Fort Huachuca Arizona
Fort Huachuca is located on the northeast side of the Huachuca Mountains at the mouth of Central Canyon which is near the town of Sierra Vista in Cochise County, Arizona. It was originally established on March 3, 1877 by Captain Samuel Marmaduke Whitside as a camp and temporary link in the chain of forts established for protection of the US borders. Camp Huachuca was later re-designated as Fort Huachuca in 1882. Only Fort Huachuca remained as an active US Army installation amongst more than 70 military posts established during the pioneer days in Arizona. Up until the late 1800’s, many operations against renegade Indians, Mexican Bandits, American outlaws and freebooters were undertaken by the fort.
During World War I, the fort was assigned the mission of guarding the US-Mexico border. In World War II, it was used as a training camp. The troop strength reached about 30,000 men at the fort.
Fort Huachuca was declared a surplus and was transferred to the State of Arizona after the end of the war. Its importance in national defense continually grew when the area was discovered to be suitable for electronics and communications equipment testing. In 1967, the fort became the headquarters of the U.S. Army Strategic Communications Command. Today, the fort is one of prominence throughout the Southwest and a major military installation in Arizona. It has a population of 1,751 based on the U.S. Census 2000.
