FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – Fiddler’s Green, the newest eatery and bar here, officially opened to the public with a ribbon cutting on Dec. 2 at Mountain View Golf Course.
“As you all know, the one thing this whole post was missing was a place for everyone to go to have a beer, have a burger, have some fun and make it back safely to where they needed to be,” said Col. John Ives, garrison commander.
Ives conceptualized the new gathering place for the greater installation community. He said so many fort residents were traveling to Sierra Vista, Hereford, Tombstone and Bisbee to find entertainment.
“Everyone goes everywhere but here to have fun,” he explained.
The creation and construction of Fiddler’s Green are both due to massive volunteer efforts, Ives emphasized.
“There was about twenty of us total who worked on this; we painted walls and did woodwork!” Ives exclaimed. “This was the team here night after night to make this happen,” he said indicating the teammates standing next to him.
“The idea came up just 60 days ago,” said Rheanna Shaw, business and recreation division chief at Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare & Recreation (DFMWR).
Shaw, along with other volunteers, scheduled three days each week working until 11 p.m. helping to develop the space into a game room with bar and grill kitchen.
Diligence and teamwork made swift progress in two months’ time.
"All our employees came together as a team, as DFMWR always does, to execute this project so the community can enjoy it,” Shaw said.
“Tell your people this is the place to be – Fiddler’s Green!” Ives exclaimed. “Let’s cut this thing!”
Oversized scissors in hand, Ives; accompanied by Gary Groff, Mountain View Golf Course manager; Maj. Gen. Anthony Hale, commanding general of the U. S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence & Fort Huachuca; Heidi Malarchik, deputy to the garrison commander; Command Sgt. Maj. Clark Kuhling, garrison command sergeant major; Shaw; and Maj. Joshua Donecker, garrison executive officer; cut the bright red swag inviting throngs of patrons across the Fiddler’s Green threshold. The garrison commander tapped the first keg and passed out complimentary samples to toast the occasion.
Stacy Sandlin, DFMWR marketing director, greeted patrons under the new green awning emblazoned with the Fiddler’s Green logo.
More than 200 people attended the grand opening, she said.
“We have folks ordering some great stuff off the menu,” Sandlin remarked.
“I am ready to get me some fried pickles,” she said still contemplating the fish and chips.
Golfers have a nice place to socialize with active-duty family members from Fort Huachuca as well as the public, Shaw explained.
“Location-wise, Fiddler’s Green can enhance Fort Huachuca’s partnership with the City of Sierra Vista and contribute to ongoing development plans in the west end,” she added.
Fiddler’s Green is open to the public with extended hours.
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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM)/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.
Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.
We are the Army’s Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.
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