In part one of “Ready to Fight?” I wrote about the waste of money and the politics involved with the announcement that the Montana Air National Guard’s F-15s would be going to California. You can read Part One HERE. This editorial from the Great Falls Tribune was the basis for my column.

I’ve picked five things that the local community can improve upon or do to actually be “Ready to Fight.” Putting all five ideas in one column makes it a long read, so today I will talk about what the State of Montana can do and what the local military committees (the Chamber) can do.

On Thursday, I’ll talk about the local Economic Development Authority, the Congressional delegation and last, but not least, the local media. I’ll also have closing comments.

Sadly, it does not seem the community is ready for this fight. It may be too late. There’s just too much of “marking your territory” from some in the community, but that’s not to say the community does not support the military personnel in and around Great Falls. They do.

If the State of Montana and the Great Falls Chamber of Commerce really wants to put up a “helluva fight” (as the Great Falls Tribune calls it) for long-term military presence in Montana, here are some things they can do.

The State of Montana:

The State is basically non-existent in helping Great Falls in regards to the military. The Guard falls under the state government. The State needs to put some money behind the effort – even in these tough economic times because these tough times may pale in comparison to what may come if the Guard loses personnel or Malmstrom AFB closes.

I know the State did throw some coin Great Falls way a few years ago, but the economic impact from Malmstrom AFB and the Air Guard should make it a priority. For example, the State needs to carve out a place in the Department of Commerce for a military specialist.

We often hear the local state “citizen” legislators talk about supporting the military; but where’s the beef? The local state legislators need to unite, along with all the other legislators across that state that have military presence in their community, to ensure the state has the resources and personnel to engage the Department of Defense or defense contractors for more military missions and jobs. These people would look at the military from a state-wide view.

Local Military Committees:

Since the Chamber is the “chosen” group to promote the military, they get the most ink from me.

After having a state-wide view of the military, it’s good to have “boots on the ground” meaning a local group to keep their finger on the pulse. The Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is an important business group, but I am not sold on the fact that they are running the show for the military support in Great Falls. The Chamber of Commerce’s mission is to support, coordinate and advocate for existing businesses. You have to pay to join. It appears as just an individual, you’ll pay $106 per year to be a member.　

The Chamber has two committees dealing with the military. Their membership lists for these committees can’t be found on-line – you can see who the Committee Chair is, but I could not find any minutes from any meetings they held – if they held any.

It also appears that you have to be a member of the Chamber (membership fee required) to be a member of these two groups, which probably inhibits many from joining as you can see by the cost above. I cannot find information that tells me anything differently.

Does the Chamber have a paid staffer that concentrates on military matters? If you are the “chosen” group for all things military, someone should be in charge and responsible.

Let’s take a closer look at the two Chamber military committees.

-Military Affairs Committee:

First, we have the Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee (MAC) which is great, but not as great as it used to be. I don’t know if they still do the free picnics, but that was a great example of how the Chamber can make a positive impact to the military members and their families. The MAC’s mission statement is:

Shall promote military affiliations to recognize the value of the military institution to the business industry and our community.

I wonder who wrote that. I also wonder what they were thinking.

That should read, “The MAC will support the local military personnel and their families…” If they do this, the business portion will come easily.

Some local businesses offer discounts for people with military IDs – but it is not highly advertised. They need more! Who knows, one of these airmen passing through may end up later in life being a big business owner looking to relocate or that person could end up being a General officer that makes decisions about where to base a new mission. Someone may end up being a Senator or Representative on an influential committee!

If you leave the folks passing through the gates of Malmstrom with a great impression, who knows what fruits will become of it. They need much more of this.

-The Central Montana Defense Alliance:

Oh boy! The Great Falls Tribune touts the Central Montana Defense Alliance as the “unified voice” for all things military in Cascade County. The Chamber’s Central Montana Defense Alliance (CMDA) was formed after the Committee of 80 had problems that spilled out into the public – which was not good public relations for the defense world to see.

The Committee of 80 was a much better fit although they also required a membership fee.

Here’s the mission statement from the Defense Alliance:

Facilitate community and government support to sustain and enhance existing military missions and pursue future missions relevant to long-term DOD force structure locally and throughout Montana as appropriate. Provide a unified message from the community to decision makers at all levels.

If one was grading the Alliance on their mission statement, they would get a failing grade. I would also keep them after school for Military 101 classes.

The biggest thing is they wanted a unified voice with no talking out of turn. Some folks say you had better not disagree with what the old guys say, or you’ll have your hand slapped. The media are directed to one or two people for comment. The local media follows those rules like sheep.

Like I said, if you take their mission statement and see what has actually been done, then they have failed. They have not sustained or enhanced the military in Montana. With the dust-up with former members of the Committee of 80, and probably having to be a member of the Chamber to belong, they have not facilitated community support. With the loss of 50 missiles and probably the F-15s, they have not facilitated government support, either.

Frankly, many folks in the community feel that besides some all-expense paid trips for a couple of their members to Washington, D.C. a few times a year to “lobby” they are a do-nothing committee. Granted, some of their members are very successful local business people and their historical knowledge should be used (if needed), but that does not mean they know much about the military, missions, bases, etc.

I don’t believe their committee chair has any military experience, either. A goal of the Alliance should be to have someone as spokesperson who actually knows the military inside and out.

I was asked a month or so ago, “Who made the Great Falls Chamber the ‘King’ and “only voice” in promotion of the military in Great Falls.” I don’t really know. Readers?

Finally in regards to the Chamber’s military committees, there needs to be more openness to allow more participation with no fees required so money is not an obstacle to joining. Or, they should form an Alliance outside the Chamber “shackles.”

One would think with the importance of Malmstrom and the Air Guard to businesses in Great Falls and Cascade County membership would be at least 250-500 people.

In regards to “The MAC” they should keep it, enhance it, and make it the talk of the Air Force – like it was a few years ago when they won an award from the Air Force for their great work. That was before things changed…for the worse.

Stay tuned. Thursday is Part III of the three-part column.