Currently, There’s No Small Arms Training Range In Nevada For Army National Guard And Reserve Soldiers To Train On, Forcing Them To Travel Out Of State
In 2022, Senator Rosen Secured A Commitment From Army Leaders To Build The Small Arms Range At Hawthorne Army Depot By 2025
WASHINGTON, DC – As a result of her efforts securing commitments from Army leaders, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that $18 million to construct a small arms qualification range at the Hawthorne Army Depot has been included in the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request. Currently, Nevada doesn’t have a certified small arms training range and Nevada’s Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers have to travel out-of-state to meet their annual weapons qualification, with an average cost of $500,000 per year, per military unit. In 2023, Senator Rosen received a guarantee from then-Army Chief of Staff nominee General Randy George that the Army would honor their commitment to Senator Rosen the year prior to construct the state’s first certified small arms qualification range.
“The lack of a small arms training range in Nevada forces our Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers to travel out-of-state to meet required annual weapons qualifications, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to have secured Nevada’s first certified small arms range in the President’s budget request. This will save taxpayers’ dollars and make it easier for Nevada Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers to do their required training in our state.”
Senator Rosen has been a strong advocate for Nevada’s servicemembers. In the government funding package for 2024 that was signed into law last week, she secured $7.5 million to build a new dormitory at Nellis Air Force Base, and nearly $9 million for military construction projects for the Nevada Army National Guard. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, Senator Rosen helped secure a 5.2 percent pay raise for servicemembers, as well as provisions to expand health and family support services for those who have served at remote installations like Creech Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Fallon.
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