GREAT FALLS - A change of command ceremony was held at Malmstrom Air Force Base on Monday as airmen welcomed a new wing commander.
Malmstrom is home to the 341st Missile Wing, which operates and maintains 150 Minuteman III nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The missiles are located in silos across north and central Montana.
During the ceremony, Colonel Anita Feugate Opperman relinquished command of the 341st Missile Wing to Colonel Barry Little. Little comes to Malmstrom after serving as the vice commander of 20th Air Force at FE Warren AFB in Wyoming.
“I am looking forward to continuing that tremendous partnership that you’ve built over the last 80 years between the base and the [Great Falls] community,” Little told the crowd. “To say that I’m excited to be here, to say that I’m humbled to be here, is an understatement. It is an absolute honor and privilege to be entrusted with the command of one of the most powerful combat wings in the greatest air force on earth.”
Feugate Opperman is now headed to the Pentagon to serve on the Joint Staff as the assistant deputy director of command, control, and nuclear operations. Highlights of her nearly two-year tenure as wing commander include navigating base resources through the COVID-19 pandemic and leading the airmen to their fourth consecutive Blanchard Trophy for best Intercontinental Ballistic Missile wing in the US Air Force.
