The Air Force made a final $5.2 million offer to purchase
private land within the Nevada Test and Training Range, which is inhibiting
training and security, officials announced. "We are hopeful the family
will accept our final offer to purchase roughly 100 acres of owned property and
about 300 acres of unpatented mine claims," Air Force Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Installations
Jennifer
Miller said in a
release. "We
understand the landowners' connection to the land, but we must also consider
the demands of national security," she added. The range hosts Red Flag
held at nearby Nellis AFB, Nev., as well as other combat exercises, tactics
development, and system testing. "Mission cancellations on the NTTR due to
incompatible land use cost millions of dollars per year," said range
commander
Col.
Thomas Dempsey. "These lost opportunities and delays result in
increased national security costs to the taxpayer," he added.
