Book
Mahnken, Thomas G.;
(2008)
Technology and the American Way of War since 1945
(/isis/citation/CBB001230638/)
Book
Peter E. Davies;
(2021)
B/EB-66 Destroyer Units in Combat
(/isis/citation/CBB813243626/)
Article
Wahlberg, Ayo;
(2014)
Herbs, Laboratories, and Revolution: On the Making of a National Medicine in Vietnam
(/isis/citation/CBB001450050/)
Article
Robert J. Kodosky;
(Fall 2017)
Leaflets, Loudspeakers and Radios, Oh, My!
(/isis/citation/CBB386607509/)
Be the first to comment!