Free Republic

TUCSON - How secure are U.S. military installations? You would think the answer is: very. But, as the News 4 Tucson Investigators uncovered, one installation, right here in southern Arizona, continues to face potential outside security risks, and the problem doesn't seem to be getting any better. Fort Huachuca is only 15 miles north of our state's border with Mexico. The Army post covers more than 73,000 acres. In many parts, the terrain is steep and rugged. Much of the work that goes on at Fort Huachuca is classified but, as the News 4 Tucson Investigators learned, keeping people who...

News that President-elect Trump has selected Michael T. Flynn as the White House National Security advisors made local ears perk up on Friday. Flynn served with the 111th Military Intelligence Training Brigade, which is stationed here at Fort Huachuca, and he attended both the basic and advanced schools on the local post.

FORT HUACHUCA — Whether folks head into the canyons or hike the trails in the game management areas to sightsee, bird watch or just experience a different side of Fort Huachuca, it is imperative to come to the MP station to sign out/in. This helps Fort Huachuca with physical accountability in the event of an emergency. “The current fire condition is very high and we're approaching monsoon season which increases the possibility of an emergency requiring our law enforcement team to evacuate areas,” said Tanja M. Linton, media relations officer for Fort Huachuca Public Affairs Office. “Help us keep you...

FORT HUACHUCA — An important piece of naval history has been transferred from a private collection to the National Museum of the United States Navy. On Monday, a flag believed to have belonged to Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher — a highly decorated World War II Navy hero — was transferred from the Wisniewski and Hildebrandt families to the Navy where it will be displayed in the naval museum in Washington D.C. The flag had been gifted to retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Tom Wisniewski by his cousin and friend John Hildebrandt, who served in the Navy from 1961 to 1965....

FORT HUACHUCA - The Shadow RQ-7Bv2 unmanned aircraft which lost connectivity with the ground station here Jan. 31 was found today by a hiker in the mountains west of Evergreen, Colorado. No one was injured, but the aircraft has sustained damage. Soldiers from Fort Carson, Colorado, along with Clear Creek County and Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff Departments are currently assisting with security and recovery efforts. Search efforts were aided by the National Radar Forensics Team at 1st Air Force's Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, which specializes in tracking lost and/or downed aircraft. The team...

SIERRA VISTA — Looking for the latest info on where the best fishing spots are in southern Arizona and across the state? The Arizona Game and Fish Department has regular updates from anglers all over Arizona detailing what fish are hitting what baits and where as part of its weekly Fishing Report. Compiled from regular input from fishermen and women as well as Game and Fish officials, the report covers the fishing conditions at dozens of lakes and waterways, as well as stocking schedules, water levels and updates on which fish species are most active and when. “The idea is...

Meteor showers are associated with streams of debris left behind by comets. The Perseids are dust bits from Comet Swift-Tuttle and are famous for creating bright fireballs and elevated meteor activity for nearly two weeks in mid-August. This year it is predicted the shower will peak on the overnight of Thursday, Aug. 11, to Friday, Aug. 12. It is predicted to be twice the usual intensity. That’s because Earth will pass through the center of the debris stream rather than the grazing encounter we experience in most years. The display should be well worth the loss of a few hours’...

SIERRA VISTA — Training in unmanned aerial systems on Fort Huachuca should be coordinated with the efforts of the Border Patrol to increase surveillance along the U.S. border with Mexico, Sen. John McCain told a luncheon gathering hosted by the Sierra Vista Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. McCain said he plans to contact Jeh Johnson, head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, next week to urge the agency to coordinate its surveillance efforts with UAV training now happening at the fort. McCain said he expects both the number of military personnel being trained and the number of instructors will...

A partnership led by Arizona Land and Water Trust has been awarded $5.9 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its partners to advance its efforts to conserve land and water around Fort Huachuca while maintaining military sustainability. The project is one of 84 nationwide and one of only two in Arizona awarded by the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) out of 265 proposals. Arizona Game & Fish Department was awarded $900,000. "Fort Huachuca is a national security treasure that houses many of our military's unique and indispensable capabilities," said U.S. Rep. Martha McSally. "It's taken significant steps...

SIERRA VISTA — While the national media discusses recent findings deeming 2015 as the warmest year on record, in terms of global average temperatures, southeast Arizona didn’t quite follow the trend. According to temperatures gathered at the Bisbee-Douglas International Airport, 2015 was the 23rd warmest on record in Cochise County at an average of 62.7 degrees, according to data maintained by NOAA Regional Climate Centers dating back to 1949. “There certainly could be considerable difference between that location and another part of the county,” said Ken Drozd, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Tucson bureau. “Because we get...

SIERRA VISTA — The United States is fast approaching the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. America’s entry into World War II officially began on Dec. 7, 1941, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other military installations in Hawaii early one Sunday morning. One of the deaths during the attack was Bisbee resident Seaman 1st Class James Murphy, one of seven Arizonans who died while serving on the battleship USS Arizona. Although the U.S. was already providing war support war primarily to England by escorting merchant ships through the Atlantic, the official war status of...

SIERRA VISTA — Several businesses were evacuated at the Charleston Crossing Shopping Center across from Walmart on Wednesday afternoon after a threat was received by the Navy Federal Credit Union. Sierra Vista Police responded to the credit union at about 3:50 p.m. “Their call action center, which is in a different state, called them to be advised that a member of the credit union called them, made some veiled threats about some things they have done in the past and that bad things could happen here. They take that as a threat,” said Sgt. Brett Mitchell. At the request of...

FORT HUACHUCA — The community is invited to join Fort Huachuca for lunch in celebration of the Army’s 240th birthday. Although the actual birthday is June 14, the celebratory meal will be served June 11. On June 11, the birthday meal will be served at the Thunderbird Dining Facility from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Service is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Weinstein Dining Facility. Cost of the meal is $9.05. The menus at both DFAC feature T-bone steaks, crab legs and shrimp with assorted side dishes and desserts. The Army continues to serve the United States...

SIERRA VISTA — The nature of warfare is changing, and the Army and other armed forces are changing with it, the leader of Fort Huachuca said Monday. It was at a meeting of the Cochise Chapter of the Air Force Association that Maj. Gen. Robert Ashley spoke about the changes in both methodology, philosophy and training for modern warfare and the military’s ongoing commitment to citizens that hold it in the highest regard. Ashley is the commanding general United States Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca. One of the first in a series of slides presented to those attending...

FORT HUACHUCA — The Joint Interoperability Test Command will conduct a change of responsibility ceremony between Sgt. Maj. Lewis Brown, outgoing senior enlisted leader, and Sgt. Maj. Monekia Denkins, incoming senior enlisted leader, May 21 at 10 a.m. in the Greely Hall auditorium here. A retirement ceremony for Brown will immediately follow. The public is invited to attend this event. For more information, please contact Maranda Flynn, (520) 538-2608.

Despite its esteemed perch among Fort Huachuca’s decorated iconography, it wasn’t until just last Friday when the 4th Cavalry Regiment B Troop could finally have a place to call home. “For all those years, B Troop never really had its own facility,” B Troop program coordinator Christopher Zimmerman said in his introductory remarks to an assorted crowd in front of the 4th Cavalry’s pristine new horse stables.

SIERRA VISTA — Huachuca Canyon, a popular location for hikers, runners and cyclists on Fort Huachcua, has been closed until further notice due to increased bear activity. On Thursday, a bear followed and charged hikers in the canyon and later approached cyclists. That same day, a mountain lion was spotted in the canyon.

FORT HUACHUCA — A woman held a sign as she sat on a bleacher in the Barnes Feld House Wednesday night. It read: “I’d wait for you forever, but 292 days is long enough.” Little did she know the sign should have read 293 days, because that is the length of time she actually had to wait for her soldier to come back home, after spending more than nine months in the troubled areas of the Middle East and Afghanistan. It wasn’t until after midnight — precisely 15 minutes into Thursday morning — before the unnamed soldier was one of...

MCNEAL — Once it housed soldiers stationed at Fort Huachuca, then it was moved to McNeal and was filled with the sounds of happy feet dancing and the chattering of ladies at coffee cloches. Now abandoned, there are new inhabitants that really are no fun — killer bees. The irritable, six-legged flying pollinators have been in the building on Frontier Road for a number of years, tending huge honeycombs and creating problems for those who walk their dogs, ride horses or just take a morning stroll. If one puts out nectar for the hummingbirds and orioles in spring within the...

FORT HUACHUCA — They may be both Republicans and represent Arizona in the upper chamber of Congress but they don’t agree on the recent decision of the Obama Administration of the reestablishing diplomatic relations with Cuba after six decades. After about 90 minutes on Fort Huachuca Thursday, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Jeff Flake discussed the announcement with the Herald/Review during a quick walking interview to a plane waiting to take them to Yuma.