Ribbon cutting at Malta Armory

At 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 11, a ceremony to open the new National Guard Readiness Center was held.

Captain Jacob Pancheau, Commander of the 484th Military Police Company in Malta, welcomed everyone to the ceremony.

After the National Anthem and the invocation, he gave a short history of the National Guard and the Armory in Malta.

CPT Pancheau said, "On December 13th, 1636, the first militia regiments were organized in Massachusetts. Based upon an order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court, the colony's militia was organized into three permanent regiments to better defend the colony. This marks the beginning of the organized militia, and the birth of the National Guard's oldest organized units."

He went on to tell the crowd of the three different armories that have been built in Malta.

The original armory began post-WWII. That armory was used by the Montana Army National Guard for the next 15 years. It was 3,848 square feet and cost a total of $31,523. The facility was used by the City of Malta as a maintenance shop until recently when it was torn down.

The second armory in Malta was built in 1965 at a cost of $91,000 with 7,825 square feet. That armory was home to several different types of units, including armor, field artillery, and military police.

The new building in Malta is the newest Readiness Center in the Montana Army National Guard. It is made up of several buildings giving it a total of 41,521 square feet and a total cost of over $16 million. The new building is the culmination of over ten years of efforts by the National Guard, solidifying its commitment to the community for decades to come.

CPT Pancheau then introduced the guest speaker for the Grand Opening Address, Major General J. Peter Hronek. CPT Pancheau said that he is the Adjutant General of the State of Montana, Commander of the Montana National Guard, and Director of the Department of Military Affairs. He is responsible to the Governor of Montana to provide the Army and Air National Guard Military forces that are ready to deploy worldwide.

Major General Hronek thanked everyone for being there and thanked Mayor Demarais for his support of the new Readiness Center and the continued support of the National Guard in Malta.

Hronek said, "This is a great day for us. For what we can provide this community and our nation with this building is going to be second to none."

He thanked all of the architecture team for a beautiful building. He also thanked everyone that worked on the building to make it into the state-of-the-art structure.

Mayor John Demarais was next to speak. He thanked the crowd that was there for showing up and sharing in the ceremony.

Speaking to Major General Hronek, Demarais said, "Major General, consider this an official welcome to the City of Malta. We thoroughly enjoy this building and the presence you have here."

He said he remembers when the planning started for the building. He was then working for the Public Works Department. He said that it seems like it has taken forever to get to this point but is delighted with the outcome.

Demarais thanked the leadership and the troops for their service. He ended his speech by saying, "We look forward to working with the National Guard for a very long time."

Next to speak was the director of Starbase Montana, Kara Tangedal.

Tangedal said, "Some of you are going to recognize me because my husband and I worked here in Malta for a few years. Frankly, it's a thrill to come back and serve the community that got me started professionally."

Tangedal told the crowd that Starbase is a youth educational program that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. In short, that's STEM.

There are currently two Starbase classrooms in Montana. One in Great Falls and one in Helena.

Starbase will be working out of the new building with the Hi-Line youth between the fourth and sixth grades to build confidence and resilience in the subjects that most students think are really hard.

Tangedal ended her speech by saying, "I'm excited to expand our program up to the Hi-Line and reach these rural areas in the brand new Readiness Center."

After the ribbon-cutting, effectively opening the Readiness Center, everyone was invited into the new building to walk around and explore all that the building has to offer. A luncheon was offered and there were games available outside for kids.