Bentonville Township — Former Marine Corps staff sergeant Steve Reichert said he would expect some opposition no matter where he wanted to build a military and civilian training center.

Tier 1 Group, which Reichert formed three years ago, isn't an average neighbor. If the company comes to Bentonville, soldiers and law-enforcement officers will shoot guns, sometimes 2,000 yards from the target, and practice land navigation and medical techniques in the woods.

Military personnel will learn the skills they need to survive in war, Reichert said last Wednesday during a tour set up for local media. “Everyone says, ‘We support the military, just not in our backyard,’” he said. “It’s either you do or you don’t.”

This month, the Johnston County Planning Board was scheduled to hear Tier 1’s request to build and operate on about 2,000 acres. But the company asked the board to hold off until next month while it revises its plan to include a shooting range for public use.

Tier 1 is already facing some opposition. Some locals have voiced concerns, including fears about a training site so close to the Tuscarora Boy Scout camp.

“Right now, you’ve got people who don’t want us here,” Reichert said. “There are plenty of people who do.” The scout camp, which is used year-round, is southwest of the property Tier 1 wants to build on. Reichert, who was a Cub Scout, said he would want to be a good neighbor to the Boy Scouts. Tier 1 could train the scouts in first aid and land navigation, he said.

“If this thing moves forward, we can help them in several ways,” Reichert said. “It would be beneficial for them to have a neighbor like us.”

A big concern for Scout officials has been the nearness of the camp to firing ranges, said Brad Crone of Campaign Connections in Raleigh. Crone’s company is working with Tier 1 to develop the project.

“Our ranges are going to be fenced in,” Reichert said. A 2,000-yard range would be near the center of the property, according to site plans. A 300-yard range would be nearby. The plan also calls for 11 shorter-distance ranges.

Shooting would take place on about 50 acres, Reichert said. But bullets can travel much farther. A 9mm bullet can go about 1,800 yards. A long-range sniper bullet can go about 4,200 yards, and a 50-caliber bullet can travel up to five miles, Reichert said.

But he said stray bullets would be unlikely at Tier 1. Shooters would go through classroom training before firing weapons, and the company would build earthen berms at the end of the ranges, he said.

“If people are worried about getting hit by a stray bullet, they should worry about the hunters and not so much us,” Reichert said.

Reichert said he’s been going door to door in the neighborhood to let people know what his company does. Many locals started asking about a public shooting range, he said.

“We don’t want to tell them no,” Reichert said. Often, people practice shooting in the woods, which can be unsafe, he said. Providing a public range on Tier 1’s site would be a safer option, he said.

Tier 1 is based in Jacksonville, but Reichert wants to move its headquarters to Johnston to be centrally located between Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

Last year, Tier 1 trained about 15 agencies, including the military, Reichert said. Often, it’s cheaper for the government to contract out military training, he said.

A big focus for the company is medical training. If Tier 1 comes to Bentonville, soldiers will practice navigating their way to an injured comrade, providing medical care at the scene and bringing the person back to safety, Reichert said.

“Imagine trying to carry someone out of that,” Phil McCotter, Tier 1’s training-support specialist, said, pointing to a patch of woods on the Bentonville property. “That’s what happens in real life.”

Reichert said his company is going to mail out information about Tier 1 to local residents. “People aren’t going to want us here for several reasons,” he said. “But once we educate them, the majority of those reasons go away.”