Posted on 02/18/2011 7:38:58 PM PST by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — The importance of Fort Huachuca can be seen with the number of new construction projects which will start soon and future ones planned for upcoming years, Brig. Gen. Gregg Potter said Thursday.
New facilities, worth $15 million for the Army’s Gray Eagle Unmanned Aerial System training, is a year out from opening and a $6 million replacement fire station will be occupied in May 2012, said Potter, who commands the Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca.
Making his comments at a dinner of the Fort Huachuca 50, an organization which for the past 23 years has supported the post and its importance to the area’s economy, he said future programs include a $4 million power substation, as well as a future multi-million-dollar human intelligence training complex to replace temporary facilities, a student medical clinic and chapel for those in military intelligence training and other upgrades to UAS training at the Black Tower area.
Noting the secretary of defense wants more RC-12, manned intelligence aircraft, and unmanned Gray Eagles to the general it indicates the viability of the post, where much of the training on those airframes is accomplished.
In 2001, about 8,500 students were trained on the fort or by teams traveling to other installations and this year, the number will be about 20,000. Potter said the use of the post property is increasing to include units coming to the fort for other special activities.
Saying those who saw the white tents on the post, the general noted they were soldiers of a cavalry squadron from Fort Bliss, Texas, working with the U.S. Border Patrol to interdict illegal activities coming into the United States.
He said there were special listening posts as part of the operation to monitor routes the Texas unit manned — which was supported by Joint Task Force North support operation.
And, the fort is providing housing and other support services for the Army National Guard, which was activated by the federal government to support the Border Patrol as well, he said.
The relationships between the Army and the civilian communities are excellent, Potter said.
“What’s good for the Army and the civilian community is good for Fort Huachuca,” he said.
The post is the only place in the United States which as nearly 1,000 square miles of restricted airspace in which manned and unmanned aircraft can fly at the same time, the general said.
And, the post is the proper avenue for conferences which build on intelligence training and the special electro-magnetic testing, Potter said.
Potter outlined a number of upcoming events in Sierra Vista, to include:
• 400 people expected to attend a cultural summit in early March.
• 400 individuals to take part in a biometrics and forensics conference in April.
• Around 800 in late May and early June to be engaged in Empire Challenge 2011, which is an event to ascertain the quality and capability of intelligence systems.
“I’m trying to attract as many people as I can to train on the fort,” he said.
However, the post is cognizant of issues it has to watch, including environmental concerns.
The post has been an excellent environmental steward, but conservation groups do attack the fort over water use, claiming the post’s existence jeopardizes different species. Potter said the post’s population is “within a couple of hundred of our limit.” The general added “we have decreased water use.”
If the environmental groups are successful, “we’ll lose some of the training space” on the fort.
A comment would have helped us understand why you posted this.
News of the continuing fight with the environazis.
Troops on the Border Ping!
It’s also newsworthy for the tidbit about troops working with the Border Patrol; and the news about the biometrics conference is important to me.
We all have different information needs, and SandRat’s posts satisfy them for many FReepers.
Okay. Just wondering what the intent on posting was. Thanks.
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