But for half a century Johnson, like many residents of Ash Vale, has been able to walk the ranges when the red flags are down, showing the soldiers are elsewhere.
That changed last year when the Ministry of Defenceâs Defence Infrastructure Organisation decided to permanently close the ranges to the public for the first time since the commons were granted to the armed forces in 1876, on the proviso that they remained open to the public when not in military use.
Now Johnson and other campaigners say the MoD has become increasingly heavy-handed in enforcing what they call an illegal closure.