WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that the U.S. Army will begin plans this year to construct a small arms training range at Hawthorne Army Depot to be used by the Nevada Army National Guard. Nevada did not have an approved small arms range and Soldiers have had to travel hundreds of miles out of state every year to meet their annual weapons qualification requirement. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in May 2022, Senator Rosen raised the issue with Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville, and later secured a commitment for the Army to have an interim solution ready to take effect this year and a permanent range by Fiscal Year 2025.
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada soldiers get new firing range
By Gary Martin
Key Points:
- Nevada Guard members were being forced to travel to bases in California, Arizona, Utah and Idaho to receive training and weapons qualification for M-16 and M-4 rifles and M-9 pistols because of a lack of a specialized range in the state.
- “When I found out our soldiers had to travel hundreds of miles out of state to train, I knew we had to do something to fix this,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
- Getting a small-arms range has been a priority for the Nevada Army National Guard, said Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, commander of Nevada’s National Guard troops, in a statement released by Rosen’s office.
KTVN: Nevada Senator Rosen secures Small Arms Range for Nevada National Guard
Key Points:
- U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced that the United States Army will begin plans this year to construct a small arms training range at Hawthorne Army Depot to be used by the Nevada Army National Guard.
- Currently, Nevada does not have an approved small arms range and Soldiers must travel hundreds of miles out of state every year to maintain their proficiency and meet their annual weapons qualification requirement.
- Rosen secured commitments from both Army leaders and later confirmed the Army’s resulting new plan to have an interim solution ready to take effect this year and a permanent range by Fiscal Year 2025.
KOH: Rosen Announces Much-Needed Small Arms Range in Nevada for State’s National Guard
“Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee says the United States Army will begin plans this year to construct the small-arms training range at the Hawthorne Army Depot to be used by the Nevada Army National Guard. Currently, Nevada does not have an approved small-arms range. Its soldiers must go out of state every year to maintain their proficiency and meet their annual weapons qualification requirements.”
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