This week’s tour of Malmstrom AFB, Mont., by DOD officials has produced no definitive answer as to whether the base will pick up a new mission being sought by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.). The Great Falls Tribune reports that seven officials from US Strategic Command and the National Guard Bureau looked over the facility Tuesday before proceeding to Helena for a chat with state National Guard officials. The Tribune also notes that lips were sealed as to what type of mission, now described as “classified.”
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
