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FORT HUACHUCA — Successfully leading an Army garrison is a team effort, said outgoing Garrison Commander Col. Jonathan Hunter.
Today, Hunter will leave that team, relinquishing command to Col. Melissa Sturgeon.
On Wednesday, Hunter looked back on this three years of what can be likened to being the fort’s city manager. He did so while sitting in his second-floor office, where some windows frame historic Brown Parade Field where today’s ceremony takes place.
Commanding the garrison of the more than 100-square-mile installation, which could easily hold Vatican City, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of San Marino and the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu and still have enough land left over for a substantial ranch, was an exciting challenge, Hunter said.
 Fort Huachuca Garrison Commander Col. Jonathan Hunter will relinquish his command as he heads to Georgia to become the deputy director of the Installation Management Command’s Southeast Region. (Ed Honda•Herald/Review) |
There are some who may not understand the differences of commanding a garrison in today’s Army from when they served years ago, the colonel said, noting he has been the subject of many comments in the Herald/Review On Your Mind column, which he called “Out of your mind.”
Talking as if he was making out a report card, Hunter said the garrison staff members would receive an A-plus because of their dedication, diligence and determination in ensuring soldiers and their families, and others, such as the retired community, are well taken care of. “The team is a tremendous asset,” he said.
Through his tenure, 480 new family quarters were built to replace older structures, and 20 miles of roads and 20 acres of parking areas were paved. Intelligence training facilities also have been expanded.
And, Hunter said, the fort’s environmental leadership has been critical in ensuring the post’s and civilian communities’ water woes are being addressed.
Other successes have included partnerships with entities such as the city of Sierra Vista, he said. For example, the closing of the fort’s library and the city providing the services in its facility was part of the partnership, though it was hard to explain why it was occurring to some members of the public, Hunter said.
Although he had less than a day left before handing over the reins to Sturgeon, Hunter said he wished the long-term lease of more than 200 acres of land to the city of Sierra Vista for airport operations would be approved before he departs.
For years, city officials have attempted to obtain the acreage to go with land the fort provided a few decades ago. There initially was an attempt to make it an outright gift, but new procedures require the fort to put out the property as part of a long-term lease.
“It’s close, very close,” the colonel said about the potential property transfer.
All actions critical
People see the larger actions the fort engages in, but, Hunter said, just as important, and in some cases more important, are the daily routines. “Every day, something happens on the garrison,” he said.
For example, he said, people get new identification cards, register their vehicles, or go to the post exchange, commissary or health clinic.
The garrison is called upon to provide services that most people don’t even know about, Hunter said.
The colonel was recently at an event in which an post honor guard soldier was rewarded. The soldier has been part of 70 funerals. Fort Huachuca is responsible for such events throughout Arizona and Nevada. The post’s casualty assistance office also has the same area of responsibility.
The honor guard, the casualty assistance office, B Troop, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Memorial) are all garrison functions, Hunter said. In looking at all the functions the garrison staff does, he said, “It’s a very, very good team.”
Hunter is so proud of the staff that he said during a Monday farewell dinner that he knows other garrison commanders “who would kill to have any one of them (the various directors).”
Yes, there has been frustration, but those times centered around lack of resources, not wanting to do things, the colonel said.
Garrisons are important
The Army has recognized the importance of garrisons with the establishment of the Army Installation Management Command, the colonel said.
The command has convinced the Army’s senior leadership of the importance of resourcing functions to ensure the soldiers and their families quality of life improve, he added.
“We can’t take out quality of life,” Hunter said.
As an example of addressing better living conditions for single or unaccompanied soldiers, Riley Barracks is going through a major renovation project. While some complain the barracks job isn’t progressing fast enough, Hunter said they must recognize the building’s poor state “didn’t happen in the past two years.”
While he would like to be part of everything involving the post, Hunter said no commander can do it all, which is why people in his position pick and chose what their main emphasis is going to be.
Hunter’s three areas
In his three areas of focus, his first priority was addressing the fort’s water and encroachment issues.
That led him to being an active member of the Upper San Pedro Partnership, a consortium of federal, state and local agencies, as well as conservation groups and businesses.
His support of the organization, which was formed to ensure the fort and the San Pedro River are saved, led to him being the only military member on the Statewide Water Advisory Group, which Gov. Janet Napolitano created to look at solving water issues throughout Arizona.
The group shared ideas, some done in other parts of the state that could be used in the Upper San Pedro Basin, and others done by the Upper San Pedro Partnership and usable in other parts of Arizona, Hunter said.
His second area of focus was the reorganization of the fort’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation organization.
MWR had to be put on a better profit-making footing to ensure funds were — and now are — supporting activities for soldiers and their families, Hunter said.
International sporting competitions on the fort in the past three years show MWR is recognized as a leader in hosting such events, the colonel added.
International boxing and volleyball have been hosted on the fort, and Hunter noted there are many military installations of all the services that have never held an international military sporting event. The military international boxing championships is expected to return to the fort in the near future. The colonel again emphasized that it is the garrison staff that makes things happen.
Hunter’s third priority was making the garrison more cost management effective. He said ensuring better use of financial resources leads to the garrison staff being more productive.The fort has been without internal paramedic capability for some time, but that will change once a contract is signed that returns the service to the fort, Hunter said.
An emotional meeting
While the large issues will always be remembered, sometimes projects that are not big in the scheme of things can be just as important, Hunter said.
One day, a wife of a soldier asked to see Hunter. She wanted to see if there was a possibility of building a playground for handicapped children.
She came prepared with a PowerPoint presentation. But Hunter said he asked her to talk about what was on her mind in her own words instead of using the planned presentation.
The colonel was touched by the woman’s opening.
The woman said she wished her son could have met him. But that couldn’t happen because she had no way to get his wheelchair up the flights of stairs in Hunter’s office building.
The meeting with the woman was perhaps the most emotionally meaningful of his time as garrison commander, the colonel said. He asked his staff to see if there as anyway to do what the woman was seeking to increase the quality of life for a small part of the post’s population.
“Everyone has needs and we need to support them,” Hunter said.
Within a short period of time, the staff was able to find leftover money for family housing from another fort’s project, he said. Approval was given to use those funds for a playground designed for disabled children, and in three months it was dedicated.
Hunter swallowed hard and his eyes became red and moist as he talked about the creation of the park, which is the Army’s first one fully designed for disabled children. Again, he said, it was the staff who did the work.
As for Hunter, he received a plaque from the woman with a narrative on it about seeing through a handicapped child’s eyes. He hung the plaque on a wall in his office.
The plaque and other memories of his Army career have since been taken down and packed to go to his next assignment as the deputy director of the Installation Management Command’s Southeast Region in Georgia. It is a region involving 18 Army installations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Puerto Rico. “It’s going up in my new office,” Hunter said of the plaque.
Leaving is hard
Today, as he hands the garrison over to Sturgeon, the colonel said he expects she will raise the bar higher, as he did when he assumed the job three years ago. Nothing remains the same. But, he said, it will be a sad departure for him and his wife, Judy.
As they leave the fort, Hunter said he knows that if he looks at his wife “she will be crying big tears.” He doubts he’ll be able to remain composed as their car leaves the fort “We may not talk for awhile,” Hunter said.
It’s hard to do while both are crying.
Change of command
Garrison Commander Col. Jonathan Hunter passes command on to Col. Melissa Sturgeon in a ceremony 7:30 a.m. today on Brown Parade Field. The event is open to the public. To get onto the fort, visitors must obtain a pass to access the post by stopping at the Main Gate and showing a driver’s license, proof of insurance and vehicle registration.
BILL HESS can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
