CONTACT: Mr. Eric Durr 518-786-4581 or (cell) 518-429-5186

FOR RELEASE: Thursday, Jan 29, 2009

CORTLANDT MANOR , NY (01/28/2009)-- Hand grenade and grenade launcher ranges, a mounted convoy live-fire range, and a live-fire "Shoot House" are among the upgrades the New York Army National Guard hopes to make at the Camp Smith Training Site over the next seven years. The 1,613 acre facility is the largest state-owned National Guard training facility in New York. The facility includes 126 acres that includes 50 buildings, 229 acres of ranges and 1,256 areas of wooded training area. Soldiers can train on M-4 carbines, M-16 rifles, M-240B machineguns, and M-9 pistols at the existing ranges, and conduct infantry tactical training on the wooded hillsides. The United States Military Academy at West Point and various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies also use the ranges and training area. Camp Smith's ranges, though, need to be upgraded in order to allow the facility to better prepare National Guard Soldiers, and other members of the military to deploy to combat zones. New ranges already added at the facility include a new sniper training range which was incorporated into the existing ranges. The work is part of the New York National Guard's Range Complex Master Plan. New facilities being planned include: A combat pistol/Military Police qualification range which would allow shooters to practice firing while moving; An M-203 Grenade Launcher range which would allow soldiers to fire 40 millimeter training grenades; A hand grenade qualification range which would allow soldiers to train with actual hand grenades during annual training; A new record fire rifle range which would incorporate pop-up targets at ranges from 25 meters to 300 meters; A sub-caliber mortar range that would allow mortar crews to work on their skills by firing special training ammunition designed for smaller ranges; A Military Operations in Urban Terrain and life-fire "shoot house" complex which would allow Soldiers to learn to fight from building to building, and would also allow them to engage targets in a room with live weapons in a controlled environment; And a Mounted Life Fire convoy Range which would enable soldiers to practice engaging targets while mounted in a moving vehicle. This is a critical skill for Soldiers deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. As required by law, the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs has prepared a draft environmental assessment which addresses the environmental impact of range construction at Camp Smith, as well as at training sites near Albany and Niagara Falls where the National Guard is also planning to upgrade training facilities. The assessment is available at the Field Library in Peekskill, or it can be downloaded from the Division of Military and Naval Affairs website at http://dmna.ny.gov/NYARNG_DEA.pdf. A 30-day comment period will begin on February 8, 2009. Anyone interested in commenting on this Draft Environmental Assessment is encouraged to forward comments to Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo, ATTN: MNPA, NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs, 330 Old Niskayuna Road, Latham, NY 12110. Comments will be forwarded to the National Guard Bureau, Washington, DC.