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Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass was keynote speaker for the opening of an Enlisted Force Exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The exhibit, which contains nearly 50 elements, is placed throughout the four buildings and 10 galleries of the museum.
With the arrival of the jet age after World War II, the Air Force began purchasing equipment and using technical data for troubleshooting. However, when the Korean War began, the newly independent Air Force struggled to provide enough trained personnel. Maintainers served 12-month tours in Korea. When they gained proficiency with their aircraft, they returned to the U.S. and an inexperienced maintainer took over. Inadequate maintenance, combined with challenges such as rough runways, cold weather, and supply shortages, caused aircraft to deteriorate faster than expected. In response, the USAF used better-equipped facilities in nearby Japan for Rear Echelon Combined Maintenance Operation (RECMO), which proved successful.
This grand display of the Enlisted Force stands in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s Kettering Hall as a tribute to the backbone of the Department of the Air Force. The display shows the roles of Airmen past and present through photographs and video. Six mannequins display uniforms of Airmen from 1918 to 2019 and include a WWI mechanic, WWII public affairs specialist, Cold War police officer, Southeast Asia War flight engineer, Persian Gulf War aerial gunner, and Global War on Terrorism HALO parachutist.
The full exhibit, which contains nearly fifty elements, is placed throughout the 10 galleries of the museum.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force now has an exhibit highlighting the Department of the Air Force’s enlisted personnel.
The Enlisted Force Exhibit is the museum’s newest permanent exhibit and honors the highly skilled, trained, and talented enlisted force that has been the backbone of daily operations of the U.S. Department of the Air Force throughout its 76-year history.
To mark the exhibit opening, the museum hosted a private ceremony to honor exhibit contributors, museum staff and volunteers, and other special guests including Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass, Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force, John F. Bentivegna, and former Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force and Air Force Museum Foundation Vice Chair Gerald R. Murray.
“The men and women of our enlisted corps are not merely participants in the chronicles of our nation’s defense, but they are architects of history,” Bass said. “Our heritage is rooted in the ideals of integrity, service, and excellence. A tapestry woven with the threads of sacrifice and valor.”
Today, enlisted airmen and guardians represent approximately 80 percent of the Department of the Air Force and provide a solid foundation for operations in air, space, and cyberspace.
The Enlisted Force Exhibit took more than three years to develop and contains more than 40 elements that are thoughtfully placed throughout the museum at locations near the era or artifacts that correlate to their specialty.
Elements of the exhibit include:
— A display in the WWII Gallery featuring the story of Staff Sgt. James Meredith, who was one of the first black airmen to serve in an all-white squadron.
— An introduction to Enlisted Maintainers who work in all conditions at all hours to troubleshoot urgent repairs, overhaul complex systems, and closely inspect parts to prevent future problems in any number of areas including aerospace propulsion, electrical systems, weapons systems, and more.
— Insight into musical ambassadors who serve as musicians, arrangers, and audio engineers in the U.S. Air Force bands, providing inspirational performances to honor veterans and connect the public to the Department of the Air Force through music.
— The uniform worn by Sgt. Benjamin Fillinger, one of 15 airmen from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base who transferred into the U.S. Space Force in 2020. Space Force guardians are top performers in the fields of information technology, cyber security, communication systems, and space systems operations.
“Today’s Space Force is small. It’s just like the museum when it started as an engineering study collection, very small,” Bentivegna said. “But guardians are creating our Space Force history each and every day. And 100 years from now, the Enlisted Exhibit in the National Museum of the U.S. Air and Space Force, will be overflowing with that history that we’re making today.”
The Enlisted Force Exhibit is open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
