Students attending AFIT's Joint Intermediate Cyberspace Operations (Cyberspace 200) course tour of the National Museum of the United States Air Force to see Air and Space Force historical artifacts in person. Cyberspace 200 is an intermediate professional continuing education course designed for the development of cyberspace professionals for current and future challenges and facilitates the transition from a tactical to an operational mindset. (Contributed photo)
 

By: Lt. Col. Jason Fields, Director, Department of Cyberspace Studies

On a crisp fall Saturday morning, students attending the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Joint Intermediate Cyberspace Operations (Cyberspace 200) course began arriving at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Unlike the previous two weeks of formal classes on the AFIT campus, this gathering was different. The students were all dressed in civilian clothes and even though the course capstone was due in five days there were no thoughts of working on their team projects. They were coming together for an education opportunity of a different type not based on cyberspace topics, but still valuable to the students’ development as Air Force professionals and leaders.

The 22 students were going to the National Museum of the United States Force, the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum. Joining the ranks of nearly 800,000 annual visitors who come to learn about the mission, history, and evolving capabilities of the U.S. Air and Space Forces, the students attended an event created especially for them.

Led by Mike Ries, a volunteer museum docent, the students embarked on an hour-and-a-half long walking tour including stops in four of the 12 galleries and parks the museum has to offer including the Space Gallery, Research and Development Gallery, Missile Gallery, and Cold War Gallery.

Ries captivated the students using his vast knowledge of the displays at the NMUSAF and his love of communicating history. As the group walked and talked, Ries pointed out various vehicles and displays helping educate students on the context of what made them significant to Air and Space Force history.

The emphasis on education, and not just the visual appeal of beautiful and interesting aircraft, is evident when you talk to anyone working for or volunteering at the museum.

“The National Museum of the United States Air Force has vast educational capabilities to offer to today’s war fighter,” said Mike Brimmer, NMUSAF Education Division Chief. “This capability stems from the museum’s earliest days as a small engineering study collection established to further American air power in 1923. The history, technology, and people that have made today’s Air and Space Forces are on full display here and can serve as a source of both the inspiration and the information needed to meet the mission challenges of today."

There were many highlights from the visit and one of the students’ favorites was also the largest display seen. The Lockheed Martin Titan IVB rocket, measuring 204 feet in length and lying on its side, is a formidable visual anchor for the Space Gallery. As the students learned, the Titan IVB was the Air Force’s largest and most powerful expendable single-use rocket and could launch payloads to geosynchronous orbit using specifically designed upper stages.

In addition to the Titan IVB, Ries provided other insight into America’s space program with a discussion of the Apollo 15 command module, the Gemini B orbiting laboratory spacecraft, and the stand up of the United States Space Force.
 

National Museum of the United States Air Force volunteer and docent Mike Ries discusses the Gemini B orbiting laboratory spacecraft with the Titan IVB rocket and United States Space Force display in the background. (Contributed photo)

The North American XB-70 Valkyrie in the Research and Development Gallery was similarly an impressive stop on the tour. Walking under, around, and behind the display students got up close views of the 185-foot aircraft. They also learned about the original design concepts and challenges engineers discovered about aerodynamics, propulsion, and other characteristics of large supersonic aircraft from testing XB-70s. Ries called the view from behind the XB-70s six massive engines, each capable of 30,000 pounds of thrust, possibly the best view at the NMUSAF and it is easy to see why.
 

National Museum of the United States Air Force volunteer and docent Mike Ries shows off the six North American XB-70 Valkyrie engines. (Contributed photo)

The Missile Gallery also provided a unique education opportunity as students saw missiles like the Boeing LGM-30G Minuteman III, Thor Agena A, and Martin Marietta LGM-118A Peacekeeper up close. Standing in the silo-like 140-foot-tall gallery, Ries discussed the history of the missiles on display and the future of America’s missile program. Dwarfed by these vertical giants, students were given a small insight into what it takes to build, transport, and maintain America’s important missile arsenal.
 

View from inside the National Museum of the United States Air Force’s Missile Gallery. (Contributed photo)

“I thought the tour at the museum was great,” said Daniel Poll, Cyberspace 200 student. “The tour guide was very knowledgeable and had a lot to share. I especially liked the insight he shared in the Missile Gallery about the Minuteman missiles.”

Another favorite stop also happened to be next to one of the NMUSAF’s newest displays, moved from restoration into the museum only three days prior to the tour. Tucked into the eastern corner of the Cold War Gallery, sits a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter aircraft, one of only a handful of known Flankers in the U.S. Entering Soviet Air Forces in 1985, the Su-27 was designed to be a direct competitor for American Grumman F-14 Tomcats and McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagles. This small corner of the museum provides a collection of extremely unique aircraft with the Su-27 sitting a short distance from the secretive Lockheed F-117A and in the shadow of a hanging Boeing YCGM-121B Seek Spinner.

The YCGM-121B is an unmanned aerial vehicle designed in the early 1980s to seek out and attack the radars that control enemy anti-aircraft artillery or surface-to-air missile defenses. Using computer-programmed guidance, the YCGM-121B would loiter over a target until sensors detected an enemy radar signal. The vehicle would then follow the signal to the source and detonate. The YCGM-121B program was cancelled after its last test flight in 1989 and never became operational. Due to its lack of operational use, this unique vehicle was unfamiliar to most students and Ries expertly explained the program and capabilities of the vehicle and why it was nicknamed Seek Spinner.

Opportunities to see unique aircraft like the Su-27, F-117A, and the YCGM-121B while standing in one spot is what helps make the NMUSAF the best aerospace museum in the world and the students appreciated the variety of displays available to them.

AFIT Department of Cyberspace Studies Director, Lt. Col. Jason Fields, who joined the students on the tour, presented Ries with an AFIT School of Strategic Force Studies coin to thank him for his ongoing volunteer efforts at the NMUSAF and for leading the tour for Cyberspace 200 students.

JP Clarke a NMUSAF volunteer for the past 15 years and docent for over seven years commented, “many of the docents are Air Force veterans, and we all appreciate the opportunity to share our experiences, and the history of the Department of the Air Force with another generation of Airmen and Guardians. The museum’s motto is ‘We are the keeper of their stories’ and as docents we are the narrators of those stories."

As the recipients and benefactors of these experiences and stories, the students as well as the Department of Cyberspace Studies faculty and staff, were truly grateful for the opportunity to visit the museum.

The Department of Cyberspace Studies is overhauling the Cyberspace 200 joint-focused curriculum in 2024 and this unique experience to connect cyberspace professionals to important air, space, and joint force history is an example of how AFIT is helping prepare students to prevail in current and future conflicts. We are fortunate to have the NMUSAF as a neighbor and continuing partner in education.

For more information about Cyberspace 200 visit https://www.afit.edu/EX/page.cfm?page=1503

About AFIT’s School of Strategic Force Studies
AFIT's School of Strategic Force Studies is responsible for delivering professional continuing education in nuclear deterrence policy and theory, nuclear command, control, communications and cyberspace operations. The School's mission is to develop Airmen, joint service members, and international partners to deter and if necessary, prevail in current and future conflicts by providing relevant and responsive nuclear and cyberspace PCE and cyberspace upgrade training. On average, the school educates 3,000 Department of the Air Force and DoD students annually. Visit www.afit.edu/EX for more information.

About 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 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil for more information.