Today is the final installment of “Ready to Fight?” These three columns are devoted to keeping and adding military missions here in Montana. The “Ready to Fight?” columns were in response to a Great Falls Tribune Editorial last Sunday about fighting for military missions. You can read it HERE. 

In part one 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 I HERE.

In part two, I wrote about what the State of Montana can do and what the local military committees (the Chamber) can do. You can read Part II HERE.

Today I write about what the local Economic Development Authority, the Congressional Delegation and last, but not least, the local media, can do to be “Ready to Fight.”

At the end, I have closing comments. Read on…

Economic Development:

In reviewing the Great Falls Economic Development Authority’s “Strategic Priorities” you will find that they are moving away from the military. Have they given up? Their priorities don’t include enhancement of the military missions in the area at all. In fact, I could not find any positive information about the military in the Great Falls area on their website except that they are moving away from it or that they lost a whole squadron of missiles. If I look under their section to lure businesses called, “Why Great Falls” I find nothing about Malmstrom or the Guard. So if I am a prospective business owner 2000 miles away, I might not be able to find out from the Great Falls Economic Development Authority there’s much of a military presence in Great Falls – or that they even support it.

One would think that with so much of the local economy based on the military presence around Great Falls, the Great Falls Development Authority would devote just a little of their duties to the military maybe by having a military specialist on staff – someone who follows the trends and issues and can speak intelligently about the military here and what the community has to offer.

The total economic impact from Malmstrom in FY 09 was over $430,000,000 and the Air Guard was $36,000,000 – over 35% of the city’s economic base. That, at least, deserves some ink on their website.

One would expect them to lead.

I don’t believe the current CEO has military experience (that I know of) except that he attends many lunches and dinners with the military.

There needs to be much more emphasis from this group in growing the military.

The Congressional Delegation:

The three-members of the Montana Congressional Delegation are not in any position to twist any arms to get missions for Montana. Their staffers lack military experience, too. Readers may remember that Malmstrom and the Guard units around the state were transformed from World War II relics to modern facilities when former Senator Conrad Burns had a seat at the military table.

With the delegation not supporting the expansion of the Powder River Training Complex into southeastern Montana, they sent a message to those in DOD that Montana’s skies are closed to new aircraft missions. That is a boneheaded message from the delegation.

So, the most important thing for the local folks to do is twist the arm of at least one member of the Congressional delegation and get them to obtain a seat on a military committee such as:

-Senate Armed Services

-House Committee on Armed Services.

Since two members already have seats on the House and Senate Appropriations Committee, they should attempt to trade up to a seat on the Defense and/or Military Construction Appropriations sub-committee.

If they get a seat on one or more of these committees, it will enable Montana to have a seat at the table – a very important table for the Great Falls area. Without that seat, the missiles and planes will continue to dwindle away and Malmstrom may be closed.

Being a member of a military or defense committee has its perks that non-committee members don’t have.

A new Congress goes into session in January. There will be new committee assignments and maybe even a new majority in the House and/or the Senate. The time is now to get it done.

The Local Media:

One can’t really be too upset with the local television media because they lack the personnel and experience to give good coverage of military matters except for deployments or major visits to the base. But the Great Falls Tribune can be faulted. The local media can play a major role in promoting the military.

Sometimes I watch a story on the local TV news and see that the reporter is star-struck by getting the “treatment” from the military spokesperson (also with elected officials). A seasoned reporter (with military experience) would do a much better job in reporting the facts and not just the awe of riding in a plane or helicopter or seeing a couple stars on a General’s shoulder.

We watch a “Montana Minute” piece on a local newscast. It would be nice to see a “Military” “Malmstrom” or “Air Guard” minute. There are military news stories out there…for those who care to look.

The local television news stations have a lot of turnover and you can’t fault them because they are in a small market and are mostly just a stepping stone for bigger markets. But, there are several people in the community who have a vast amount of military experience that might be looking for a second job or part-time income to follow the military in and around Great Falls and report on it – or to be used as advisors. Frankly, if you look for news about the military in Montana, you find mostly fluff stories, if at all.

The local newspaper takes a press release from a politician about the military and prints it, without much investigation. The local paper has had basically one reporter following the military for years and with poor results. They need a primary military reporter that follows the Guard and Active Duty issues and one with a military background – at least a reporter who knows a bottle rocket from a nuclear missile. The newspaper does attempt to do their part with a military page and some stories about the military, but they can do a lot more.

We’ve not seen any articles or reporting on the Central Montana Defense Alliance meetings (if they held any meetings) or when meetings might be held. Of course, they report about them when there’s a loss of a mission or something like that.

In Closing:

New blood is needed to lead the effort. There are plenty of young and eager people in the community with experience to help fight for the military. It’s time for the old guard to take a step back, be advisors, and let a younger, more energetic group run the show. The citizens who support the military in the Great Falls area should be ashamed of the effort put forth by our leaders so far. With a total economic impact in FY 09 of over $430,000,000 from Malmstrom, and $36,000,000 from the Air Guard, that money trickles down and touches every aspect of business in the Great Falls area.

If the present leadership in these five areas take just one of these ideas and implements it, the Great Falls area will have a fighting chance. If not, the community is destined to become a ghost town.