23 March 2018
Ft Huachuca, AZ
It is good to be on an Army post and in another great campground !!!
In 1877, the site was chosen at the base of the Huachuca Mountains that provided sheltering hills and a perennial stream (water is important in these parts). The installation was founded to counter the Chiricahua Apache (think Cochise) threat and secure the border with Mexico (which is 15 miles away). After the surrender of Geronimo in 1886, the army continued to operate Fort Huachuca because of its strategic border position.
The old fort is a National Historic Landmark and they still use all the buildings! Amazing, it was neat to march around the parade field in front of these old buildings, but then I heard, “George…George” as I sipped my coffee from the front seat of the BFT…..
Signal Corps and Military Intelligence have a huge presence here, to include the Electronic Proving Ground, which provides research and development of defense technology.
There are two museums located in three buildings on Post. The Ft. Huachuca Museum takes up two buildings on old Post. It tells the story of Ft Huachuca and the US Army in the American Southwest, with special emphasis on the Buffalo Soldiers and the Apache War. The museum is located in a historic building over a hundred years old. Lots of very cool exhibits.
The second museum is The US Army Intelligence Museum which has a collection of unusual historical artifacts including agent radio communication gear (think “Secret Sam”), aerial cameras, cryptographic equipment, an Enigma Code machine, two small drones, a section of the Berlin Wall, and a “SMLM” exhibit.
Much of this museum brought back lots of memories for both Ann Marie and myself. All those that served in Europe during the cold war remembers Soviet Military Liaison Mission (SMLM). The Soviet Liaison was allowed to be in certain locations in West Germany, and it was expected that we report a SMLM vehicle if you spotted it. What you say? Well there was a SMLM license plate on the their car, and if spotted, we would pull out your SMLM reporting card, that was mandated to carry, and make the report. So these rascals could be tracked.
Throughout the museum there were many alcoves with flat screen tvs that provided historical context of MI throughout the years. As I watched each of them, my awesome wife found an easy chair and checked her email without a complaint as I far exceeded my museum time allotment. This was a great museum!
