The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force recently received the Air Force Association‘s (AFA) 2016 Hoyt S. Vandenberg Award in recognition of the museum’s outstanding contributions to aerospace education.Museum Director Lt Gen (Ret) Jack Hudson accepted the award presented by Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James during the AFA’s 2016 Air, Space and Cyber Conference held in National Harbor, Maryland. Also present were U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen David L. Goldfein and Mr. Scott P. Van Cleef, AFA Chairman of the Board.
The award recognizes the museum’s “unique exhibits and collections” and its continual improvement to “preserve Air Force history and honor Airmen.” In announcing the award to the museum, Van Cleef said “We applaud your dedication to collecting, researching, conserving, interpreting and presenting the Air Force’s history, heritage, and traditions, and for the opening of the fourth hangar this year at the museum.”
In June 2016, the museum opened its new $40.8 million 224,000 square ft. fourth building, which houses more than 70 aerospace vehicles in four new galleries – Presidential, Research and Development, Space and Global Reach, along with three science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Learning Nodes. “It is a great honor for the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force to join the impressive list of Hoyt S. Vandenberg award recipients,” said Hudson.“The museum works hard to inspire youth toward our Air Force and STEM through our education programs and we generate more than 160,000 educational encounters annually. With our new STEM Learning Nodes, we can better accommodate student-centered, technology-enhanced learning through hands-on programs, demonstrations and lectures. And the new fourth building adds tremendously to the museum’s existing galleries, furthering enhancing our ability to tell the Air Force story.”
The Vandenberg Award, one of AFA’s highest honors, was established in 1948 and past recipients include General Carl A. Spaatz, first U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff (1951); Lt. Gen James H. Doolittle, USAF, Ret (1953); Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB (1980); and HQ Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Technical Training Division, Randolph AFB, Texas (2003).
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
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Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
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