As usual, trying to find one thing you stumble upon something else. This page has some appropriations requests by Senator Harry Reid.
appropriations request
Here is the text in question:
Project: Land-able Airfield at the UOC (7,500’ landing strip)
Request: $ 3,000,000
Account: OMAFR
Requestor: 98th Range Wing
Location: Nellis AFB, NV
Description : The vision of Red Flag is to move the play of AFMC/SOF aircraft into the southern ranges so as not to interrupt the LFE vuls in the
north. They'd like to have a landable airfield at the UOC to practice SOF insertion, combat landing etc. There is a dirt strip at the UOC but it's
not suitable for landing. This initiative is to get the UOC airfield up to speed to meet the needs of Red Flag and for more realistic training for
AFMC (heave) aircraft.
I'm simply amazed a request would go to congress with this much jargon in it. LFE is a large force exercise. The northern ranges is typically where
the Red (bad guys) and Blue (good guys) mix it up. AFMC is Aif Force Mobility Command, basically the big cargo planes. SOF insertion I hope is
obvious. The UOC is the fake desert city they have near the Nevada Test Site. It is sometimes listed as Gotham City.
If you watch the Red Flag exercises, they typically fly the heavies at the end of the exercise after the fighters RTB (return to base). They use the
new Keno airstirp just east of the Tonopah Test Range for this purpose now.
My two cents? Just use the Keno strip and deconflict the heavies from the fighter aircraft. It isn't that unreasonable of a request and might even
reflect real life.
Three million here, three million there, pretty soon you are talking real money.
