Fort Huachuca, AZ. -The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Report was published on, December 29, 1988 announcing that all intelligence training would be consolidated at Fort Huachuca.
That meant eventual closure for Fort Devens, Massachusetts,
as an Active Army Training post, and construction projects for Fort
Huachuca. The goal was to have the move completed by the start of 1995.
In a 1992 interview with "The Dispatch," the Commander of US Army
Intelligence School Devens (USAISD) at the time, Col. Michael Phenager,
broke the project into three phases. Phase one was a small forward
transition support element that would leave Devens for Huachuca in August
1992 to ensure that the transition would be smooth for people, equipment,
and mission. Phase two involved the main body of training personnel.
Initially, the electronic warfare training department moved, beginning in
October 1992 and finishing the following summer. Then the Morse training
sections would move, from October 1993 until September 1994. For some time,
there were courses operating in both locations. The third and final phase
incorporated the closure of the Intelligence School at Fort Devens by a rear
detachment. They were tasked with completion by December 1994.
While all this planning and preparation was happening in Massachusetts, a
major construction project was underway in the desert to accommodate the new
training requirements. The area that today is known as "Prosser Village,"
was, for quite some time, referred to as "the BRAC area." Ground was broken
for the initial phase in June 1991, valued at $86 million. Included in the
plan were seven barracks, two dining facilities, two applied instruction
buildings, a SIGINT/EW maintenance facility, and utilities and roads to
support the complex. All the preparation came to fruition during three days
of festivities in early February 1993, entitled "A Dream Come True," during
which the facilities were dedicated, ribbons were cut, speeches were given,
and Fort Huachuca truly became the "Home of Military Intelligence." Classes
that were formerly taught at Fort Devens began on Fort Huachuca on 8
February 1992 in Friedman and Nicholson Halls.
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