Photo By Spc. Adrianne Lopez | Members of the Nevada Army National Guard, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department,...... read more read more
Before shots fired, shovels moved dirt and commemorated the start of the Southern Nevada Army National Guard Record Fire Range today.
For Nevada Army National Guard Soldiers, it means an end to long travel days that eat up precious training time to meet U.S. Army marksmanship standards.
The new range will also provide law enforcement in the region and state a home to meet similar weapons training standards.
“For our Nevada Army National Guard Soldiers, the need for this marksmanship range is now to save valuable training dollars and time,” said Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, Nevada adjutant general. “This collaborative partnership simultaneously benefits state, county and city agencies — it saves taxpayer dollars and maximizes training time for our men and women in uniform.”
In the past five years, to meet U.S. Army standards, the Nevada National Guard has sent more than one thousand Soldiers to neighboring states annually to meet marksmanship qualification, which incur substantial costs, according to data provided by the Nevada Army National Guard.
Units spent up to four training days annually to qualify at out-of-state ranges. The four training days equated to more than 15 percent of each unit’s allocated training and significantly impacted the ability to train on other tasks, the Nevada Army National Guard G3 office said.
Funding from the Nevada Legislature, approved in 2023, with agreement from the Clark County Commission paved the way for the new range that sits in the desert hills in the northeastern portion of the Las Vegas Valley.
Law enforcement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department — which occupies the facility near the range — along with the Nevada Department of Public Safety and Nevada Department of Corrections will also benefit from the new range.
“The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department works side by side with the Nevada Army National Guard in some of the biggest events hosted in our city,” LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during the ceremony. “This partnership is the latest example of what we can accomplish together. This could not have been accomplished without the support of our elected officials and our community.”
Berry and McMahill were joined in the groundbreaking ceremony by Nevada DPS Director George Togliatti, Nevada DOC Director James Dzurenda and Clark County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom.
The new range is set for completion in the next two years, the Nevada Army National Guard G3 said.
Thanks in large part to U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, the Nevada Army Guard is concurrently pursuing a federally funded range at the Hawthorne Army Weapons Depot by 2027.
“Ultimately, both ranges will support the Nevada Army Guard’s disparate population of Soldiers in both the Northern and Southern regions of the state and provide local qualifying opportunities for every Silver State Soldier with minimal effect to training time and money,” said Col. Brett Compston, the Nevada Army National Guard G3. “These efforts would not be possible without a two-pronged effort from our elected officials at the state level, the Clark County Commission and our Congressional delegates in Washington D.C.”
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2024 20:22 |
| Story ID: | 469584 |
| Location: | LAS VEGAS , NV, US |
| Web Views: | 296 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Nevada Guard, partner agencies mark start of construction on cooperative Las Vegas firing range, by Capt. Emerson Marcus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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