AFP Museum

Camp Aguinaldo

     The Armed Forces of the Philippines Museum, also known as the AFP Museum is a military museum located within the premises of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippines.

     Established in 1996 through a "verbal pronouncement" by then Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Arturo Enrile, the museum is located in the building named after Gen. Enrile at Camp Aguinaldo. The following year, a group of individuals from the military and private sector established the AFP Museum and Historical Library Foundation Inc., a non-stock, nonprofit private foundation in order to ensure the continuity of the museum's activities; hence, the museum does not directly operate under the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office regularly supports the museum's projects.The Armed Forces of the Philippines Museum portrays the history of the Philippine's military forces. Among its collections are infantry guns, rifles, mortars and various war equipment. There are also dioramas, displays and paintings from different war times, and artwork and scale models of uniforms of the various Philippine forces throughout history.

     As a military history and tank enthusiast, visiting the AFP museum feels like a wet dream (0///0). Not only that they have tanks that were owned by the AFP, but also dioramas and parapheernalias used by well-know Filipino heroes during wars (e.g. Emilio Aguinaldo's revolutionary uniform; medals of the late president FDR). I cannot express enough how I was excited back then when we first visited the museum. Just like, touching the M41 Walker Bulldog is just immaculate; and going inside an M113 APC is just an unforgettable experience. Also, they have a collection of various AA (Anti-Air) guns that are of the same models used in some WW2 ships. For example, the museum has a 20 mm Oerlikon gun that was used by the HMS Dido before the Bofors were used as a replacement (the museum also has the Bofors M2 variant). My enthusiasm aside, the AFP museum holds a very special in my heart. It was the very first time I connected with history in a tangible way. Seeing and experiencing the military vehicles firsthand made me appreciate military history more. It's really hard to imagine that I was able to see with my own two eyes the very vehicles that I had only read about in military documents and documentions. Since the AFP museum was the first military museum I ever visited, the experience has fueled my excitement to explore even more military museums in the future.