By Rudy Purificato, AETC Command Curator
Photo courtesy of Ken Neal.

The Security Forces Museum at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas is now part of Air Education and Training Command’s (AETC) commitment to fostering Airman Character development. This action is part of Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh’s CAPSTONE initiative to inspire Airmen from all Air Force career fields by showcasing Air Force heritage and history.

Until the staff was in place, the museum was open only by appointment and for weekly technical training. The staff is now almost completely in place and the Security Forces collection is open four days a week. It is now open on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. It is closed on Wednesday. The hours mirror those for the collection in the Airman Heritage Museum.

Key members of AETC’s new heritage and history leadership team met in January and again in March with the Security Forces Museum Foundation board to outline plans to continue transforming the only Air Force museum dedicated to a single AFSC. The Foundation board learned that the facility will remain the Security Forces collection, but as an integral part of AETC’s umbrella organization: The Airman Heritage Museum and Character Development Center.

Ultimately, AETC’s heritage and history leadership team, which includes the new command curator, want to significantly improve communications with the Security Forces Foundation board regarding strategic planning in various areas including promotion of the museum to the Air Force and public, interaction with the Airman Heritage Museum Foundation regarding future plans for a new Airman Heritage Museum, and the development of new interactive high-technology exhibits. The goal is to keep the museum relevant to its audience and help in all aspects of AETC’s mission and inspire the next generation of defenders.

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