New Global War on Terror wing opens at Warhawk Air Museum

A ceremonial flag arch near the corner of the Warhawk Air Museum set the tone as it welcomed visitors to the museum’s grand opening of its Global War On Terror wing. (All Photos by Frederick A. Johnsen)

The Global War On Terror (GWOT) wing of the Warhawk Air Museum opened Sept. 12, 2025, at the museum on the Nampa Municipal Airport (KMAN) in Idaho.

The new wing is a clear acknowledgement that history does not belong to a receding past alone, but is as current as those who served, and continue to serve, the armed forces of the United States in its efforts to counter terrorist activity.

At the podium, Carson Spear, a veteran of the Global War On Terror and also the executive director of the Warhawk Air Museum, discussed the new wing of the museum for the audience of several hundred people.

The gallery has a sobering, artistic interpretation of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, that ignited the war on terror when the World Trade Center towers in New York were struck by commandeered airliners.

An overhead mobile of shimmering white rectangles evokes the tragic art of 9/11 as sheafs of papers rained down when the World Trade Center buildings were struck by jetliners.

An airy mobile of curved white rectangles floats above the gallery, recalling startling imagery of papers fluttering to earth as the Trade Center skyscrapers collapsed that day.

Adjacent to the mobile, fenced cubes of jagged concrete rubble conjure all that was left of the buildings that fell on Sept. 11.

Steel cages that impound jagged concrete rubble representing the remains of the fallen Trade Center skyscrapers after the 9/11 attack contrast with the sense of airy lightness of the stylized wafting papers overhead.

The museum delivers a powerful message with these juxtaposed three-dimensional elements that add a visceral presence to the two-dimensional photographs and captions making up the rest of that display.

At the other end of the building, display cabinets house equipment, uniforms, souvenirs, and the very lifestyle of men and women who fought in GWOT actions since 2001. This style of storytelling is a favorite throughout the Warhawk Air Museum.

Continuing its decades-long pattern of highlighting the military careers of individual service members with gear from their service, interactive cabinets in the new wing update the ongoing journey through military history.

The main gallery space will house the museum’s recently acquired Idaho Air National Guard A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack jet, a veteran of GWOT. For special events, the A-10 is rolled outdoors to make room for seating.

After building a new maintenance facility, the museum substantially altered its former maintenance building to create the Global War On Terror wing. The museum’s recently acquired Idaho Air National Guard A-10 can be rolled in and out of the facility to accommodate functions.

A poignant subtext to the very rationale of the GWOT wing, and the entire Warhawk Air Museum, is the museum’s embrace of veterans of all eras. Without diminishing the general public’s experience in the museum, the facility is a gathering place for veterans who share bonds the rest of us may never know.

As the cut ribbon flutters away from ceremonial scissors, Warhawk Air Museum staff and friends celebrate the opening of the museum’s newest wing.

The GWOT wing’s grand opening saw Warhawk Air Museum founders John and Sue Paul casually enjoying the crowd. If you tallied the amount of respect the Pauls showed veterans, and the veterans returned to John and Sue, it looked like a balanced ledger.

For more information: WarhawkAirMuseum.org

About Frederick Johnsen

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