Fort Huachuca, Ariz. - Times are changing. Gone are the days when a kid stood on the corner waving the newspaper and crying out the latest headline. Gone are the days when news could wait until the presses had finished rolling.
Today news is instantaneous. We are checking our smart phones, tablets and computers via Wi-Fi for the latest headlines. News travels from coast to coast in mere nanoseconds. And so perhaps comes the time to bid farewell to some of our old friends, like the newspaper.
The Fort Huachuca Scout newspaper has been keeping the Fort Huachuca and, dare I say, Sierra Vista communities informed and telling the Army story for more than 61 years. In the course of that time the newspaper has fluctuated back and forth from a broadsheet to a tabloid publication employing Soldier, Civilian and contract reporters. (See their memories of working on The Scout on Page 2A.)
"It is with great pleasure that I welcome The Fort Huachuca Scout to the family of activities here at Fort Huachuca," said then-Post Commander, Emil Lenzner, on June 18, 1954 when he christened The Fort Huachuca Scout newspaper.
"A newspaper has become an essential activity wherever U.S. troops are stationed. It is an important source of information and entertainment for all who read it. I entrust its editors with the responsibility of maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and good taste."
Today, however, The Fort Huachuca Scout newspaper will cease publication of a hard-copy newspaper. The Public Affairs Office (PAO) remains committed to our mission to "inspire trust in the American public by telling the Army and Fort Huachuca story with professionalism, passion and pride."
We will continue to provide command information news coverage of Fort Huachuca events and Soldier activities through news articles and photographs posted to www.army.mil/huachuca and shared with the Army at large.
PAO also offers video news broadcast services on the Commanders Access Channel (Cox Cable channel 97), including the Fort Report and locally produced public service announcements. Public service announcements for release to external radio stations, including AAFES and DECA, are produced in our local audio suite in Building 21115
All of our locally produced news coverage items are available on a variety of additional online platforms, including Facebook (www.facebook.com/u.s.armyforthuachuca), Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/forthuachuca/), UStream (www.ustream.tv/channel/forthuachuca), Twitter (www.twitter.com/Fort_Huachuca), Vimeo (www.vimeo.com/forthuachuca/videos), Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/us_army_fort_huachuca/) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/commander97).
For public affairs assistance and to coordinate news coverage of Fort events, call 520.533.1850.
The Fort Huachuca Scout is the fifth in a series of troop newspapers which have been published in the area. The earliest known Post newspaper was the Buffalo Bulletin, which was published by the 10th Cavalry Regiment.
The Bulletin was started on May 5, 1920 as a small five-page, mimeographed news sheet. Its circulation expanded from 200 to 1200, including a mailing list of over 200. On May 12, 1921 the Buffalo Bulletin was discontinued and The Bullet, published by the 25th Infantry Regiment, took its place. The Bullet was likely published at the regimental headquarters in Nogales, Arizona, until the entire regiment was moved to Fort Huachuca around 1941.
The Fort was also home to the 93rd Blue Helmet newspaper of the 93rd Infantry Division from Sept. 18, 1942 to march 26, 1943. This unite newspaper was followed by The Buffalo, a newspaper of the 92nd Infantry Division printed here from May/June 1943 through mid-1944. The Buffalo was published at other locations prior to and after being published at Fort Huachuca.
The third Post newspaper was the Apache Sentinel "Guardian of the Fort Huachuca spirit" published by the 1922nd Service Command Unit which served as the Garrison unit during 1944-1945.
During the Korean War, the Engineer Aviation Unit Training Center established the "official post newspaper" when the Fort reopened to train combat engineers for airfield construction. The Huachuca Scout was first published on Feb. 22, 1952 and printed its final issue in December 1952.
The original Fort Huachuca Scout, an official Army newspaper, published its first issue on June 18, 1954 and was edited and published on Fort by the Public Information Office in Building 4011. Editor-in-chief was Maj. Morton E. Milliken, Editor was Sgt. Jerry D. Prophet and Donald E. Olds was a staff writer. The Scout was published in broad sheet form consisting of four pages with no advertising.
In February 1957, The Fort Huachuca Scout was contracted and published as a civilian enterprise in the interest of the military and civilian personnel of Fort Huachuca.
Even though the major part of the newspaper consisted of news released through the Information Office on Fort Huachuca, advertising was introduced to the Scout to help pay for its publishing and distribution costs. By May of 1957, the Scout was changed from tabloid size to full size and it averaged eight to ten pages an issue with a circulation of 4,500.
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