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FORT HUACHUCA — Friday was an eye-opener for some Arizona legislators.
Nearly two dozen of them, primarily members of the Arizona House of Representatives, were given a snapshot of the fort’s missions and economic impact, as well as an explanation of the need for the Legislature to provide water protection tools to the local civilian communities to protect the post.
While local legislators know the fort’s importance — three of the four representatives made the trip, Republicans Jennifer Burns and Jonathan Paton and Democrat Manny Alvarez — it was the first time many of the others from mainly metropolitan Maricopa County had visited the post.
 Nearly two dozen Arizona legislators visited Fort Huachuca Friday to learn about the post's missions and economic importance to the state. Shown with Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, commander of the fort, are local legislators, Rep. Jennifer Burns, Rep. Manny Alvarez and Rep. Jonathan Paton. (By Bill Hess-Herald/Review) |
At the end of the daylong visit, some legislators expressed a new-found appreciation for the fort and promised they will try to help the post, especially when it comes to addressing the water issue facing the installation and the area.
With a push by area leaders to establish a water district for the Upper San Pedro River Basin to help meet a congressional mandate of bringing the area’s water withdrawal and recharge into balance by 2011, Rep. John Kavanaugh, vice chairman of the Water and Agriculture committee, said he believes there will be support for the proposed water district in light of what he and the others heard.
A strong believer in requiring every home builder to have a 100-year supply of water, the Republican said, “I think a lot of good points were made (for the water district).”
Paton, who recently returned from a deployment to Iraq where he was an intelligence officer, said that while attending training on the fort, he learned his fellow legislators were not knowledgeable about the fort’s missions and importance.
Working with other members of the Legislature, especially Senate President Tim Bee, whose district includes part of Cochise County, efforts were made to have a Fort Huachuca Day in Phoenix and the legislators’ visit to the fort. The post’s day on the lawn of the state Capitol was Feb. 22.
Those who represent the state’s major metropolitan areas have no idea what happens on the fort, especially the knowledge that soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are stationed at the installation, the high-tech functions of the installations and its $2-billion-a-year economic impact on Arizona, Paton said. The fort also is where other federal agencies train and are involved in testing and developing systems.
During his deployment to Iraq, he said he became more confident that what happens at the Intelligence Center on the fort, as well as the other missions, had to be told to the state’s legislators to obtain their help to ensure the post is not closed.
“I came to see Sierra Vista, Fort Huachuca and Iraq as being connected. It’s very real to me,” Paton said.
For Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, commander of the Intelligence Center and the fort, the day was an opportunity to educate the legislators about the national security importance of the fort’s mission.
While her main topic was the role of intelligence, she also spoke about how the other post functions are intertwined.
The group was briefed and toured the Department of Defense Joint Interoperability Test Command, where they heard about how military and other federal agencies are working on finding better ways to communicate.
They saw displays of equipment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Coast Guard equipment being tested at JITC.
Network Enterprise Technology Command commander Brig. Gen. Carroll Pollett spoke about the worldwide function of his organization and how it is critical in the national security arena.
Arizona House Majority Whip John McComish left “with an overriding impression of dedication.”
He expected to hear technical expertise, But he said he was surprised by the passion of those he met, including soldiers with whom he and the other legislators had lunch.
Democratic Rep. David Lujan said he had no idea what the fort did until his visit.
“I was really impressed,” he said
The importance of the post for national defense and the state’s economy means the Legislature must work to ensure it is protected from closure, Lujan said.
The message Randy Groth and Tom Finnegan wanted to hear was the legislators will support the post.
The Secretary of the Army wanted to have the state’s elected officials on the fort, said Groth, who is the civilian aide of the Secretary of the Army for Arizona.
“We need their help,” he said of the legislators.
Finnegan, president of the Fort Huachuca 50, an organization created to support the post, said he believes the day was well spent by the legislators and those on the post.
“They saw we had some high-tech stuff done here. This is not a sleepy little place,” he said.
From Pollett, the group heard a request that the Arizona flag again be presented to state residents serving in the military who lose their lives in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
It used to happen, but it stopped, the general said.
Pollett and Fast are called upon to represent the Army at military funerals, at which they present the U.S. flag to next of kin. He said he has seen the Arizona flag presented to family members and they appreciate the honor.
When the group got back on their bus heading for the airfield, there was a buzz among them about Pollett’s request.
McComish said providing state flags for Arizona soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who die while serving the nation will happen again, “even if we have to pay for them ourselves.”
Most of the legislators were flown from Phoenix on an Missouri Air National Guard C-130.
During the trip to the fort, they flew the post’s boundaries and went over one of the main training runways used by the Advance Airlift Tactical Training Center, which is run by the Missouri Air National Guard’s 139 Airlift Wing. The center is another example of a number of joint endeavors on the post.
Garrison Commander Col. Jonathan Hunter outlined the fort’s many missions during the day’s first briefing on Reservoir Hill.
From that high vantage point, he outlined the numerous test ranges, explaining the clean electromagnetic environment that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world, “except the Australian outback.”
But he warned there are other areas in the nation that want some of the fort’s missions, such as Nevada, which would like to see unmanned aerial system training transferred from the post to an Air Force base in that state.
If missions on the post are reduced, that will mean a reduction in Arizona’s economic well-being, Hunter said.
As Fast saw legislators fly or drive away, she said Friday was a good day for everyone.
The fort’s message was told, “and they (the legislators) heard it,” she said.
SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
nicole ray wrote on Jun 21, 2009 3:35 PM: