Stars premier new ‘Independence Day’ movie with soldiers on Fort Huachuca

Sierra Vista Herald ^ | Steve Stockmar

[SandRat]

FORT HUACHUCA — Even the stars were a little starstruck.

It’s one thing to portray the military in Hollywood, as the cast of the blockbuster “Independence Day” did 20 years ago in a story that featured people of Earth banding together to topple alien invaders. Much of the cast has regrouped, with some new cast members, for “Independence Day: Resurgence,” the much anticipated sequel that hits theaters this Thursday.

But to visit the troops on their turf and see what they do to defend the U.S. is quite another thing. Two stars from the new film, Jessie T. Usher and Judd Hirsch, one day after their red carpet premier at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, toured Fort Huachuca on Tuesday afternoon to have lunch with the troops, tour the installation and, ultimately, watch the film with a few hundred of their new best friends in camo at the post’s Cochise Theater.

“To talk to these guys who live it and who work in this field and see what they like about it and their passions and why they joined the Army and all that kind of stuff is really cool,” said Usher, who wasn’t in the first film but portrays the stepson of the Will Smith character in “Resurgence.”

The afternoon started with a crab leg lunch with the troops. Throughout the day, fittingly on National Selfie Day, there were cellphones up everywhere as soldiers captured the tour with pictures on Fort Huachuca.

Judd Hirsch gets an explanation about an Unmanned Aircraft System form SFC Olson at Libby Army Airfield during Tuesday's tour of Fort Huachuca.

“What?? Is that the name of the place?” Hirsch hammed up upon hearing the base’s pronunciation while visiting the facility’s bowling alley, where the original “Independence Day” was projected on huge screens.

“This is exciting because I was in the Army a long, long time ago,” Hirsch, 81, an Emmy winner, Tony winner and Oscar nominee, continued. “And now I’m looking at everything much more modern. I keep thinking ‘I didn’t have that, I didn’t have that, They didn’t feed us like this, We didn’t have buildings like this, There was no facility like that, The toilets didn’t look like that.’ (Back then) it was kind of like you were living out of a diner.”

One of the first stops on the tour after lunch was to the Gray Eagle flight simulator. The actors sat right in the seats, took some instruction and gave it a try.

“These simulators accurately replicate the conditions they could see in flight. So it’s a safer way of training the student as opposed to taking them on the live aircraft,” Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Lemelin explained while the actors were busy in the simulators and other assorted staff were snapping pictures. “It gives them an opportunity to replicate the emergencies and different conditions and how they’d react to them.”

As for what they had in store for the stars?

“We’re gonna replicate a Hellfire engagement for them,” Lemelin smiled.

The group later made its way to Nicka Hall; a hangar for unmanned aircraft.

“It’s kind of like Area 51,” one of the touring group of Army personnel joked to Hirsch, who, playfully alluding to the film, said, “You don’t have the alien ships, though.”

Seven aircraft were in Nicka Hall, and Army personnel guided the visitors around each one. Some unmanned aircraft are used purely for educational purposes as students take apart and rebuild them.

Not this group.

“These are the real deal,” Sgt. Andrew Major said. “These are what you’re seeing take off when you’re going up and down Highway 90 and Buffalo Soldier.” "Independence Day: Resurgence" cast member Jessie T. Usher gets to try out a flight simulation system during a tour of Fort Huachuca on Tuesday.

Each is designed to view manned or unmanned surveillance platforms, Major explained, with a targeting laser to guide any necessary munitions. The aircraft are controlled by someone on the ground “with a mouse and keyboard.”

“It can fly for 18 hours straight before it needs to come back and refuel,” Major added. “With the camera payload, you have a very, very sophisticated and high-end camera along with infrared capabilities.”

The final stop on the tour was Cochise Theater, which featured the Military Intelligence Corps Band’s Frontier Brass and a packed parking lot full of soldiers, all of whom walked a red carpet into the theater to get an early look at the movie before it officially premieres across the U.S. on Thursday.

“It’s inspiring,” Usher said of visiting the base. “And I hope that comes across. That’s the whole reason why we come out here. We want to show them that we support them the way they support us.”

[Hot Tabasco]

I was stationed at Huachucha for three weeks back in the fall of ‘69. I wonder how the trees we planted are doing?.......Rockiest soil I’ve ever dug unto....LOL!

[FourtySeven]

President Trump in an “Independence Day” scenario:

He has a head of one of the aliens on the Resolute Desk as he addresses the nation to describe how we won.

President Obama:

His head is on the Resoute Desk as an alien describes how they won and now are our new overlords.

[SandRat]

Calechi is strong. If the Jews had used it to make the bricks in Egypt, then the bricks would still be good. ( I don’t need no straw to make bricks, I got Caleci. )

[minnesota_bound]

Judd Hirsch is 81. All the guys in the photo with him are about 60 years younger.

[DungeonMaster]

So does Goldbloom force their computers to upgrade to Windows10 to “take em out, do your thing”.

[SandRat]

Judd Hirsch gets an explanation about an Unmanned Aircraft System form SFC Olson at Libby Army Airfield during Tuesday's tour of Fort Huachuca.



"Independence Day: Resurgence" cast member Jessie T. Usher gets to try out a flight simulation system during a tour of Fort Huachuca on Tuesday. LeeAnn Thies Each is designed to view manned or unmanned surveillance platforms, Major explained, with a targeting laser to guide any necessary munitions. The aircraft are controlled by someone on the ground “with a mouse and keyboard.” “It can fly for 18 hours straight before it needs to come back and refuel,” Major added. “With the camera payload, you have a very, very sophisticated and high-end camera along with infrared capabilities.”

[discostu]

Apple virus. Which was one of the things people in software complained about, at that point in networking history getting Apples to talk to anything but each other was a nightmare, but Goldblum whipped up an interface during the flight.

[SandRat]

Vheck this out.....

[catnipman]

“Apple virus. Which was one of the things people in software complained about, at that point in networking history getting Apples to talk to anything but each other was a nightmare, but Goldblum whipped up an interface during the flight.”

thanks for the correct details. like i said, i fell asleep :)

[discostu]

I remember it because that was the early days of internet nitpicking with movies (very early days when nobody grabbed stills and everything had to be described). I don’t think I actually noticed while watching the movie, but the nitpick lists ALL did.

[luvie]

Awesome! Would they let you go if you wanted to?

[SandRat]

Don’t know

[SandRat]

We’re such a far-flung and little & Know nothing remote place. <sarc

[luvie]

Right! LOL! Sort of like....the USA.... :)

[redcatcherb412]

Was there from Aug 68 thru Sep 69 when I was discharged. Had my radio training there in 67. Was in on post housing in the old calvary enlisted housing area, hard to plant anything and the rattlers would stay by the foundations, was always calling MPs to kill them. Memorable place. Worked at a monitoring station miles off the main airbase road tracking and monitoring NASA Apollo flights. Just a concrete bunker type building with antenna arrays all over.

[SandRat]

We wwre ab alt. labding strip but, not any longer.

[Hot Tabasco]

When I completed my AIT at Ft. Gordon, I received orders for Seoul, Korea. However, those were cancelled and I was kept at Gordon for several more weeks additional communications center training.

After a short leave, we were to report to Huachucha. I don't know why, I guess it was just to hold us over till we received our permanent orders. Anyway, they put me and my buddies up in a barracks and for 3 weeks all we did was fall out for formation in the morning and a sergeant would come by and start picking guys for various details around the base.

For the first few days some of us just dug holes for the planting of trees then one day I was picked to go help out in the supply room. The sergeant there said he could use me on a daily basis and to just report in the mornings without going thru the formation. That was fine with me because that hole digging was hard work.........LOL!