June has been a busy month and before I jump into it I want thank all of you who have taken the time to sign my petition online or in person! And if you or someone you know hasn't signed yet, there's still 10 days left to sign. You can sign online here or reach out to me and I'll bring a paper petition to you. :)
It was a busy month on Fort Huachuca, beginning with the news that the Secretary of Defense, Honorable Lloyd J. Austin, announced Fort Huachuca as the 2022 Army recipient of the Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence! You can read more about what that means for Fort Huachuca, here. We also recently learned that Fort Huachuca was successful in securing 2.8 million from the Department of Defense (DoD)’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program. The REPI Program is a tool designed to protect military missions by helping remove or avoid land-use conflicts near installations and addressing regulatory restrictions that inhibit military activities. The funding associated with Fort Huachuca will be used to inform land and water management plans for the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the construction of an additional Cochise Conservation and Recharge Network stormwater recharge project, the establishment of two conservation easements on private ranches along the San Pedro and Babocomari Rivers, and several other local restoration projects. In addition to all that great news, there were significant ceremonies taking place on post this month, several of which I had the honor and privilege of attending. On June 16th I attended the Garrison Change of Command Ceremony. Col. Jarrod Moreland relinquished command of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachuca to Col. John Ives. I think Col. Moreland did a fine job as Garrison Commander and I am pleased that we didn't have to say good-bye just yet, since the Morelands will remain on Fort Huachuca as Col. Moreland takes on new duties as the chief of staff at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence. I have no doubt that Col. Ives will be an effective Garrison Commander. In his remarks during the ceremony he stated "It's good to be home!" I love hearing that! We've already started brainstorming ideas as Col. Ives is eager to get the ball rolling. On the 23rd of June I attended the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame Reception to welcome this year's inductees and even got to catch up with LTG Laura Potter, who flew in for MI Hall of Fame Week. The following day I attended the Change of Command Ceremony for the 111th MI Brigade as Col. Loren G. Traugutt relinquished command to Col. Brendon K. Dever, a Cochise County native. Later that day was the 35th Military Intelligence Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the first one in 3 years because of COVID-19. You can watch the full ceremony here, but heads up, you may want to have some tissues nearby. The MI Hall of Fame Week concluded with a Luncheon & Awards Ceremony where three soldiers and one Department of Army Civilian received awards for excellence in military intelligence.
And because Fort Huachuca is the Home of the Buffalo soldier I had the pleasure of attended the Juneteenth Flag Raising Ceremony at Tompkins Park on June 4th hosted by the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers (SWABS) as well as the Sierra Vista Africa-American Community Coalition's (SVAACC) Juneteenth Celebration and the NAACP's Candidate Meet & Greet on June 18th.