Message posted by JimBob on July 10, 2003 at 10:13:57 PST:
The rules have changed for those who like to access the north end of Nellis. As many you know, the USAF is in the process of acquiring 220 acres of land. Another number floated was as much as 417 acres. In talking to the PAO, there may be 27 or 28 different private owners taht had to be negotated with. Most, if not all of those parcels negotiations have probably bee completed . For the past 6-8 months the gravel pits have been cleaned-up and and are rapidly being filled in. A whole lot of junk was hauled out and a whole lot of fill was/is being hauled in. Once the the fill has been completed, a fence will probably follow. They can also post it, prior to a fence, with NO TRESSPASSING signs and enforce it. The reason for the acquistion is to maintain a protected and sterile area for live ordinance departures. I heard that from MG L.D. Johnson (AWFC C.O.) at a Red Flag building briefing in the summer of 2001. The audience included numerous retired general officers and fighter pilots. The general was quite candid. BTW...I was just an invited guest of a neighbor and retired fighter pilot. In the past month there have been at least two encounters with base security outside of the fence line. One, in early June, was with a base civilian that said he was with "base intelligence (discribed as one level below OSI)." The second was this last Tuesday with several uniformed base security personnel in a marked USAF police car. A cammoed Hummer was also in the area. In both instances, those approached by security were told,the area to the south of the ingress/egress dirt road we use is now USAF property and off-limits. For now (and it will probably change for the worse), visitors must stay on the North side of that road. They said (again for now) you can follow the dirt road in and then follow it around the big bend that leads to the gravel pits. NO NOT venture into the fence line! Contrary to some reports, trucks continue to bring in fill to the pits. I counted 11 visible at on time about a month ago. I plan to take a look tomorrow. Anyway....beware! Enjoy what you can while you can and try to play by the new rules! Base activity has been somewhat limited over the past four weeks. The Weapons School's ME Phase of flying wrapped up June 10th. The new school started in the last week. There was alot of activity at 0700 this morning. They were probably trying to beat the heat. With temps running above 100 F. most of the day, "wetbulb condition caution" has been in use on the flightline. It calls for drinking "1 1/2 to 2 1/2 quarts per hour." Work is "45 minutes on and 15 minutes off."
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