Montana Chosen To Assist Central Asian Nation

Montana’s Department of Military Affairs has been chosen to help the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan make the transition from communism to democracy.

Montana has joined a U.S. Department of Defense program called “Bridges to America.”

The Department of Military Affairs also can lend expertise in such areas as civil defense and disaster and emergency assistance, said Maj. Gen. John E. Prendergast, adjutant general of the Montana National Guard.

Kyrgyzstan is in Central Asia. Montana and Kyrgyzstan were paired because both states are mountainous and their economies rely heavily on agricultural products.