Although not needed right now, a training project has the Montana National Guard building a 90-bed surgical medical facility in Billings.
If ever needed, the beds would be for non-acute and non-COVID patients for Montana and across the region.
The guard has built similar projects in the state and around the world.
It gives the soldiers and airmen a chance to use their guard training as construction engineers.
"This is a very high morale project for them," said Capt. Dan Bushnell, Montana National Guard chief of public affairs. "They see the value for Montanans. They are Montanans. They're helping their neighbors. They're getting to use their special set of skills that is not always used in the off-season or annual training season. So this is them helping their neighbors. They're using their skill set that they have learned that they dedicated their life to, so they're very excited about it."
The plan is to finish the project in 14 days, furnish it, tear it down, and then reconstruct it at another location.
