BREAKING: Oregon Army National Guard gets $12M for machine gun range in Boardman

Published 3:48 pm Monday, August 4, 2025

BOARDMAN — The Oregon Army National Guard will receive $12 million in federal funding to build a 10-lane machine gun range at the Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility in Boardman.

U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced Aug. 4, the funding project is mission-critical for the Oregon Military Department’s Rees Training Center in Hermiston.

According to a joint press release from the senators, Oregon soldiers currently must leave the state for machine gun training, a process that costs time and money while reducing their availability for state emergency operations.

The new range is expected to create economic benefits in rural Oregon, both through military construction and long-term training operations.

More to come as the story develops.