JFK Special Warfare Museum may close

[cbtengr]

The following info is taken from the latest issue of the "Museum Musings" a publication of the U.S. Army JFK Special Warfare Museum Association. The association president Bill Palmer gave a heads up as to the museums being taken down in FY 2014 to make room for a new Special Warfare Center and School there at Ft. Bragg. It seems at this time that the Army has no plans to move or incorporate the present Museum into the new facility. The present Museum is the branch museum for Special Forces, Civil Affairs and MilitaryInformation Support. And according to Bill if the museum closes "we will be the only branch school without a museum in the Army."

I find it hard to believe that the Army would intentionally close the museum. Someone obviously dropped the ball on this. I would be happy to do whatever I could to help bring this to the attention of those who can rectify this matter, any suggestions from those of you who are closer to the situation?

[abc_123]

Got the below forwarded to me as an attachment via the SFA:

UNITED STATES ARMY JOHN F. KENNEDY SPECIAL WARFARE CENTER AND SCHOOL
3004 ARDENNES STREET, STOP A
FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA 28310-9610


Office of the Commanding General


Dear Museum Association Members,

I was deeply troubled by the January 2012 newsletter, which compelled me to write and address the rumors circulating about the JFK Special Warfare Museum. To begin, preserving our museum and its artifacts is a principle concern on mine and all the men and women who comprise the Special Warfare Center and School. Indeed, our artifacts remind us of the past, offering a physical representation of our heritage. What’s more, they distinguish who we are today, and, as such, maintaining the museum is of critical importance to the command.

Currently, our museum is housed in an 1,800-square-feet facility, which only holds approximately 20 percent of our artifacts. I view this as a disservice not only to the members of our regiments who have donated important pieces of our collective history, but also to the public and our students who are prevented from fully enjoying the many displays the JFK Special Warfare Museum could offer. For this reason, we must have a new museum – one that can appropriately and sufficiently display our history; and one in which every member of our three regiments can take great pride.

Creating a state-of-the-art museum is exactly what we intend to do: My command is in the process of developing a multi-course plan to shepherd the museum’s relocation, revitalization and expansion. To that end, I have assigned a field-grade officer to act as a liaison and to serve as lead planner on the museum project. I anticipate presenting all plans under discussion at an upcoming association meeting (or sooner if possible), and, at that time, I would welcome any feedback or ideas you may have about this exciting initiative.

In the meantime, we remain focused on raising awareness as to the importance of the museum by assigning additional service members to supplement the outstanding work of the museum staff. These service members with the support of association volunteers, for example, have built display cases, arranged artifacts and provided overall area beautification on museum grounds. You can be confident my command will continue to stress the importance of becoming more familiar with our history by incorporating a museum tour in all of our student training schedules.

As the museum revitalization initiative unfolds, honoring our history and preserving our artifacts will guide the process. I look forward to being a part of this exciting next chapter in the USA JFK Special Warfare Center and School’s history.

Respectfully,



Major General Bennet Sacolic

[Richard]

For you young guys, the JFK Museum was a sweet deal for those of us pulling guard duty before it was moved into its current location.

It was housed in one of the tiny, old wooden orderly room buildings along Gruber Road next to the 7th SFG's Alamo Parade Field. If you were chosen as the 'supernumerary' (2nd sharpest person standing guard mount), you were released after guard mount and had to be back about 30 minutes before the museum closed to be briefed by the curator before being locked in for the night (with a cot, a pillow, a blanket, and a TV set) to ensure nobody broke in to steal any of the weapons displayed in there.

The best part was that you were off the next day vs the guy who was chosen Soldier of the Day and had to report to the JFKCENMA CSM the next morning to run errands and keep his coffee pot topped off for the full duty day.

Richard

[Iraqgunz]

Damn, I hope it gets resolved. I enjoyed my trip there back in 2006. Rest assured that if I ever win the Powerball I will pay for the museum myself to ensure that it never fades away.

[The Reaper]

The museum building is going to be leveled and built on a long time before any new structure is erected for the museum.

OTOH, the current museum is a poor representation of the history of SF, CA, and PSYOP (MISO). In comparison to the 82nd museum, or better yet, the Infantry museum, it is tiny, cramped, and poorly laid out.

If construction funds could be had to erect an appropriate building in the Smoke Bomb Hill area, it could be worth the move.

I seriously doubt that a Major or even an LTC is going to make this happen as an additional duty.

TR