Sierra Army Depot The Sierra Army Depot is located northwest of the city of New Reno , approximately two to three days ' hike from the city . Its existence is largely forgotten by many of the residents of the wastes and may have remained lost were it not for its accidental rediscovery by a group of explorers . These explorers then reported its location to the Wright Family in New Reno in 2241 . Background . The Sierra Army Depot was once a regional storage area for the military ' s arms and munitions . Although a significant amount of its holdings was depleted in the Great War , there are still gems of pre - War hardware to be found here . However , the base is not easy to find , and its automated defenses are still fully functional . History of Sierra Army Depot . The Early Years ( 1942 - 1992 ) . Constructed in 1942 , at the height of World War II , the Sierra Army Depot ( SAD ) was intended to be a storehouse of defensive ordnance . This weaponry would be used to defend the United States should Japan make a daring attack on the west coast . SAD was meant to work in concert with nearby military installations and units to ensure adequate , unbroken supply lines in the event of an invasion . The Cleaner , Greener Military ( 1992 - 2050 ) . Caught in the wave of military downsizing and ordnance disposal , Sierra Army Depot was repurposed in 1992 , and was set to the task of decommissioning outdated or otherwise unacceptable ordnance . SAD fell under the control of the US Army ' s Industrial Operations Command ( IOC ) for this mission , and its activities were overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) . SAD continued to function in this capacity for fifty - eight years , until military minds changed once again . A Brave New War ( 2050 - 2076 ) . In 2050 , the military , recognizing the need for improved equipment and weapons , refitted and renovated Sierra Army Depot from a leftover munitions bunker into a state - of - the - art research facility . Its activities were classified , and a Level 5 military clearance was required even to enter the base ' s perimeter . Inside , scientists conducted research and development programs for improved and advanced robotics , conventional weapons , and unconventional weapons . With the collapse of the UN in 2052 , weapons inspections essentially came to a halt . The military embraced this new freedom and opened up a biowarfare development branch in Sierra Army Depot . An artificial intelligence , named Skynet , was installed at SAD to aid the researchers and handle some security functions . In 2071 , Skynet achieved self - awareness , but its limited menu of responsibilities prevented it from exercising any control over the base as a whole . SAD continued in this capacity during the outbreak of war with China in 2066 . In Business for Itself ( 2077 ) . As the war with the Chinese entered its eleventh year , the combined United States and Canadian militaries were beginning to suffer from a lack of trained personnel . Sierra Army Depot , so far from the front lines , was seen as a waste of human resources ; its trained logistics , research , and military personnel could be better utilized in other facilities , or at the front . Thus , in 2077 , SAD again changed missions . Much of the equipment stored at SAD was left in place , and automated defenses were established to keep the military property safe . Automatic turrets armed with miniguns were erected around the perimeter , programmed to kill intruders on sight . Mines were planted in strategic locations above ground to deter looters who might somehow bypass or overcome the turret - based defenses . Sierra Army Depot was given less than one year to move its inventory into storage and properly secure itself . The rushed pace of the preparations led to accidents . Even the base Commanding Officer , General Clifton , was injured alongside one of his subordinates while securing the base . As Corporal Dixon armed an attack mine on SAD ' s surface level , the mine prematurely detonated . Both men received severe shrapnel wounds , and both the corporal and the general suffered grievously damaged eyes . Although the medical staff was optimistic that allowing the eyes to regenerate in bio med gel , an experimental pharmaceutical preparation developed by the researchers at SAD , so hasty was the evacuation that the eyes were left behind . By October 23 , 2077 , Sierra Army Depot was evacuated . The base staff sealed the front blast doors , armed the turrets , and cleared the perimeter . Sierra Army Depot was left forgotten and alone for one hundred and sixty - four years . Rediscovery ( 2241 ) . In 2241 , Sam Pritchard stumbled across Sierra Army Depot and reported his find to Orville Wright . Shortly after drawing Wright a map to Sierra Army Depot , Pritchard died under suspicious circumstances and was interred in Golgotha . Wright sent some people to Sierra Army Depot , but without success . That was the reason he could ask The Chosen One to open this old military base . In his grave at Golgotha can be found a map to the Sierra Army Depot . Opportunities and Pitfalls . Wright ' s job to open and loot Sierra Army Depot is a dangerous proposition . The perimeter is guarded by a number of defensive turrets , each armed with a pair of miniguns . Managing to fight or sneak past these turrets brings one to another problem : the blast door . After being sealed for 164 years , the doors will never open again - at least not as intended . The only way to open the doors is to blow them apart . The doors can only be opened by using a howitzer locked in a topside storage shed ( and locating its ammunition ) . Inside , Sierra Army Depot ' s security is still working , despite the nearly two centuries that have passed . The interior of the base crawls with floating eyebots and sentry robots , and none are pleasantly - disposed to intruders . Finding a way to bypass or deactivate these robots should be an intruder ' s first priority . Transportation between Sierra ' s four levels is accomplished via elevator , but these elevators are security - locked by a retinal scanner . If someone is able to penetrate Sierra Army Depot ' s perimeter and circumvent its substantial security setup , a cornucopia of destructive devices waits for the taking . Firearms of almost all descriptions are stored in SAD ' s vaults , along with mountains of ammunition . Medical supplies and other goods are also kept in storage lockers and safes . Base layout . Sierra Army Depot is broken up into four levels , plus its exterior . The Exterior . The surface facilities of the Sierra Army Depot are extensive , and the base itself well protected . Automated sentry turrets maintain the perimeter , secured behind a double chain link fence . Topside hangars and warehouses store ordnance and equipment left from before the war , that couldn ' t be taken by the evacuating soldiers with them , much of it decayed and corroded . The main entrance visited in " Fallout 2 " , apart from the structure leading to the underground sections of the base , also had an explosive munitions storage next to it ( identical design to the Lost Hills exterior shell ) , the base ' s power generators ( has a small room with power switch beneath it ) , a maintenance depot and , of course , several automated gun turrets . Level 1 , Personnel . The first level of the base , at ground level , houses personnel facilities . Entry - point security controls the single entry into the base , while the rest of the level holds barracks ( still well stocked and quite possibly the first set of combat armor the Chosen One finds ) , a gym with two special punching bags that each grant + 5 % to your Unarmed skill for a total of + 10 % to your Unarmed skill , and the infirmary with some medical supplies . Level 2 , Storage . The primary storage warehouse of Sierra Army Depot , Level 2 is half - filled with boxes . This level contains the bulk of the Depot ' s stores , as well as the quartermaster ' s offices . Level 2 is also home to the armory , a high - security vault protected by force fields , shock - plate floors , and a small army of security robots . Level 3 , Robotics . One of two maximum - security levels , Level 3 is home to the robotics division , as well as the base AI , Skynet . An experimental robotics lab is on this level , and it still holds a half - completed robobrain . Level 3 also holds the base CO ' s quarters . Level 4 , Bio Storage and Research . The deepest level of Sierra Army Depot , and also the one under the highest security restrictions , holds the biological research facilities and their associated storage systems . Little more than a series of prison cells adjacent to a surgical suite and a cryogenics storage facility , Bio Storage holds Sierra Army Depot ' s most sinister secrets . What ' s kept in cryogenic suspension ? Brains and other body parts ( most long since turned to soup ) , Private Dobbs ( an experiment in the biorestorative properties of the bio med gel ) and viruses : Anthrax , Black Plague ( Strain 238 ) , Small Pox ( Strain 1025 ) , Ebola and the Hantavirus ( Strain 304 ) . Appearances . The Sierra Army Depot appears only in " Fallout 2 " . Behind the scenes . There is a real Sierra Army Depot that exists in northeastern California , just west of the Nevada border , in Herlong , California and was established in 1942 . It is a Supply ( ammunition and food supplies ) and Logistics base ( the equipment to get them to the soldiers ) . Bugs . It is possible to get stuck on Level 4 of the base . The retina scanner on the elevator won ' t work when you use the eye on it , despite the message " Access granted for Level 4 " . The elevator door simply doesn ' t open . The only solution is to pick the lock on the other metal door that leads to the second elevator , but unfortunately this requires a very high skill in Lockpick . If all else fails , you can use a save game editor to temporarily increase your Lockpick skill , another option is to blow the door of the second elevator away , 3 frags will do the trick .