The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act includes funding for military installations at Fallon and Hawthorne.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress on Wednesday includes funds for Naval Air Station Fallon and the Hawthorne Army Depot to enhance training.
The $985 billion bill now goes to the president for his signature.
The NDAA authorizes $48.3 million as part of the Fallon Range Training Complex modernization to pay ranchers for their land permits. The bill also provides an additional $45 million to accelerate the modernization, which was approved in the 2023 NDAA.
Another $45 million will accelerate the construction of training facilities at the air station as part of the modernization.
Funding also will go toward a new small arms training range at Hawthorne, 67 miles south of Fallon.
Two years ago, U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said she learned soldiers from the Nevada National Guard had to travel hundreds of miles out of state for their training.
“The financial cost to transport soldiers out of state far exceeds the cost of building a range in-state, and I am pleased the Army is following through on its commitment to me to do so,” she said in 2022.
Rosen, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the average cost of a unit to travel out of state for its weapons training is $500,000. In order to meet annual weapons qualifications, soldiers and airmen have traveled to bases in California, Arizona, Utah and Arizona.
In Southern Nevada, the NDAA will improve military nutrition at facilities including Creech and Nellis Air Force bases.
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said NDAA passage was critical.
“I voted to deliver vital support to Nevada’s military families, invest in our military bases, and bolster our state’s critical mineral industries, which are essential for our national defense supply chains,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, whose district includes Fallon and Hawthorne, said the 2025 NDAA enhances strategic deterrence, promotes next-generation capabilities and prioritizes American military superiority.
“This year’s NDAA makes long overdue investments in our servicemembers’ quality of life, including pay raises, housing improvements, and access to health care," Amodei said. "This isn’t just a moral obligation – it’s a national security imperative. Our all-volunteer military force is the foundation of our military strength, and we must do all we can do to protect and preserve it.
“Not only will this NDAA strengthen the readiness of our military, but it also ensures our servicemembers are equipped with the resources they need by investing in next-generation weaponry and technology, modernizing the nuclear triad, enhancing U.S. military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, and cutting wasteful and inefficient Pentagon programs.”
Other provisions of the 2025 NDAA include:
• A 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% pay raise for all other service members.
• Expanded child care benefits for military families.
• Increased number of days of paid military leave available to federal employees who are also reserve service members.
• Protect access to contraception for service members. The bill ensures birth control is available without a copay under Tricare for service members and their families.