Vietnamese-American Civil Affairs Master Sergeant Explores Roots and Strengthens Disaster Preparedness Through Pacific Partnership

QUANG TRI, Vietnam – With the conclusion of the Pacific Partnership 2026 (PP26) 4-day irrigation and flooding management workshop in Quang Tri, Vietnam on July 2, U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Master Sgt. Tony Dang feels he has come full circle with his 27-year career, and with his personal journey as a Vietnamese-American.

For Dang, a veteran Civil Affairs branch non-commissioned officer, leading the workshop as the PP26 Disaster Management Line of Effort Lead Planner was more than just a mission. It was an opportunity to reconnect with the country he had lost touch with for 40 years, and for his disaster management expertise to have a tangible effect on the place where he was born.

“It’s so meaningful that before I retire, I am able to retrace my roots, and learn and connect with my people,” says Dang. “To a limited capacity, I understand the hardships that Vietnamese people have when it comes to flooding, especially in the rural areas. So it is a pleasant surprise for me that I have the opportunity to work side-by-side with the Vietnamese government to better prepare for disasters here.”

Dang was born in Vietnam in 1981, and his family first came to the U.S. when he was 4 years old. His first memory, rather than of Vietnam, is of living in Biloxi, Mississippi.

“We were poor,” says Dang. “I remember back then, we didn’t ask for an allowance, new clothes, or even new shoes for school. Sometimes, we were so cold in the mornings, but we didn’t even consider turning on the heat because my siblings and I knew that we didn’t have enough money for it. So instead, we all huddled in one blanket to keep warm.”

In Biloxi, the family of six, Dang, his three siblings, and his mother and father, were part of the wave of Vietnamese refugees who came to the Mississippi coast in the 1980s. Biloxi became known for its booming fish, shrimp, and oyster factories, bolstered by laborers including Dang’s parents, who he says worked “day and night” to support the family.

Among other childhood memories, Dang remembers his mother having to pick through trash cans and cut the rot from discarded fruit. He remembers as a child, he would make a point to visit the church across the street from his school because they always gave him juice, a treat his family was not able to afford.

Dang recounts, “as I grew up and gained more awareness of how hard life was for my mom and dad, the more I understood how hard their life was. Because of this, I became more and more independent and developed a mindset where I felt ashamed if I asked them for anything. This was one of the main reasons why I joined the Army, for the education benefits.”

Dang joined USAR on June 16, 1999 through the Split Training Option program and graduated from Norwich University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management,.

In the course of his long career with the USAR, Dang was mobilized to Afghanistan, Kuwait, Europe, Hawaii, and the Republic of Korea as a civil affairs specialist. He was responsible for coordination with host nation governments, interagency partners, and multinational organizations in support of civil-military operations and disaster management.

“In Afghanistan, I saw a lot of combat,” says Dang. “As part of civil affairs, I learned to win hearts and minds there. As a refugee myself, I was able to relate to the locals and the difficulties they faced. In Kuwait, I was the Directorate of Host Nations Affairs. I learned that I needed to maintain good relationships with the people I worked with in an official capacity by getting to know them at a personal level.”

Dang also personally witnessed the growth of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship over the years, working with a Vietnamese official for the first time during the 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in Hawaii. This marked the very first time Vietnam participated in the exercise.

“Growing up, my father didn’t see the Vietnamese government in a good light,” says Dang. “But being able to eat pho with the Vietnamese Battle Captain for that year’s RIMPAC was a very meaningful event in my life.”

Dang’s next assignment was with the Civil-Military Operations Directorate for Combined Forces Command in the Republic of Korea. As his first tour in Southeast Asia, the proximity finally allowed Dang to return briefly to Vietnam on leave.

“Returning to Vietnam after four decades was both exciting and humbling,” says Dang. “It gave me an opportunity to reconnect with family, culture and a part of my identity that I had not fully explored.”

The opportunity to lend his expertise to PP26 was another act of serendipity. Through his military education benefits, Dang is currently enrolled in the Vietnam Executive MBA (VEMBA) program at Shidler College of Business University of Hawaii (UH) in Manoa. The program exists within the partnership between UH and Van Lang University in Ho Chi Minh City, allowing Dang to study abroad in Vietnam.

“I am in an environment where I am using my Vietnamese more,” says Dang. “When I interact with the other students, I am able to pick up, learn and be exposed to the technical terms of business management and finance in the Vietnamese language.”

For Pacific Partnership 2026, Dang’s disaster management team is working with the Quang Tri Sub-Department of Irrigation and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. He hopes his workshop allows collaboration with Vietnam to assess infrastructure as it relates to flooding in order to improve capability to deliver clean water to the majority of people in village centers, schools, and hospitals in times of crisis.

“The circle is complete,” says Dang. “All these years and all my experiences prepared me for this. I left because of conflict and disaster during the war, and now I am back to help prepare for and respond to disasters. If it wasn’t for the past, I wouldn’t have had an education from the U.S., I wouldn’t have joined the Army, I wouldn’t have gotten to travel the world, go on official missions, nor would I be here in Vietnam with Pacific Partnership and getting my MBA. It’s ironic, but the Almighty set it up that way.”

Dang plans to retire from the USAR following PP26 and transition into continued international engagement and strategic initiatives supporting U.S.–Vietnam cooperation.

“Throughout my life, I have found myself standing between two worlds,” says Dang. “Vietnam, the land of my birth and heritage, and the United States, the country that gave me opportunity and purpose. The U.S. military is the only military in the world who can provide this type of experience. From my heart and with great sincerity, I thank the U.S. military and Pacific Partnership for giving me the experiences and opportunities that eventually led me to reconnect with Vietnam, where I’m from. Without them, I would not have even thought about it.”

Now in its 20th year and 22nd iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Through collaboration with host and partner nations, the mission enhances regional preparedness, strengthens interoperability and disaster response capabilities, and fosters new and enduring friendships and partnerships directly contributing to regional security and stability.

For more information about Pacific Partnership visit www.facebook.com/pacificpartnership, www.instagram.com/pacific_partnership/ or https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/PacificPartnership.