Thomas B. Vaughn

Colonel Thomas B. Vaughn was born in McMinnville, TN on 8 August 1938. He attended public schools there, graduating from City High School in 1958. He began his military career as a Private in the Tennessee Army National Guard. He later joined the Regular Army and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6) in the Infantry. Selected to attend Infantry Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning, GA, he graduated with honors from OCS in March 1962. | Colonel Vaughn has served in a variety of command and staff assignments to include duty with the 1st Cavalry Division in Korea, the 2nd Armored Division in Texas, the 1st Infantry Division in Kansas and Germany as well as the 23rd Infantry Division in Vietnam and the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. He has led units ranging from a 5-man Infantry fire team to a thousand-man combined arms task force and has served as a staff officer at battalion, brigade, division and post levels. From 1972 to 1975, he worked at Headquarters, Department of the Army as a Personnel Management Officer. In 1975, he joined the Office of the Secretary of the Army where he worked as a Legislative Liaison Officer in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. In February 1977, Colonel Vaughn assumed command of the 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment in Hawaii. He relinquished command in August 1978 and became Executive Officer, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. He returned to the mainland in 1979 and assumed duties as Professor of Military Science and Head of the Military Science Department at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. | Colonel Vaughn is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, the Defense Language Institute, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and the University of Kansas Graduate School of Political Science. He has written numerous articles, essays and reviews on military topics and was recently named a Fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. | His Awards and Decorations include: Bronze Star w/V and 4 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal w/V and 7 Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal w/3 Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Commendation Medal w/2 Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry w/Silver Star, Vietnamese Honor Medal First Class, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, Army General Staff Identification Badge.