Nellis to get more help to fight war on terrorism

Jeff Donaldson

Monday, June 27, 2005 | 11:09 a.m.

Nellis Air Force Base will get more than $100 million in new facilities along with new planes and personnel to support its expanding mission, Air Force officials said Friday at the base's "State of Nellis" address.

In a military-community forum coined "Nellis Flight Path 2005," Air Warfare Center Commander Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Goldfein told a crowd of more than 150 people that the base's role in preparing for the global war on terror continues to take center stage in the Air Force.

The Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure committee excluded Nellis from its recent list of bases set for closure, but Nellis could get as many as 14 new aircraft and 1,400 people when other bases close next year.

Additionally, the base will cut the ribbon on a new $26 million maintenance facility in July. Plans also include building a $10 million weapons school to support the new F/A-22 Raptor fighter and a new $70 million facility to support the annual Red Flag training exercise, said Col. Walter Givhan, the base commander.

"This transformation of our base and infrastructure will ensure your tax dollars are better spent on combat capabilities" to protect national security, Givhan said.

In addition to the F/A-22, Nellis also will serve as the development home for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will be used by NATO, and which will require millions of dollars in hangars, maintenance and training facilities.

Newly named Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs also falls on Nellis' area of responsibility, serving as the home of the Air Force's unmanned Predator program. That base will get new facilities too, Givhan said.

Nellis and Creech employ nearly 9,000 military personnel and have more than a $3 billion economic impact on Southern Nevada each year. Unlike other bases which have an average of 70 aircraft that fly 13,000 sorties each year, Nellis has 150 aircraft flying an average of 30,000 sorties each year.

The base also accounts for more than 1,000 visitors a day, between training personnel and retirees. Givhan said those add another $1.2 billion in economic impact.

The base is particularly popular among all four branches of the service because of its proximity to the Nevada Test Range, which has more than 3 million acres of desert for live ammunition bombing and air-ground combat training.

But that training doesn't come without public scrutiny - something Goldfein hopes to improve by continuing to involve the community in base planning.

At least two officials from Tonopah complained about how close the Air Force practicing bombing has come to their town, and Goldfein said he hopes developers of the proposed Coyote Springs subdivision 50 miles north of Nellis will reconsider their location, which sits right beneath the flight path of outgoing fighters.

"We don't want to be put into a situation where growth ultimately creates a group of citizens who are at odds with our very critical mission," Goldfein said.

Some of the commands at Nellis also will take on new responsibilities, with the Air Warfare Center expanding its role to cover space and information missions.

"With the explosive growth here in Las Vegas and at Nellis, it's important we're able to keep a good balance" between the military and the community, Goldfein said.