Nevada National Guard members and Clark County officials break ground on a firing range on April 25, 2024.
Friday, April 26, 2024 | 10:38 a.m.
The Nevada National Guard broke ground Thursday on its first in-state shooting range in partnership with Metro Police.
Nevada Guard troops, as well as officers with Metro and other police departments, will be able to use the range for training.
Nevada Guard members currently fly to ranges outside of the state to meet federal requirements for marksmanship, which requires the state to pay for transportation and lodging.
Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, adjutant general of the Nevada National Guard, described the facility as the “ultimate collaboration” between the Guard and police in Southern Nevada.
“Any time that we can provide the resources and support, and really help facilitate giving our Army personnel the ability to come and qualify, then this is going to be a force multiplier for us,” Berry said during a groundbreaking ceremony.
“If we’re not practicing readiness, then we’re not doing our best work,” he said.
The range will allow soldiers to practice their marksmanship with rifles and pistols and will drastically cut down on costs and time spent transporting soldiers to out-of-state facilities, officials said.
Soldiers must prove they can hit moving targets in training at least once a year, officials said.
Soldiers are allocated a certain number of training days per year, and the added time of interstate travel often cuts down on that time, officials said.
The new facility will turn what was a three or four-day process into a single day of training, while also saving the state money, officials said.
The new range will be built at Metro’s existing training complex in east Las Vegas. When not in use by the Guard, police officers will be able to use the range for their training exercises.
