Groundbreaking for the Army's long-awaited National Museum of the United States Army is expected to take place in the spring at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

The groundbreaking is estimated to be about mid-April, said retired Col. David Fabian, director of communications for the Army Historical Foundation. That is pending completion of an environmental assessment at the Fort Belvoir site that involves the impact on a type of long-eared brown bat, Fabian told Army Times. The assessment is expected to be completed in early 2016.

That time frame would allow construction to begin in fall 2016, and if all goes as planned, the museum would open in time for the Army's birthday in June 2019, Fabian said.

The museum will be a national landmark to honor America's soldiers, preserve the service's history, educate visitors and serve as a dedicated and central spot for soldiers, veterans and their families to reflect and commemorate the shared experience of the Army community.  The Army is the only branch of the U.S. military that does not yet have its own national museum.

National Museum of the United States Army

Artist rendering of the future National Museum of the United States Army.

Photo Credit: File

Soldiers and their families and friends can take part now in the museum. Soldiers now serving or who have served can establish their own page in The Registry of the American Soldier.  Others can honor a friend or family member who served by enrolling their soldier.  This can be done at the foundation's website, free of charge, at armyhistory.org.  About 110,000 soldiers are in the registry so far.

Areas around the museum will be paved in commemorative bricks that anyone may order with an inscription, such as a tribute to a soldier, family, unit or group. The bricks come in two sizes, and the cost goes toward the ongoing fundraising campaign for the museum. See the website for details.

About $128 million has been raised so far in the $200 million campaign. "The campaign is going well," Fabian said, with more than 138,000 individual donors in addition to support from corporations.

About Kathleen Curthoys

Kathleen Curthoys is editor of Army Times. She has been an editor at Military Times for 20 years, covering issues that affect service members. She previously worked as an editor and staff writer at newspapers in Columbus, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama; Bloomington, Indiana; Monterey, California and in Germany.

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