Randy L. Kreps was elected to the position of District #5 Commander for the Department of Montana Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States on April 30, 2023, at the Spring District meeting held in Sidney, Montana. Randy was born in Hagerstown, Maryland. After high school, he joined the United States Air Force in July 1979. He turned this enlistment into a twenty-year career eventually retiring in August 1999. After retirementt, he returned to Montana to live.
Randy’s Air Force career took him on assignments in California, Hawaii, South Dakota, Iceland, Montana, and North Dakota. e spent the first four years in Supply serving as a Fuel Specialist and then was promoted to Staff Sergeant (E-5) and then was forced to cross-train into Strategic Airlift and Bombardment Maintenance Specialist (Layman’s terms-a Crew Chief). e spent the rest of his career performing those duties. e was fond of working on aircraft, especially the EC/KC-135 and the AWA.his work led to multiple deployments worldwide, including RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom (Favorite Overseas Spot), traveling to Australia, and Diego Garcia, followed by trips to Saudi Arabia and Oman for Desert Shield/Storm.
During Desert Shield/Storm, he earned eligibility to join Veterans of Foreign Wars. In recognition of his service to the United States, the US Air Force recognized his accomplishments and achievements with the following medals: Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor Device with one silver and one bronze oak leaf device Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Southwest Asia Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Issued by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), and other numerous decorations.
Randy currently works for United States Customs and Border Protection as a supervisor at the Port of Raymond, Montana. He is also the Commander and a life member of VFW Post 4018, as well as Vice-Commander for the American Legion Post 58, both posts in Plentywood. R ndy has been married for 29 years to Julie Kreps and has one child, Mollie. H enjoys the outdoors, loves hiking in and around Glacier National Park, and always gets involved in community activities when his work schedule permits.