On May 1, the National Museum of the US Air Force will shutter its Presidential Gallery and its Research and Development Gallery “until further notice” due to the budget cutbacks resulting from sequestration, according to a museum release. “This was not an easy decision, as we have several popular exhibits in the Presidential and R&D Galleries, including President Kennedy’s Air Force One and the XB-70 Valkyrie,” said Museum Director Jack Hudson in the April 2 release. “Our goal has been to make every effort to maintain museum operations to the maximum extent possible, and we hope to reopen these galleries as soon as possible,” he said. The museum will remain open during normal business hours, and the Air Force and Air Force Museum Foundation will fund the utility costs each day the museum is open, according to the release. “These are challenging times,” said Hudson. “However, we will continue our mission of sharing the Air Force story with the public and inspiring our youth.” (Dayton report by Rob Bardua) (Museum website)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. still “believes” in his mantra of “Accelerate Change or Lose”—and indicated the doctrinal changes it produced when he was Air Force Chief of Staff played a role in the service’s recent response to Iran’s aerial assault on Israel, he…