Irvine invites Marine aviation museum to return to El Toro
Retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael Aguilar, executive director of the Flying Leathernecks Historical Foundation, poses for a portrait in front of a historic WWII hangar at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
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U.S. Marine Corps jets and helicopters could return to the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro following an agreement inked by the Irvine City Council on Tuesday.
The Flying Leathernecks Historical Foundation has proposed refurbishing a 215,000-square-foot hangar at Orange County Great Park into a new home for its aviation museum currently on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. In March, Marine officials permanently shuttered the museum after reallocating more than $460,000 annually spent on its operation toward higher-priority missions.
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Aguilar said there were discussions about an agreement that would absolve MCAS Miramar and the Marine Corps of the overhead, but much to the museum foundation’s disappointment, the two parties were unable to make an agreement to the satisfaction of the Marine Corps.
According to MCAS Miramar director of communications Capt. Matt Gregory, the base s commanding officer, Col. Charles Dockery, decided to close the museum due to budgetary constraints. Over the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve tried various different strategies to align all those rules, regulations, and get that into a coherent strategy for the museum to move forward, and we were just never able to get there, Dockery said.
MCAS Miramar Flying Leatherneck Museum to close permanently
Museum operators cite finances for closing
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Photo: Mark Saunders/KGTV
and last updated 2021-03-12 15:04:57-05
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) â Miramar s Flying Leatherneck Museum is set to close permanently due to budget constraints, according to the museum and MCAS Miramar.
It wasn t immediately clear when the museum will close its doors for good, but retired Reserve Marine Corps Colonel Victor Bianchini, Chairman of the Board of the Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation, told ABC 10News that the decision was made based on finances.