Operation Think Tank was an all-day seminar on tanks and armored vehicles, with a particular focus on historical vehicles of the WW2 era. It was sponsored and organized by Wargamers North America, Inc, the company that runs the North American version of the World of Tanks MMO game.
It was a by-invitation event that took place at the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (MVTF) here in the SF Bay Area. I am guessing there were about 100 attendees, selected from the players of the WoT game. There was about 4 hours of panel discussion driven by questions from the audience (some provided in advance, some submitted during the event). The event was free to attendees, and the company even provided a lunch! Wow, what a deal!
But not to loose sight of the real value ... here is the panel that talked tanks all day:
From the left we have:
Steven Zaloga: noted author, ana-lyst and modeller.
Harry Yeide: noted author and foriegn affairs ana-lyst.
Hilary Doyle: noted author.
The Chieftain: Captain in the US 11th Cav, Wargamer's resident tank guru (and a buddy of mine
)David Fletcher, MBE: resident historian at the Royal Armoured Corps museum at Bovington.
Rob Griffin: noted author.
Kenneth Estes: noted author and historian.
Wow. Can't do much better than that! Sit for a day and listen to such an esteemed panel talk about tanks?!?! Mk 1 was a happy camper!
And of course after the panel discussion attendees were invited to tour the MVTF museum. That alone was worth the price of admission!
Many of you here know that I take great pleasure in meeting and getting to know authors and historians. I was in 7th heaven at this event.
Outdoors at the MVTF during lunch, you can see your buddy Mk1 chatting with Ken Estes and Steven Zaloga. Harry Yeide and David Fletcher are visible behind.
Here is yours truly discussion the MVTF's restored Panther with Steven Zaloga and noted military history author (and member of the MVTF board) Michael Green.
I've known Ken Estes for years, and consider him a friend. I hold his book "Marines Under Armor" in very high regard, but also have great respect for his less well-known thesis on foriegn members in the Waffen SS. I have met Michael Green on many occasions in the past, and even did some research and made some introductions for him for a couple of his books (on the M4 Sherman and M1 Abrams). I have corresponded with Harry Yeide and built some rapport with him, but this was my first occasion to meet him in person. This was also my first occasion to meet Steven Zaloga. I have about a million of his books
. David Fletcher was one of the stars in the panel. What a knowledgeable and amusing fellow! But all deserve great credit for their personable and knowledgeable presentations.
There will be a video of the whole seminar posted online eventually. But for now, all I have to offer are these few phone-cam pics. Hope y'all enjoyed these few pics.