On Saturday, the Great Falls Tribune did a story about purchasing private land near the runway at Malmstrom AFB. The land is outside the base leading up to the runway is commonly called a “clear zone” or “flight path” where the planes fly over before landing on Malmstrom’s runway.

Not too many people would want to live in an area with planes flying over their home all the time, or where they would feel they were in danger in case a plane crashes. A business near this location would be a little less risky.

Of course, a plane has not landed on Malmstrom’s runway for several years due to a 1995 BRAC decision that moved Malmstrom’s air tanker mission to Florida in 1996.

The runway was almost re-opened in 2005, but Max Baucus announced it before it was a done deal (to get some press), and then he had to remove the language. He started celebrating a touchdown before he was in the end zone, some folks said.

Several of the folks who own land in this area would like to develop it. I don’t blame them. They deserve an answer. Right now this land is mostly farmland. At one time, it was rumored that some nationally known chain stores were contemplating building close to the zone. But, building near or in the clear zone just might lead to the closing of the base, too, and there goes a chunk of customers.

I believe the local community, as well as the state, should make an investment to keep the encroachment to a minimum near the runway. They need to buy the land, period. It is well worth the investment.

Malmstrom’s missile mission is being cut from 200 missiles (the most at any base) to 150. I believe it is not “if” the Air Force removes more missiles, but “when” they will take another chunk of the remaining 150, saying they need them for “testing.” They sold the “testing” idea as the reason for taking the first 50 missiles from Malmstrom beginning in 2007. I found that reason really hard to believe, and I found it really hard to believe that most everyone bought it, especially the federally elected officials.

Malmstrom’s runway could be used for several different missions, whether it is for the active duty military, the National Guard, a civilian company like Boeing or Lockheed Martin, or for another federal government agency. If businesses or housing are allowed to build in or near the clear zone, the runway will just be a slab of concrete with no significant use.

Likewise, I strongly believe if the Coal to Liquid plant proposed by the Bush Administration comes to fruition on the base and it impacts any future use of the runway, Great Falls will also lose. It appears the Air Force, at least the folks working as political appointees under the current administration, wants to move Malmstrom from a missile base to a Coal to Liquid base. The local officials should never let that happen if the CTL plant impacts the runway in any way.

The Air Force has not really been upfront with a reason for not pursuing an aircraft mission for the base. One has to wonder if they’ve come to the conclusion that Malmstrom AFB in Montana is now the weakest link of the missile bases for reasons I’ve written about many times before.