Fort Huachuca is among the old forts in United States whose origin can be traced before the First World War. It was built back in the year 1877 as a camp but redesigned in 1882 as a port. It is located in a place known as Sierra Vista in Cochise County. The place is about 15 miles from the border of Mexico.The fort was installed to secure the border with Mexico and to counter the Chiricahua Apache threat around the area. After the Apache threat had been extinguished in the year 1886, the army decided to retain the fort due to its strategic position. In the year 1913 the fort was made the base for the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ that composed both the African and American soldiers.
Fort Huachuca Population
It served as a military base for the buffalo soldiers from 1913 to around 1933. Towards the start of the Second World War, the fort had expanded with quarters that could hold 25,000 male soldiers and a good number of WACs. During the census of the year 2010, the fort had a population of around 6,500 active duty soldiers, around 74,000 members of the military family and 5, 000 employees. The fort also has around 18,000 posted people during the peak hours on weekdays. This makes the fort to one of the busiest and active army installation in United States. The record clearly depicts that the next few years the fort will have an enormous population.
Fort Huachuca Museums
Being a historical place, Fort Huachuca has two museums that are located just within solitary area. The Ft. Huachuca Museum serves as a main museum and has a large are area compared to the other one. The Museum Annex acts as spillover gallery for the Ft Huachuca Museum. Fort Huachuca Museum is located in historic buildings whose age is over hundred years. It has well-elaborated history of the buffalo soldiers and the Apache Wars. The museum has several rooms and corridors in which they illustrate the life of the soldiers in those earlier days. Some rooms have automatic voice narratives while others are for audiovisual presentations. The gift shop carries all sorts of books like memorabilia and all kind of souvenirs.
Shopping and Military Rings
The annex next doors has displays sitting areas where one can rest, walkways, and historic statues. The most surprising part is that local volunteers operate the museum. The security is tight, and hence the fort is well secured. The US Army Intelligence Museum is the second museum. It is the place where you can trace the origin and evolution of the intelligence art of the US Army. It is small in size compared to Fort Huachuca, but it contains some unique artifacts like aerial cameras, cryptographic equipment, radio communication gears and many other equipment. Military Rings are personalized for Military Intelligence and other units and divisions.
