National Intelligence Museum Coming To Ashburn

ASHBURN, VA — A new museum to honor the nation's spies and special operations personnel is coming to Ashburn. The OSS Society announced plans Friday to build the National Museum of Intelligence and Special Operations (NMISO) on an eight-acre parcel within the Kincora development, a 424-acre mixed-use project near the junction of Route 7 and Route 28.

The 56,000-square-foot museum "will educate the American public about the fascinating history of American intelligence and special operations and their critical role in preserving freedom," the OSS Society said in a statement.

The society, a nonprofit educational group, honors the memory of the Office of Strategic Services, the World war II predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Special Operations Command and the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

The museum is expected to cost $72 million and draw 100,000 visitors per year. It's designed by architect Carl Fentress to reflect "the feathers of an American bald eagle’s wing," the OSS Society said in a statement. "Its shape was inspired by the spearhead insignia, whose use by the intelligence community began with the OSS during World War II and continues today."

The NMISO building will include a 4,000-square-foot lobby, 19,000 square feet of permanent and temporary exhibition space, an education center and a 200-seat auditorium. Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program will serve as the museum's educational partner.

The honorary chairmen for the museum's fundraising campaign include Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, who both served as secretary of defense and director of central intelligence, and Adm. William McRaven, who served as commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Besides the NMISO, plans for the Kincora development call for millions of square feet of office and retail space, hotels, a dedicated cultural and science center, and 1,400 apartments and condominiums.

Images courtesy of The OSS Society