Fort Huachuca
Cochise County, Arizona NearSierra Vista, Arizona in United States
Insignia of units stationed at Fort Huachuca Motto: "From sabres to satellites"
Site information
Type	Army Post
Owner	United States
Controlled by	United States Army
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Active
Website	Official Website
Location
Interactive map outlining Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca Location in Arizona Show map of Arizona Fort Huachuca Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates	31°33′19″N110°20′59″W / 31.555357°N 110.349754°W /31.555357; -110.349754
Site history
Built	3 March 1877 (1877-03-03)
In use	143 years
Battles/wars	Apache Wars 1849–1924 Pancho Villa Expedition 1916–1917 World War II Korean War
Garrison information
Current commander	Colonel Michael J. Childs
Past commanders	List of Past Commanders CPTSamuel Whitside CPTHenry Lawton LTCCharles Young COLCornelius Smith BG Harry H. Hiestand[1] BGAlbert N. Stubblebine III[2] MGJohn M. Custer III MGRobert P. Ashley MGScott D. Berrier MG Robert Walters MGLaura A. Potter MGAnthony R. Hale
Garrison	USAG Fort Huachuca
Occupants	U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (USAICoE) Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) 111th Military Intelligence Brigade 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment,1st Aviation Brigade Intelligence Electronic Warfare Test Directorate (IEWTD) Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) Major General Maria Barret – CG,NETCOM Command Sergeant Major Warren Robinson – USAICoE CSM Command Sergeant Major Richard Knott – NETCOM CSM
Designations	National Register of Historic Places
Fort Huachuca
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Historic Commanding Officer's quarters
Nearest city	Sierra Vista, Arizona
Area	76,000 acres (310 km2)
Built	1877
Architect	US Army
NRHP reference No.	74000443
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	20 November 1974[3]
Designated NHLD	11 May 1976[4]

Fort Huachuca is aUnited States Armyinstallation inCochise County in southeastArizona, approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of theborder with Mexico and at the northern end of theHuachuca Mountains, adjacent to the town ofSierra Vista. Established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca, the garrison is under the command of theUnited States Army Installation Management Command. From 1913 to 1933, the fort was the base for the "Buffalo Soldiers" of the10th Cavalry Regiment. During the build-up ofWorld War II, the fort had quarters for more than 25,000 male soldiers and hundreds ofWACs. In the 2010 census, Fort Huachuca had a population of about 6,500 active duty soldiers, 7,400 military family members, and 5,000 civilian employees. Fort Huachuca has over 18,000 people on post during weekday work hours.

The major tenant units are the United StatesArmy Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) and theUnited States Army Intelligence Center. Libby Army Airfield is on post and shares its runway withSierra Vista Municipal Airport. It was an alternate but never used landing location for theSpace Shuttle. Fort Huachuca is the headquarters of ArmyMilitary Auxiliary Radio System. Other units include theJoint Interoperability Test Command, the Information Systems Engineering Command, theElectronic Proving Ground (USAEPG), and theIntelligence and Electronic Warfare Directorate.^[5]

The fort has aradar-equippedaerostat (Tethered Aerostat Radar System), one of a series maintained for theDrug Enforcement Administration (DEA) byHarris Corporation. The aerostat is northeast of Garden Canyon and supports the DEA drug interdiction mission by detecting low-flying aircraft attempting to enter the United States from Mexico. Fort Huachuca contains the Western Division of the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center which is based at the139th Airlift Wing,Rosecrans Air National Guard Base inSaint Joseph, Missouri.

The installation was founded to counter theChiricahua Apache threat and secure the border with Mexico during theApache Wars. On 3 March 1877,CaptainSamuel Marmaduke Whitside led two companies of the6th Cavalry and chose a site at the base of theHuachuca Mountains that provided sheltering hills and a perennial stream.^[6][7] In 1882, Camp Huachuca was redesignated a fort.

GeneralNelson A. Miles commanded Fort Huachuca as his headquarters in his campaign againstGeronimo in 1886. After the surrender of Geronimo in 1886, the Apache threat was extinguished, but the army continued to operate Fort Huachuca because of its strategic border position. In 1913, the fort became the base for the "Buffalo Soldiers", the10th Cavalry Regiment composed of African Americans. It served this purpose for twenty years. DuringGeneral Pershing's failed Punitive Expedition of 1916–1917, he used the fort as a forward logistics and supply base. From 1916 to 1917, the base was commanded byCharles Young, the first African American to be promoted to colonel. He left for medical reasons. In 1933, the25th Infantry Regiment replaced the 10th Cavalry at the fort.

With the build-up during World War II, the fort had an area of 71,253 acres (288.35 km²), with quarters for 1,251 officers and 24,437 enlisted soldiers.^[8] The92nd and93rd Infantry Divisions, composed of African-American troops, trained at Huachuca.

In 1947, the post was closed and turned over to theArizona Game and Fish Department. At the outbreak of theKorean War, a January 1951 letter from theSecretary of the Air Force to the Governor of Arizona invoked the reversion clause of a 1949 deed. On 1 February 1951 theU.S. Air Force took official possession of Fort Huachuca, making it one of the few army installations to have had an existence as anair base.^[9] The army retook possession of the base a month later and reopened the post in May 1951 to train engineers in airfield construction as part of the Korean War build up. The engineers built today'sLibby Army Airfield, named in honor of Korean War Medal of Honor recipientGeorge D. Libby. On 1 May 1953, after the Korean War, the post was again placed on inactive status with only acaretaker detachment.

On 1 February 1954, Huachuca was reactivated after a seven-month shut-down following the Korean War. It was the beginning of a new era focused onelectronic warfare. The army's Electronic Proving Ground opened in 1954, followed by theArmy Security Agency Test and Evaluation Center in 1960, the Combat Surveillance and Target Acquisition Training Command in 1964, and the Electronic Warfare School in 1966. Also in 1966 the U.S. Army established the 1st Combat Support Training Brigade, whose mission was to train soldiers in the specialties of field wire and communication, telegraph communications (O5B wired and wireless)^{[clarification needed]}, light tactical vehicle driving, wheeled vehicle maintenance, and food service and administration due to the expanding need for these skills inVietnam.

In 1967, Fort Huachuca became the headquarters of the U.S. Army Strategic Communications Command, which became the U.S. Army Communications Command in 1973, and U.S. Army Information Systems Command in 1984. It is now known as NETCOM after the army dropped the 9th Signal Command (Army) designation on 1 October 2011. NETCOM was realigned in 2014 as a subordinate command to United States Army Cyber Command from a direct reporting unit to the Headquarters, Department of the Army CIO/G6.^[10]

Fort Huachuca was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1976 for its role in ending theApache Wars, the last major military actions against Native Americans, and as the site of the Buffalo Soldiers.^[4][11][12] Fort Huachuca includes a cemetery known as the Fort Huachuca Post Cemetery.^[13] Some 3,800 veterans and family members are buried there.

In 1980, the160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) conducted aircraft training exercises from Fort Huachuca in preparation forOperation Honey Badger. This operation aimed to rescuecaptive American personnel in Iran. It was developed in the wake ofOperation Eagle Claw's failure. The environment near the fort enabled 160th SOAR pilots to train and simulate flying in the mountainous desert terrain of Iran.

The fort was the site of the2007 Conseil International du Sport Militaire.^{[citation needed]}

Fort Huachuca has two museums in three buildings on post. The Ft. Huachuca Museum^[14] occupies two buildings on Old Post, its main museum and gift shop (Building 41401), and a nearby spillover gallery called the Museum Annex (building 41305). It tells the story of Fort Huachuca and the U.S. Army in the American Southwest, with special emphasis on the Buffalo Soldiers and the Apache War. The Annex across the street (Old Post Theater) has outdoor displays, walkways, sitting areas, and historical statues.

The second museum is The U.S. Army Intelligence Museum, in the military intelligence (MI) Library on the MI school campus (Hatfield Street – Building 62723). The museum has a collection of historical artifacts including agent radio communication gear, aerial cameras, cryptographic equipment, anEnigma Code machine, two small drones and a section of theBerlin Wall. The museum's emphasis is on U.S. Army military intelligence history and includes displays of the organizational development of army intelligence. There is a small military intelligence gift shop with customized Fort Huachuca souvenirs.

All visitors, military or civilian, are welcome at the Ft. Huachuca Museum free of charge. Civilian visitors without aDoD ID card must pass a criminal background check before being allowed to pass the gate.^[15] Foreign visitors must be escorted by active duty or retired military personnel.

Fort Huachuca has a rich tradition in Army Signal and is currently home to NETCOM whose mission is to plan, engineer, install, integrate, protect, defend and operate armycyberspace, enabling mission command through all phases of operations. It used to be home to the11th Signal Brigade. The 11th Signal Brigade has the mission of rapidly deploying worldwide to provide and protect command, control, communications, and computer support for commanders. They were deployed to provide signal operations during the2003 invasion of Iraq. On 7 June 2013, the unit moved toFort Hood, Texas. The Army Electronic Proving Ground (USAEPG), a forerunner in the research and development of defense technology, was conducted at Ft. Huachuca for several decades. The software-defined radios, Wideband Networking Waveform, and the Soldier Radio Waveform, were tested at USAEPG in 2014 for a network integration evaluation, NIE 15.2, atFort Bliss, in 2015.^[16]

In addition to the US Army Intelligence Center, Fort Huachuca is the home of the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade, which conducts MI training for the armed services. The Military Intelligence Officer Basic Leadership Course, Military Intelligence Captain's Career Course, and theWarrant Officer Basic and Advanced Courses are taught on the installation. The Army's MI branch also held the responsibility forunmanned aerial vehicles until April 2006. The program was reassigned to the Aviation branch's 1st Battalion, 210th Aviation Regiment, now 2nd Battalion,13th Aviation Regiment. Additional training inHuman Intelligence (e.g.,interrogation,counterintelligence),Imagery Intelligence, andElectronic Intelligence and analysis is also conducted by the 111th. The 111th MI Brigade hosts the Joint Intelligence Combat Training Center at Fort Huachuca.

Fort Huachuca Accommodation Schools is the school district for dependent children living on the base.^[17] The schools are: Colonel Johnston Elementary School (K–2), General Myer Elementary School (3–5), and Colonel Smith Middle School (6–8).^[18] The zoned high school isBuena High School, operated by theSierra Vista Unified School District, inSierra Vista.^[19]

People who have served or lived at Fort Huachuca:

• Brigadier GeneralSamuel Whitside, founded Camp Huachuca.
• Major GeneralLeonard Wood,Medal of Honor recipient andChief of Staff of the Army from 1910 to 1914 (after whomFort Leonard Wood in Missouri is named).
• ColonelCornelius C. Smith, Medal of Honor recipient and head of thePhilippine Constabulary from 1910 to 1912. He accepted surrender of Mexican ColonelEmilio Kosterlitzky while stationed at Huachuca in 1913 and was later Huachuca commandant from 1918 to 1919.
• Bullet Rogan (Negro league baseball) 25th Infantry Regiment
• Cornelius C. Smith Jr., historian of Arizona, California, and the Southwestern United States.
• John Henry, played professional baseball for theWashington Senators andBoston Braves from 1910 to 1918.
• ColonelSidney Mashbir, Commandant ofAllied Translator and Interpreter Section,Military Intelligence Service during World War II.
• GeneralAlexander Patch, decorated officer who commanded Army and Marine forces in theGuadalcanal campaign and later the7th Army in Europe during World War II.
• GeneralJames Gavin (82nd Airborne Division)
• GeneralRobert Sink (101st Airborne Division)
• Lieutenant GeneralSidney T. Weinstein, one of the driving forces behind reorganizing Army intelligence in late 1970s and 1980s.
• CaptainAmadou Sanogo, junta leader in the West African country ofMali, completed intelligence training at Fort Huachuca in 2008.
• Specialist 5Bobby Murcer, Major League Baseball player, New York Yankees, 1967–1969. 1st Training Brigade.
• Luis Robles, goalkeeper for theNew York Red Bulls ofMajor League Soccer, was born at Fort Huachuca in 1984.
• Jayne Cortez, poet, born at Fort Huachuca in 1934.
• Lieutenant GeneralRobert P. Ashley Jr., served as the Commanding General of the Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca from April 2013 to July 2015.^[20]
• Lieutenant GeneralScott D. Berrier, served as the Commanding General of the Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca from July 2015 to July 2017.^[21]

• Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), starringGregory Peck as the title character, was filmed at Fort Huachuca.
• The opening sequence ofSuppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1969) was filmed at Ft. Huachuca. This movie was supported by the 1st Training Brigade. It stars Brian Keith and Tony Curtis.
• InScent of a Woman (1992) starringAl Pacino as Lt. Colonel Frank Slade, Slade tells his companion Charlie Simms that he dreamed of The Oak Room's rolls when he was at Fort Huachuca. "Bread's no good west of the Colorado. Water's too alkaline."
• In the Tom Clancy thriller,Clear and Present Danger, Fort Huachuca is identified and shown as the place where phone calls between drug lords, Felix Cortez and Ernesto Escobedo, are being intercepted.
• Tumbleweed Forts (2021), a memoir by Frank Warner, describes how Frank and his brothers explored Fort Huachuca from 1960 to 1963, when their father was stationed there experimenting with the Army's early drones.Tumbleweed Forts also has been turned into a five-part series, Huachuca Books, adapted for young readers.

• Smith, Cornelius C. Jr.Fort Huachuca: The Story of a Frontier Post. Fort Huachuca, Arizona: 1978.^{[ISBN missing]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFort Huachuca.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide forSierra Vista.

• Fort Huachuca Homepage
• Fort Huachuca News
• Fort Huachuca Apache Flats RV Resort information.
• Historic Fort Huachuca
• MI History Virtual TourArchived 17 April 2020 at theWayback Machine

• United States Army posts
• Military installations in Arizona
• 1877 establishments in Arizona Territory
• Buildings and structures in Cochise County, Arizona
• Forts in Arizona
• Military intelligence
• Lockheed Martin-associated military facilities
• National Historic Landmarks in Arizona
• Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona
• Sierra Vista, Arizona
• National Register of Historic Places in Cochise County, Arizona
• Military installations established in 1877

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