The Airborne & Special Operations Museum is in downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina, near Fort Bragg. The Airborne & Special Operations Museum, part of the United States Army Museum System, is the only military museum in the nation dedicated entirely to Army Airborne and Special Operations units.
The Airborne & Special Operations Museum features exhibits and memorabilia from the Airborne & Special Operations’ inception in 1940 to the present day. The museum showcases military history, equipment, technology, legend, art, and weaponry. Life-like wax figures add to the realism of the museum. An incorporated theater shows historical military footage, and there is a simulator ride. The museum hosts authors for book signings, memorial services for fallen soldiers, unit monument dedications, numerous reenlistment and retirement ceremonies, military briefings, seminars, weddings, receptions, and other community functions.
Built at a cost of $22.5 million, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum has become a catalyst for downtown revitalization in Fayetteville. The impressive 59,000 square-foot building features a 5,000 square-foot, five-story high lobby accented by natural lighting from glass walls. This state-of-the-art museum has become one of Fayetteville’s premier attractions.
Located just past the entranceway of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum is Fayetteville’s Veterans State Park, which is scheduled to open in July 2011. The plans for the park include a community plaza, reflective water pools, fountains, gardens, and two 25-foot-tall granite walls.
The Airborne & Special Operations Museum is operated in partnership with a non-profit foundation, aptly named the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation, and the Department of the Army. The museum’s foundation includes local business leaders as well as civic and government leaders.
Annual financial reports for the Airborne & Special Operations Museum’s 2008-2009 fiscal year report that over 100,000 people visited the museum during the fiscal year. Revenues received were $532,041, which include revenues from the gift shop, donation boxes, fees for movies, and fees for after-hours events. The Foundation also received $276,750 in grants from Cumberland County, the City of Fayetteville, the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Tourism and Development Authority, and the Fayetteville Arts Council.
The Airborne & Special Operations Museum, located at 100 Bragg Blvd., is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00AM until 5:00PM and Sundays from 12:00PM until 5:00PM. Admission is free, though donations are accepted. The theater has a $4 admission fee, and the simulator costs $5. The Museum is conveniently located just off I-95 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Military friendly Fayetteville is also home to the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum at Fort Bragg, the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory and Museum, Arsenal Park, and the JFK Special Warfare Museum, which spotlights the proud history of the Green Berets.
