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Nellis Area II
(Lake
Mead Base)
Nellis Air Force Base Area II, once known as Lake Mead Base, is a
separate facility about a mile northeast of the main Nellis air base on the
northern outskirts of Las Vegas. Area II is a munitions storage facility for
both conventional bombs and "non-conventional" munitions which
reportedly include 200 nuclear warheads. Area II is dominated by a high-security
triple-fenced compound encompassing several dozen earthen bunkers. Because the
fence is well-lit at night, it can be easily seen from Interstate 15 and by
passenger jets approaching Las Vegas. A lower security area outside this
compound includes support buildings and a federal minimum security prison.
Conventional weapons used in military exercises are stored in a separate area
from the nuclear compound and are transported to the main Nellis air base via a
secured roadway. During the years of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site,
Lake Mead Base was a storage and transfer area for atomic devices to be
detonated at the Test Site.
Facilities
Area II contains at least the following...
| Nellis Federal Prison Camp, a federal minimum security prison
occupying former Air Force dorms. This facility was said to have housed
financier Michael Milken (unconfirmed). Prisoners can mix freely with Air
Force personnel and could easily leave the facility through the main gate.
| A conventional munitions facility storing bombs and other
munitions for Nellis air exercises. Bombs are transported to the base over
a secure roadway within Nellis property.
| A separate and much larger "non-conventional" munitions
facility presumably housing nuclear weapons. Facility appears as
several dozen bunkers on a hillside, surrounded by a massive triple-fence
reminiscent of the border that once existed between East and West Germany.
The fence is well-lit at night and is easily visible from I-15.
| A depot of the 820th Red Horse engineering squadron.
| Various support buildings and dorms. In addition to the prison, a
resident "non-conventional" munitions squadron is apparently
housed there. |
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