Supporters gather at the Yellowstone County Election office as Mike Waters files paperwork to run for a seat on the County Commission. Waters is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and former B-1 bomber pilot with 21 combat sorties in Operation Desert Fox and Operation Enduring Freedom. He also flew the Wings of Blue Parachute Demonstration Team while an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Air Force Academy. Waters finished his military career as a professor at the U.S. Naval War College. He became Director of Veterans and Military Affairs for then Congressman Greg Gianforte and then a Military and Veteran Liaison for U.S. Senator Steve Daines. Waters holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from MSU, a master's degree in International Relation from Salve Regina University and a master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He is a native of Richey, Montana and lives in Billings.