Ethan Allan Firing Range, Vermont

Vermont has one full-fledged military range, the Ethan Allan Firing Range, near Underhill Center. Owned by the Army, the 11,000 acre range was first established in the 1920s, and was developed as a major gun testing range by General Electric in the 1950s. It is now used by around 20,000 trainees a year, mostly reserve forces and police. The General Dynamics company operates the central portion of the range for the testing and development of weapons (their Armament and Technical Products Division owns the former GE armaments plant in Burlington). Though there are 30 military sites in the state, most are the typical National Guard and Reserve force armories, offices, and equipment maintenance sites. The Ethan Allan Range constitutes most of the 14,000 acres under military ownership in Vermont.