Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) completed renovations at the indoor small arms range and re-opened the facility for patrons March 2, nine months after the project started.

The project incorporated a top of the line bullet trap and collection system, new overhead noise reduction materials to protect the roof, new walls, floor and a two-way communication system for the range staff. Before the remodel, the facility could only accommodate one shooter at a time. Now the range can accommodate six shooters at a time and is able to shoot six different courses of fire on three different weapon systems.

Kristin Koszewski, the NBSD small arms range manager, said the upgrade brings an additional level of support to Sailors.

"This upgrade is vital to the mission because this range is centrally located on the largest naval base in the Pacific Fleet. The accessibility of this range allows all commands the convenience and capability to maintain gun qualifications, without adding extra costs to the government."

During the closure, the majority of the base sentries, police officers and ship Sailors had to travel to ranges located on other bases or had to use ranges in town in order to shoot. "With the high demand from military units stationed at Point Loma and Coronado, there was rarely any room for our commands to get into the military ranges, so waivers had to be submitted for ranges out in town. Not only did this cost the government additional money, it also added about two hours to the qualification process due to transit times," stated Koszewski.

NBSD's range can now accommodate base security forces, Fleet Sailors, Navy Region Southwest (NRSW) security forces, other federal entities and even shooting clubs. Additionally, the range is the only military range in the San Diego area that is able to shoot low light during the day simply because it's indoors and the lights can be turned off.

"Our ability to efficiently train and keep current in all weapons has greatly increased now that our range is open. During the closure, we had to shuffle our manning to accommodate for transit times to gun ranges and that was causing a significant strain on our watchstanders," said Lt. Fred Masten, NBSD security officer.

With the opening of the range, NRSW Security will resume a 24-hour gun shoot qualification once a week to accommodate the three watch shifts within the security departments across the entire region.

"Having a facility near the Fleet that provides a capability for Sailors to qualify on a full range of weapons is efficient and cost effective. This is just one of the ways that we support the Fleet, Fighter and Family. The updated indoor small arms range increases the overall level of efficiency and level of support to commands in the area, hopefully making training simpler for them," said Capt. Curt Jones, NBSD commanding officer.

The range offers six firing points that will be open Monday through Friday and can be scheduled using the Navy's online Range Facility Management Support System (RFMSS). Units wishing to schedule range time at Naval Base San Diego are encouraged to create a RFMSS account and schedule their range reservations well in advance.

For more news from Naval Base San Diego, visit www.navy.mil/.