The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) in January officially announced the 2025 Navy History and Heritage Awards (NHHA) Program season.
The NHHA Program was established in 2020 to recognize nonprofit organizations, museums, and individuals who incorporate the history and heritage of the U.S. Navy into their publications, documents, and artifacts at their facilities.
“These awards are for those museums that serve as force-multipliers in informing the public of our Navy’s history and the importance of sea power to the security of the nation,” said retired Rear Admiral Samuel J. Cox, director of NHHC.
NHHA supports and promotes effective programs in non-federal organizations for exhibits, artifacts, and historical research. Applicants wishing to participate in the NHHA Program may do so in one of three categories:
• Navy History and Heritage Excellence Pennant (History “E”): Presented to the organization recognized for outstanding overall achievement in operations, including maintenance, curation/conservation, exhibitory, and Navy history education from organizations offering U.S. Navy–related programming to the public.
• Maintenance Excellence Pennant (Maintenance “E”): Presented to the organization that has demonstrated greatest improvement in material condition over the past year of a macro artifact (a historic ship or aircraft).
• Curatorial Excellence Pennant (Curatorial “C”): Presented to the organization that has achieved excellence in the curation of the collections in its care, including maintaining and interpreting Navy artifacts on loan from NHHC central and local collections.
The window for submissions will close on 1 June. Applications for each of the award categories are available at history.navy.mil/get-involved/nhhc-awards-program.html.
