Mr. Allen is the Museum Specialist (Ordnance) at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. He is responsible for the acquisition, conservation, and display of the firearms, edged weapon, and inert explosive collection of the museum. Included with these duties is conducting and assisting with the annual inventories of the 3500 firearms and inert-explosive artifacts held in the collection of the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
He worked at Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site in Alexandria, Virginia before assuming his current position with the National Museum of the Marine Corps in October 2009.
Mr. Allen has a B.A. in History from George Mason University and holds four separate certifications as a firearms armorer. He is currently working toward an M.A. in Public History.
He has been published in Fortitudine magazine, twice in America’s Civil War magazine, and written an artifact-based article for Leatherneck magazine.