New Range Maintenance facility under construction at Fort Indiantown Gap

Construction began recently on a new range maintenance facility at Fort Indiantown Gap to replace an undersized World War II-era building.

The new building will support daily range maintenance operations including maintenance activities, administrative functions, and shipping and receiving, according to a release from Sgt. Kayden Bedwell. It will replace a building that was constructed in 1941 and was originally used as a vehicle maintenance shop.

The project was awarded at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. Initial prep and site work began during the first quarter of this year, but construction was paused due to weather and resumed recently.

“The CFMO (Construction and Facilities Management Office), architectural engineers and designers, and the DPW (Directorate of Public Works) project manager worked closely with us to design a facility that meets every requirement we identified,” said range program coordinator Kurt Spieles.

The new structure will be 8,000 square feet of pre-engineered steel with concrete foundation and footers with metal roofing, the release said.

“It will include dedicated machine, painting and woodworking shops; a UAS and 3D‑printing workspace; and substantial storage for tools and electronic target components,” Spieles said in the release. “The current building is small, outdated and lacks many of the safety and functional features the team requires.”

The facility will also include a break area, individual offices, an elevated loading dock and separate men’s and women’s facilities. The range operations staff is looking forward to the improvement in safety for this new building, the release said.

“Safety will be one of the most substantial improvements,” said Spieles. “Proper ventilation, dust collection and the physical separation of the machine shop and wood shop are essential safety features we simply cannot achieve in the current, cramped facility.”

Spieles said the office is taking a “very forward-leaning approach,” not only to range maintenance, but also to emerging technology.

“We are working closely with UASTIF (Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training and Innovation Facility) leadership to develop state‑of‑the‑art UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) kinetic and non‑kinetic engagements, UAS flight‑maneuver training, UAS gunnery, and other training requirements soldiers face in today’s contested environments,” Spieles said. “Having a dedicated space to build and repair both quadcopter and fixed‑wing drones is a major step forward.”

Col. Kevin Potts, Fort Indiantown Gap’s garrison commander, said the installation’s ranges are critical in developing readiness, and the professionals who maintain the ranges deserve the facilities that match the importance of their work and mission.

“The older facility is no longer large enough to house all the equipment needed to properly maintain and upgrade our ranges,” Potts said in the release, noting that the new facility “will provide a safer, more efficient workspace while positioning Fort Indiantown Gap to support the evolving training requirements of the future.”

Spieles said the transition from the old facility to the new one should be smooth, since the new construction is fairly close to the old one.

“The engineering and design team conducted an in‑depth site visit to evaluate our current equipment and ensure all requirements were fully accounted for,” he said. “Since we have the right vehicles and equipment to transport our tools and machinery, the move should be quick and low‑stress.”

The project was delayed for several years because of funding limitations, he added, “so it’s exciting to finally see it become a reality.”

The new facility is being built on the far west end of Range Road across from the Unit Training Equipment Site. The project is expected to be completed in February 2027.