How a Military Veteran Became a Museum Professional

A retired airfield manager finds his second act at the Smithsonian.

When 9/11 happened, Patrick Leonini was in the National Guard, and he could have been part of a security detail for airports in New York City. He rejected that assignment. “I wanted to do my part overseas,” he says. He had hoped to get deployed by returning to the U.S. Army. When that wasn’t possible, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he learned an essential part of military aviation: airfield management. It was Leonini’s responsibility to ensure a safe operating environment by overseeing all airfield infrastructure: lights, signs, ramps, and runways. Retiring after 24 years in the military, Leonini began working at the National Air and Space Museum, where he is now the supervisor of photography. He recently spoke to Air & Space Quarterly senior editor Diane Tedeschi.

ASQ: Tell me about your current job at the National Air and Space Museum.

Leonini: I am the supervisor of photography. I’m not a formally trained photographer, but I’ve received excellent on-the-job training from some of the great photographers who have worked at the Smithsonian. My job is to ensure that the Museum’s requirements for photography are fulfilled, and to provide a safe operating environment for our photographers.

Your military service began in the U.S. Army. What was your aviation experience there?

I was in Aviation Operations, which meant I was part of the headquarters of aviation units. In South Korea, I was responsible for the command group of the brigade commander and sergeant major. I traveled as part of the crew of the command Black Hawk during aerial operations. My regular duties included setting up landing zones and parking the helos, as well as flight planning and flight records maintenance. I got to work with Chinooks, Black Hawks, Hueys, Cobras, and—above all—Apaches.

What was your favorite duty station?

My favorite was probably Mildenhall in the UK. Because it was in Europe, it was a good jumping off point for travel to other European countries. At the time, my parents lived in northern Italy, so I was able to visit them quite often. Other than Mildenhall, I have the most amazing memories from my time in Iraq. I had two tours at Tallil Air Base [now known as Nasiriyah Airport].

What made the two Iraq tours memorable?

Well, the first one was in 2003—at the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. I like to describe it as sort of like the wild west when we first went in. There were very few rules. We pretty much operated independently as airfield managers. There were four of us, and our job was to make sure airplanes could land and take off from the airfield. We had a lot of opportunities to explore. The insurgency had not yet started, so it was not yet dangerous—at least not to the levels it became later on, when the base was under almost daily attacks by insurgent forces.

We were able to interact with U.S. Army troops stationed around the base outside the perimeter, and we were able to join them on humanitarian missions—one of the highlights of my time there. There were many Bedouin families and tribes who lived in the surrounding desert. We provided them with medicine, water, and food. 

One of the best memories of my entire military career happened during this humanitarian work. We’d go out on these four- or five-hour missions. We’d leave the perimeter with several Humvees loaded with supplies, and a truck would carry a water trailer, and we’d stop at the different locations where the Bedouins were.

At this one location, there were all these children. There was this one little girl who was terrified of us. She must have been five or six. She carried a stick as if to ward people away. She wouldn’t approach the water truck until we all backed off and let her do her thing.

We had received a shipment of toys from the States. We would give the footballs and soccer balls to the boys and dolls to the girls. But this girl, she wouldn’t come near. I had this teddy bear, and I put it on the water truck. I saw her coming, and I put it there on the spigot, and I backed off. She came up all scared, and I said, “Go ahead. It’s for you.” She probably didn’t understand me, but she understood enough to pick up the teddy bear. Then she took off. I was like, “Okay, well, at least she got the teddy bear.” As we started to drive away, she ran up this mound on the side of the road—teddy bear in hand—and waved at us. I’ll never forget that moment.

I’m guessing that airfield management in Iraq was not a 9-to-5 job.

We were pretty much on duty 24/7. When we first got there, we saw that the base had been abandoned by the Iraqis. They had used it as a supply point and anti-aircraft battery position. They had all these pyramids with these guns on top of them. But the runways had been destroyed—until the Army engineers came and patched them up so C-130s could land. When we got there, there was no infrastructure, no power, no water, no places to sleep. We commandeered—along with the air traffic controllers—the old control tower, and we slept in that. There was no glass in the windows, so we covered them with cardboard.

There was no set schedule. We were able to establish right away a communications network and a secure internet, and we would get emails from the headquarters in Qatar saying: “Alright, you’ve got flights coming in at this time, and this time.” Our job was to make sure the runways were clean. No wild dogs on it. No thick sand. Other than that, we pretty much had free time to do what we wanted to do within the confines of what we could do, obviously. So we did a lot of exploring, and there was a lot of base to explore. We had an old beat-up Humvee that the Army had left behind. Toward the end of the tour, we finally had air-conditioned tents to sleep in, along with mess halls and showers. 

I imagine that you probably developed close relationships with the other three airfield managers.

Yes. They are the only people in the military that I meet on a regular basis. Once a year we get together—or we try to get together. We went fishing on Lake Erie a couple of years ago, and they’re trying to come here this summer.

Were there any aircraft that caused maintenance issues at military airfields?

There are two aircraft that were the bane of my existence as an airfield manager. One was the B-1, which has a variable-sweep wing. There are satellite images of some of the airfields where B-1s operate, and you’ll see what looks like B-1 ghosts—the ghost is the outline of all the oil that has leaked from the aircraft. The oil can cause severe damage to both concrete and asphalt surfaces, both on taxiways and parking aprons. 

The other aircraft is the vertical-takeoff V-22 Osprey. When V-22s are taxiing, their engines go from horizontal to semi-vertical, which directs a large amount of heat onto ramps and runways. So much heat, in fact, that the concrete will crumble and asphalt will melt. If V-22s are stationed at your base, you probably already have a mitigation strategy in place, such as reinforced surfaces or taxi routes designed for them. But when V-22s are visitors to other bases, that’s when they can create a lot of havoc. In those cases, you just try to stay ahead of the game.

Is there some magical cleaner that can counteract the damaging effects of oil?

Nothing magical. But there are several types of pads you can throw down to absorb the oil, and a special type of soap to limit its potency. But it’s just staying on top of the situation and trying to limit the damage as much as possible.

As an airfield manager, did you have the authority to close an airfield?

Yes, if there were safety issues. Well, not necessarily close the airfield, but I had the authority to suspend operations. During my first tour in Iraq, for example, we had two inbound F-16s. 

They landed, no problem. Then, when they went to take off, they hit their afterburners, and a strip of concrete came off. I went out to do an inspection after they took off, and I saw this large gap in the runway. I had to suspend operations so we could get the civil engineering team out there to patch it up. Luckily, we had two runways at the time, so incoming aircraft could land on the other runway. It wasn’t the best runway for them to land on because it wasn’t in great shape, but it was all we had.

What military aircraft is underrated?

While fighter jets probably get all the acclaim and fame, C-130s are the true workhorses in setting up forward deployments. C-130s have turboprop engines, giving them a rugged versatility. Their ability to land on just about any surface is impressive. I once saw a C-130 safely land with three of its four engines out.

Can you tell me about an incident involving wildlife?

When I was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, I sometimes saw alligators—they’re drawn to the warmth of paved surfaces. When I was still in training at Eglin, I had my first encounter. We were doing a runway check to make sure it was ready for the day’s first flight, and we saw this big alligator in the middle of the runway. They can be a little stubborn. The guy who was training me, he got out to chase it. I was like, “I’m not getting out of the truck.” Usually, though, if you honk the horn, the alligator decides it’s time to go, and they scoot on off. If they still don’t move, then you would have to call in a wildlife-control unit. 

Tell me about a particularly stressful day as an airfield manager.

It’s always stressful when there are safety concerns. In 2016, during my last winter before I retired, I was based at Andrews. During a bad snowstorm, we had a member of Congress—I plead the fifth on who it was. But this person insisted on landing, and it was snowing—hard. We could not get the snow off the runway fast enough before it was replaced by what was coming down. I was told by one of my superior officers that this person would land anyway. So I said: “I go on record to say you can’t land. It’s too dangerous. They’re not going to make it.” Finally, sanity prevailed, and the FAA, who was in charge of the control tower, overruled everybody and said, “The airfield is closed. You can’t land.” But, yeah, that was a stressful day.

Were there moments where you could step back and simply enjoy the beauty that is aviation?

At Mildenhall, we would do a parade of our tankers, when all the KC-135s would line up and taxi the runway. It was an amazing sight, and we would watch it from the tower. In Qatar, watching the B-1 take off was something else. It’s rolling down the runway in afterburner, which is spectacular. It shakes the ground. We would get requests from people who worked in other units on the base: “Can you take us on the airfield to watch the B-1 take off?” I was always happy to bring them along. 

For young people who might be considering it, would you recommend military service?

I would say look in the mirror and ask yourself why you want to join the military. I’ve had a lot of people come through who joined the military because they wanted money for college, which is great, but I wouldn’t recommend a military career because of that. If it’s just for benefits and college money, I would probably recommend going into the National Guard or Reserve. But for anybody who truly wants to serve their nation and possibly see the world, it’s a great way to live your life. Just be realistic of the challenges.

Do you have a favorite aircraft that is part of the Museum’s collection?

Yes, and it has nothing to do with the Air Force. It’s the Grumman G-21 Goose—the flying boat—that’s out at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. I think it’s because of my interest in history and archaeology. Growing up, I was a big Indiana Jones fan, and I always imagine the Museum’s Goose carrying an explorer to some lost hidden city on an adventure. So that’s my favorite airplane.

This article, originally titled "From Military to Museum,"  is from the Summer 2025 issue of Air & Space Quarterly, the National Air and Space Museum's signature magazine that explores topics in aviation and space, from the earliest moments of flight to today. Explore the full issue.

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