Nevada National Guard outlines facilities, readiness priorities and staffing concerns to Assembly committee

Brigadier General Dan Waters, Adjutant General of Nevada, told the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs on March 26 that the Nevada National Guard is prioritizing personnel care, facility improvements and aircraft recapitalization to maintain and expand domestic and contingency mission readiness.

Waters said the Guard has about "approx. 250 personnel in 13 different countries throughout The Middle East" with units scheduled to return this summer, and highlighted ongoing deployments including an explosive ordnance detachment, overseas noncommissioned officer development teams and more than 200 civil support team missions that provide chemical, medical and biological response during state emergencies. "I truly believe if we take care of our people they'll take care of our mission," Waters said.

The presentation summarized recent Guard activities and strategic priorities. Waters reported Guard support for multiple large incidents and events, including wildfire response (Davis Creek Fire), National Science Foundation work in Antarctica, C-130 airlift missions supporting California fires, Las Vegas New Year's Eve and the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Super Bowl 58, and international engagements in Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. He said the Guard has recorded "over a hundred million dollars in drug seizures" through counterdrug partnerships and cited youth and education programs, including about 2,000 Starbase Academy graduates and the Battle Born Youth Challenge Academy, which he said has produced "200 graduates" with "43 cadets in the program right now" and capacity for 100 students per class.

Waters reviewed infrastructure and construction developments. He said the Army has invested $18 million to build a multipurpose range complex at the Hawthorne Army Depot and that the Guard expects the facility to be available within roughly two years. He also said an armored qualification range at Nellis AFB no longer meets safety-designation criteria and that the Guard has canceled that project with the state public works board, redirecting resources to other construction priorities.

A major equipment concern raised repeatedly was recapitalization of the C-130 fleet. Chief Master Sergeant Cameron Peters described the operational difference between the C-130H and the C-130J: the J model has "2 more pallet positions" and longer range, allowing "longer legs" for Pacific missions and improved performance and safety for wildland firefighting. Waters and Peters said Nevada units are among a small number of Guard units that operate Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) capabilities and warned that failure to obtain C-130J aircraft could put the unit's positions at risk: "If we don't get J models, we will lose those positions in the Nevada National Guard and the state of Nevada." Waters said the unit contributes roughly 1,200 jobs and about 250 full-time positions tied to the aviation mission.

Committee members questioned logistics and capacity. Assemblymember DeLong asked about fuel-contingency planning for metropolitan and rural areas; Waters said the state and Guard maintain all-hazards plans and exercise contingency delivery options (tankers and alternate distribution) with Division of Emergency Management and local partners, but that such operations are "seriously challenging events." Assemblymember Kasama asked whether funds previously set aside for a southern Nevada qualification range would move to Hawthorne; Waters said money redirected to an aviation hangar at Stead and that the Hawthorne range is a federal facility and not a direct substitute for a southern Nevada state range, adding environmental remediation concerns and other constraints.

Committee members also asked about recruiting and force strength. Waters said vacancies are low, describing only five vacancies in the Army National Guard at the time of the briefing and noting recruitment and retention successes but also that reduced attrition can limit openings for new accessions. He reiterated the Guard's dual-status mission: under normal state control the governor is commander in chief for domestic operations, but the Guard can be federalized under the president for overseas missions.

The presentation closed with an invitation for committee questions and a request that members coordinate with the Office of the Adjutant General and the Division of Emergency Management for technical follow-ups on all-hazards planning and facility projects.

Ending: The committee did not take formal action on the presentation. Waters and senior Guard leaders remained available to provide additional information to the committee on facilities planning, MAFFS recapitalization, youth programs and contingency logistics.