Being one who has long supported the military missions around Great Falls and across Montana, as well as being one who has actually been in the military (that’s how I got here), I was somewhat alarmed after catching THIS STORY in today’s Great Falls Tribune.

Short version:  It does not look good for military missions around Great Falls, Montana.

The people interviewed for the story did not present a very rosy picture for the Air Guard and the Active Duty military base.  Starting with the headline “MANG’s mission change probable” and a 30% loss of personnel and ending with the missile bases losing another 30-50 missiles, the future does not look very bright at all.

Although I am not all that sold that the spokespeople (aka the travelers for the local group) actually know much about the military, there were at least a couple of bright spots to come from their interview: There are a few (four?) transport planes (C-27J) scheduled to be assigned to the Montana Air National Guard (MANG) and take the place of the current fleet of F-15s – which are scheduled to go to California.  The other bright spot is that the active duty base (Malmstrom) may not lose personnel when more missiles are taken.

In 2008, 50 missiles were taken from the base and with those missiles several hundred personnel left the area.

It is well past time for the group that purports to promote the military in and around Great Falls (as well as the congressional delegation) to step up their efforts, or it just may be time for them to step aside and let someone else lead the way.

We do need a hero.