WASHINGTON, DC – Today, during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) secured a commitment from General Randy A. George, nominee to serve as the next Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, to prioritize construction of the small arms qualification range at Hawthorne Army Depot by 2025. 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 added cost of $500,000 per year, per military unit. Last year, Senator Rosen secured the commitment from Army leaders to build the small arms qualification range at Hawthorne Army Depot, which will significantly save taxpayer dollars.
Senator Rosen has been a strong advocate for Nevada’s servicemembers. Recently, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 Senator Rosen helped secure a 5.2% 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. Rosen also successfully pushed the Pentagon to provide housing dislocation allowances for the junior enlisted after hearing from Nevada servicemembers about their inability to access dislocation allowance when moving from military barracks or dormitories.
Below is an excerpt of the exchange:
Rosen: Currently, Nevada’s Guard and Reserve soldiers are traveling to surrounding states in order to satisfy their annual weapons qualification. It’s an average cost of $500,000 – half a million dollars – per year, per unit. I’m appreciative of the Army’s commitment to correct this, which spurred the effort underway to build a permanent range at Hawthorne Army Depot by FY 2025. […] General George, if confirmed, can I have your commitment that a small arms qualification range is built in FY 25 so that Nevada’s soldiers can meet their annual requirements at greater convenience and lower cost to the taxpayer?
General George: Yes, Senator.
Original source can be found here.
