Great Falls' Independent News Source
Holiday traditions for many members of the Montana Air National Guard includes cooking for the Danny Berg Memorial Christmas Dinner. Every Christmas Eve for 17 years, the 120th Airlift Wing’s dining facility has been taken over to prepare turkey, gravy and stuffing for the dinner that is served on Christmas at the Great Falls senior center. Senior Master Sgt. William
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Four years ago, Matt Cable was fighting leukemia, complete organ failure and was deathly ill. Now he’s competing in the Titan Games, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s new fitness competition that premiers Jan. 3 on NBC. Shortly after the show premiers, he leaves for a 7-month deployment with the 120th Security Forces Group. The 28-year-old played a number of sports growing
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Great Falls is in the running for a new Air Force mission. The Air Force is gathering data to determine where to place a required 10th aeromedical evacuation squadron for the Air National Guard and Great Falls is among the locations being considered. Aeromedical evacuation squadrons provide patient movement during wartime and domestic operations. The new squadron location must meet
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Great Falls will soon be home to the state’s largest private hangar with the capability to house two 737 aircraft. Eagle Jet Solutions is building a 40,000 square foot hangar at the Great Falls International Airport and is the first project in a 20-acre aviation park being developed by the Airport Authority. Development on the site has been planned since
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Some local officials are working on a proposal to reopen the runway at Malmstrom Air Force Base, if only temporarily. County Commissioner Joe Briggs is pitching the Air Force to reopen the runway temporarily for the delivery of materials related to the replacement of the intercontinental ballistic missile system. The ICBM replacement program, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, is currently
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Sen. Jon Tester is pushing the Air Force to make the 120th Airlift Wing a higher priority for military construction in the coming years. The unit needs additional ramp space to properly house the unit’s eight C-130s. The ramp was built for fighter jets, which are considerable smaller than the cargo planes. The Air Force currently has the estimated $9
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Doug Otto is the new state command chief for the Montana Air National Guard. The traditional Guardsman is also a lieutenant at the Great Falls Police Department. Otto assumed the position in early May. The command chief is the senior enlisted airman within a military component and Otto advises the commander of the Montana Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. Pete
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By Spc. Michael Hunnisett | Army Public Affairs Special to The Electric Members of the Montana National Guard, including 14 soldiers and two airmen, have been participating in Cyber Shield 18 at Camp Atterbury, Ind. this month. The exercise includes members of the National Guard from 30 states, the U.S. Army Reserve, state and federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private
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For the first time in 70 years, a member of Brig. Gen. Bryan Fox’s family is not in the Montana Air National Guard. Fox relinquished command during a Saturday morning ceremony as assistant adjutant general of the Montana National Guard and commander of the Montana Air National Guard. Gov. Steve Bullock presided over the ceremony and said to Fox, “you’ve
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Vigilant Guard, an emergency response exercise, kicks off in Great Falls on Friday. Locals will see an influx of military members and more aircraft activity in the area during the exercise, which runs through March 7. Vigilant Guard 18 is a National Guard Bureau and U.S. Northern Command civil support exercise. The training will include soldiers and airmen of the
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