FORT LEE, Va. -- Charles R. Bowery Jr., the new executive director of the Center of Military History, toured the Combined Arms Support Command's museums as part of an orientation tour Jan. 28.
The Transportation, Quartermaster and Women's Museum along with the Ordnance Heritage Center's displays were the first location he visited to kick off Bowery's tour of all history offices and museum facilities across the Army to learn how they operate.
Bowery met with the command's leadership and historians to discuss the role of the history office's support to Soldier education and the way museums were incorporated into the Army Logistics University's education program. All Army museums serve a primary mission to provid education and training programs to service members, and a look back into history to learn about the then cutting-edge technologies and ideas that made the Army what it is today.
During his tour of CASCOM's museums, Bowery explained his strategic plan to reorganize the museum system to ensure all artifacts are properly stored, maintained, accounted for and presented in a unified way throughout the Army.
"I view the entire Army historical enterprise as a combat multiplier. The museums serve many audiences above and beyond Soldiers," Bowery said. "They inform the public, link American society to our Army, but most of all, they help train and educate our Soldiers."
He also shared his vision for the new National Museum of the Army, scheduled to open late 2017 at Fort Belvoir, Va., and the participation he feels is needed from the Army's museums to make the project successful.
"If you envision a pyramid, the national museum is at the top, but it is supported and held up by the 57 museums in the Army," Bowery said. "We want to create a national museum that shows visitors a variety of artifacts that represent all the museums in our enterprise."
CMH will develop a process for Army museums to contribute content to the national museum on a rotating basis, which in turn, will keep the exhibits fresh and allow the individual museums to keep their priceless artifacts, Bowery said.
At the conclusion of his visit, Bowery admitted he was impressed.
"These museums, in my opinion, are the model for the way Army museums should be run and supported," he told the CASCOM museum staffs and command historians. "They are filled and staffed with personnel that are knowledgeable and extremely passionate about what they do and it is visible in everything they present to include the educational programs offered to Soldiers."
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