Brig. Gen. Viet Luong visits USC to inspire ROTC students

Emily Gersema/USC NEWS

As an alumnus of the University of Southern California, Brig. Gen. Viet Luong has a lot of wisdom to impart to the new generation of ROTC students enrolled at the university.  A graduate of biological sciences from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Luong in 2014 was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, becoming the first Vietnamese-born American to have earned the fifth-highest rank in the Army.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (L) walks with U.S. Army General Viet Luong (2nd L) as Carter arrives at Kandahar Airfield on February 22, 2015 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst-Pool/Getty Images)

Last week, Luong paid his respects to the university and its ROTC program, which gave him the foundation for a successful career in the U.S. military. He also attended the university’s annual dinner for veterans and ROTC students.

Forty men and women are currently in the USC Reserve Officers’ Training Corps – a program that has existed at USC since 1940. Luong recalled that when he was in the USC ROTC from 1983 to 1987, he was the only immigrant cadet – a difference of which he was aware almost daily.

For Luong and his family, opportunity has been a life saver. He, his father, mother and seven sisters fled Saigon for the United States a day before the North Vietnamese took over the city on April 30, 1975. The family found safety on the USS Hancock in the South China Sea. From there, they and thousands of other refugees made their way to the United States as part of Operation Frequent Wind, a political asylum program.

While standing on the aircraft carrier, Luong said he knew that he would serve in the U.S. military. Doing so also continued the legacy of service in his family. His father and uncles had all served in the South Vietnamese military. Like them, he said, he ended up specializing in combat.

To read more, click here:
http://news.usc.edu/97768/usc-alum-an-army-brigadier-general-shares-his-tale-of-success-with-cadets/