Mission

The mission of the Archive of Modern American Warfare is to encourage, promote, support and enhance the long term study and preservation of all aspects of America's diplomatic and military experiences and involvements on a global scale, beginning in 1975 and continuing to the present. Through this, the Archive strives to help researchers develop a better understanding of America’s modern military experiences.

Vision

The Archive of Modern American Warfare will develop closely following the proven procedures of the Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech University. The focus of the new Archive will be the period from 1975 to the present, with a concentration on, but not be limited to, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the Global War on Terrorism, Operations Provide Relief and Restore Hope, Operations Joint Forge and Joint Endeavor, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It will encompass issues regarding national security, military and government intelligence, homeland defense, the development of new military technologies, diplomacy, and the personal experiences of American servicemen and women.

The Archive will focus on gathering archival materials that document principal events of modern American warfare and the service men and women's experiences during this period. While the Archive accepts traditional archival material (e.g. letters, artifacts, analog photographs and videos), we are particularly interested in collecting digital material such as digital photographs, digital videos, emails, text messages, and digital documents. It is important that these digital materials are given the professional attention that they require as soon as possible before the technology required to render them becomes obsolete and the valuable historical information they contain becomes inaccessible.

The Archive must establish a close relationship with veterans' groups and individual veterans who have served in one or more of the modern conflicts, and enlist their support. This has proven to be a vital means of collection development as Vietnam veterans have greatly assisted the growth of the Vietnam Center.

Donor Survey

The Archive of Modern American Warfare is conducting a survey to determine the extent of records documenting veterans' experiences as well as veterans' willingness to donate. Please take the time to complete this survey.