Great Falls International Airport is a public/military airport in city limits three miles southwest of central Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana, United States. The airport has also been called Great Falls Municipal Airport. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 143,811 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 146,438 in 2009 and 155,204 in 2010. Great Falls International Airport is home to Great Falls Air National Guard Base, which hosts the Montana Air National Guard's 120th Airlift Wing (120 AW), the "Vigilantes." Operationally-gained by Air Mobility Command (AMC), the 120 AW reequipped with the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in 2014, which it employs in medium airlift missions. In its previous incarnation as the 120th Fighter Wing, it previously flew the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Malmstrom Air Force Base, home of the 341st Missile Wing (341 MW) of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), is east of GTF, on the east side of Great Falls. With the transfer of its KC-135 aircraft in the 1990s, Malmstrom's runway is closed to fixed-wing traffic and open only to military helicopters, so Great Falls ANGB provides support for fixed-wing military aircraft visiting Malmstrom AFB. History Great Falls International Airport was initiated in November 1928. The airport was leased by the U.S. War Department during World War II and became a home for the 7th Ferrying Group (Air Transport Command) of the U.S. Army Air Forces during the war. Located on Gore Hill, the airport was known as Gore Field during its military use. During the war years, more than 7,500 bombers and fighter aircraft passed through Great Falls on their way to Europe and the Pacific. The U.S. Army acquired an additional and built many buildings and other facilities. The airport was under government control until June 1948 when the Department of Defense deeded it back to the City of Great Falls with the stipulation that the facility could revert to military control in a national emergency. The airport was released from this clause in 1961. In 1975 the terminal was replaced and all runways, aprons, and taxiways updated. With Federal Aviation Administration matching funds, the Great Falls International Airport Authority performs annual operations, maintenance, and capital improvements. The award-winning terminal was designed by Davidson-Kuhr Architects of Great Falls, Montana, with the lead architect being