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FOCUS ON THE FORT
August 2010
Fort Huachuca
Featuring:
1st Lady, Audrey Custer
Facebook
Describe yourself with one word
Dedicated
Number of years married
28
Children
One daughter, Rachel, in college. We've raised an independent woman and are so proud of her.
To relax and unwind…
I read, take a walk, or cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie.
Reading…
Nora Roberts
Listening to…
Oldies
Favorite quote…
Live life to the fullest.
Favorite sports teams/s
Chargers/Padres
Thoughts on Family
Family is so important, after you leave your job you are left with family and friends.
Thoughts on the current state of the economy…
It's getting better every day, you just have to keep living, save for the future and have fun.
Thoughts on Life in General…
Enjoy it! It's better than the alternative.
The most satisfying aspect of being an Army spouse…
Getting to know so many amazing spouses and being able to make a difference in their life.
The one thing you would change about military life…
Weight allowances, everyone always struggles with making the weight. With our travels around the world we like to collect "memories" and sometimes we have to give those "memories" away.
Words to the wise for other Army wives...
Be involved. In any way you can, volunteer, attend ceremonies, coffees, school functions, join spouses clubs, etc.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Traveling and exploring the world.
What or who inspires you…
My family. They are always there to support each other. We keep in touch with Facebook, phone calls and visits.
What you love about your soldier…
His humor, his enthusiasm for life, and his love of soldiers.
 | ||||
When Audrey married her soldier, she was no stranger to military life. She is one of six children and her father retired as a Sergeant First Class. “I had an I.D. card until the age of 23 and I always tell my husband that the reason I married him was to get that I.D.” she jokingly shares. “When I didn’t have the I.D., I felt like I wasn’t a member of the club anymore. After having it that whole time, you realize how much you do miss it.” (Military Life)
Audrey met her soldier in 1979 at her brother’s wedding in Michigan. Her brother and her husband were good friends and lieutenants stationed together at Fort Polk, Louisiana. They hit it off right away and started corresponding with each other. Whenever he had a TDY (temporary duty) assignment, he would stop to see her in San Diego, where she lived.
They dated for three years and during that third year, he was assigned to Korea. When he returned from Korea, she visited him in Hawaii and they both decided they didn’t want to be apart anymore. He proposed and they were married by the minister of the Hilton Hawaiian Village on the beach. After they were married, they flew to Portland, Oregon, picked up his brand new truck and drove to San Diego. Exactly ten days after they said their I-do’s in Hawaii, they were married in the Catholic Church. So they have two anniversaries! Soon after the wedding, they packed up and headed to Washington D.C., their first duty station as a married couple.
They have a very independent 21 year old daughter, Rachel, who is currently attending college. Audrey shared how her daughter adapted very well to the many moves that military families endure. “She’s very adaptive. When we left Korea after two years, we went to Maryland where she was going to go to kindergarten. We stopped at a Montessori school just to check it out and they asked her if she’d like to go out and play and she said ‘okay!’ She was there like five minutes and she came up to me and said, ‘This is my new best friend’. I said okay, do you think you’re going to kindergarten here and she said, ‘yes, this is my new best friend’, and she and her ‘best friend’ are still friends to this day.”
She shared how Rachel is very much like her father, very gregarious, friendly, and outgoing and they make friends very easily.
If someone says to her, “There’s nothing to do here,” her response is usually, “Well if you stay in your house, of course there’s nothing to do. You’ve got to get out and explore, find out your passions and talk to people. I do research. Whenever we get to a hotel or restaurant I pull travel flyers on everything. I’m an information hog. ACS is a great place for information too.” Audrey is very…very…tech savvy.
When asked what advice she would give to a new spouse arriving at or preparing to transition to an installation, she said, “I would look up the name of the installation, get to the installation’s home page and search MWR. I looked for the schools and showed my daughter pictures and then expand out into the community and see what’s out there like activities, schools, stores, etc.”
Audrey encourages spouses to use their resources to find out about activities, clubs and events.
She created an M.I. spouse group when she arrived. The group is for anyone to join, even if they work for MI. It’s more of a social networking and mentoring group that assists newcomers and others in making the best out of their experience at Fort Huachuca.
Audrey is a motivator and throughout her tenure as an Army wife, has undoubtedly inspired, motivated and empowered others. She’s a true example of our motto: “Empowering Us…Begins With Us.”
IN HER OWN WORDS:
The best part of military life:
Getting to new areas and meeting new people. I always look forward to moving every two years. Trying out new things like food, etc. I don’t worry about what I’m used to, I look for the new.
The least favorite part:
Saying goodbye to friends, I hate that. If I’m going to leave, I want to leave right away because if I stay too long, I’ll start crying. I keep in touch on Facebook and by sending it out cards. (She recently touched base with two friends she knew from 7th grade while her family was stationed in Italy).
What military family programs do you feel military families should utilize?
All the ones ACS offers like AFAP, AFTB and any that allows them to learn more about the military. Volunteering…the spouses club, boy/girl scouts. Utilize PAO for media training BEFORE speaking to reporters. (Audrey says she believes that spouses have to grow up and become responsible adults by using their resources. She believes in leading other spouses to the resources, but is a strong believer in them ‘handling it’ from that point on).
What advice would you offer parents on assisting their children with keeping in touch with friends as they prepare to leave an installation?
“We would always have a party for Rachel whenever she’s getting ready to leave an installation. We’d bring all her friends we’d take their picture with Rachel and put it in a book along with their address,” Audrey shared. (Thumbs up idea for AWMag readers)
What do you like about Fort Huachuca and Sierra Vista?
The mountains for hiking
The Birding Festival – it’s the birding capital which boasts over 350 species of birds. Migration in April/May to the north and then August when they come back. Those interested in ornithology travel to Garden Canyon on Fort Huachuca. Some rare birds include the elegant trogon and the Mexican spotted owl.
Thoughts on retirement:
She’s excited about the future and when they grow up…
Advice to other senior spouses:
Audrey will never tire of assisting other spouses. According to her, senior spouses should always try to assist in some way. She stated, “If you can’t participate because of work or other reasons, find someone else to do it. But don’t let something (like an FRG—family readiness group) just die.”
Thoughts on being a part of the spouse’s club:
Our spouse’s club is active. THERE IS NO SEPARATE SPOUSE CLUB FOR ENLISTED OR OFFICER SPOUSES. There is no rank in the address books. I’m a spouse, not the general’s spouse. We are all in this together. The spouse’s club is open to all spouses regardless of their spouse’s rank. The club is open to community members, civilian, retired, active, enlisted, and commissioned…anyone who wants to join including those who have no clue about military life.
We gave away $26,000 in scholarships. This was a combined fundraising effort.
We give to community organizations in the host city by supporting the women’s shelter.
Most memorable installation and why…
- They are all memorable for one reason or another.
- England because that’s where my daughter was born
- Fort Huachuca because of the position and the many things I get to do. (Tanja shared how they are all spoiled by the Custers, she’ll miss them terribly)
- Tampa (welling up a little bit) because that was a very hard thing to go through with him being gone so much. (I just wanted to hug her and I still get sad just thinking about the look on her face as she mentioned Tampa. Monica)
One place people should visit before leaving: (Well more than one)
Fort Huachuca (Huachuca is the best kept secret in the Army!)
- The museums on the post give you an in depth history of the area
- Holiday tour of homes fundraiser
- Guided tour of Buffalo Soldier Historic Sites
Sierra Vista and surrounding areas
- Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony
- Monsoon season (which produces beautiful waterfalls in various areas near the area)
- Sonoma Wineries
Thought about Maj. Gen. Custer
- He’s hilarious. (Tanja concurred). He’s all about the mission. He’s a visionary. He believes in letting those he leads know what he’s looking for and encourages them to find out how to get him there.
- He empowers soldiers to do their job. He believes that if a soldier makes a mistake, even if he fixes it, let him know. He doesn’t want to find out from someone else.
- Via Tanja: Fort Huachuca is a learning environment, warm nurturing, we want you to make your mistakes here.
- His quote that still rings with people today: “No one ever died because they were in the bursting radius of a mistake.”
- He has little permission slips that each soldier receives; it’s like a collector’s item:
Final words of encouragement for our fellow military spouse
- Live one day at a time in this military life.
- The only thing constant is change.
- Vacations: you can try to plan but accept it if things change and it can’t happen.
- Find something that makes you happy and do that on the side.
- Support your spouse.
- Be involved.
- He/she wears the rank, you don’t.
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Archives: Focus on the Fort
Did you know that Sierra Vista is home to the first Drive-thru McDonalds? Why? It has to do with a 1972 executive order that didn’t allow soldiers to enter local businesses to eat while in uniform. Their friends would bring food to their vehicles. Eventually they cut a hole in the wall and in 1975, the first drive-thru for McDonalds was opened.
Host City: Sierra Vista, Arizona (Sierra Vista means Mountain View)
Installation Senior Leaders: Maj. Gen. John Custer, CSM Todd Holiday
- Added to the National Registry of Historic Places on November 20, 1974
- Added as a National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976
- Home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and (NETCOM) Army Network Enterprise Technology Command
- Significant details of the Fort and the Sierra Vista Area:
- Home of the Buffalo Soldiers, 10th Cavalry Regiment, for 20 years beginning in 1913
- Former home of Fiorello LaGuardia whose father was a bandmaster in the Army (former Mayor of New York, LaGuardia Airport is named after him)
- Used as a training area-the mountains are very similar to the mountains of Afghanistan
- It is a model post when it comes to sustainable living.
Focus on the Fort
Though we are providing a brief glimpse into the history of Fort Huachuca, we will provide in further detail, the many significances of the installation in our upcoming web television series. Sign up for updates.
One of the reasons I chose Fort Huachuca as the Focus on the Fort was because of my fellow military spouse friend, Tara Jackson-Whitehead. Tara raved and raved about Fort Huachuca and I as open-minded as I am, I just couldn’t imagine that Fort Huachuca could be such a serene place as she described. Well, that’s one for Tara. She was right.
Surrounded by the Huachuca Mountains, Dragoon Mountains, Whetstone Mountains, Mustang Mountains and Mule Mountains, Fort Huachuca is my “modern day utopia” for forgetting all that’s bad in the world. Don’t sleep on it! Profound, breathtaking views, laced with nature’s awesome obvious presence made me feel like I was in that picturesque dreamland I often dreamed of as a child.
Fort Huachuca’s host city is Sierra Vista, Arizona. It is located approximately 70 miles southeast of Tucson. I could go on and on about Fort Huachuca and Sierra Vista and soon, I will, but in the meantime I’ve provided a little look into this place so many of our military intelligence troops and families call…home.
The last time I paid a visit to Fort Huachuca was about 10 or 11 years ago. At that time, I didn’t have the opportunity to explore the surroundings and really didn’t have that desire; the desire at the time wasn’t there because I had heard that is was a boring installation and offered nothing. (This is why research and seeking out other military families who offer positive information about a new duty installation is so important and it dispels those annoying myths).
Residing in my favorite place of El Paso, Texas, I often wanted to venture out to other areas that were close to home. Fort Huachuca was not a place that crossed my mind. Now, I feel like I cheated myself out of a many weekends of serenity and peace. One of the first things I noticed upon entering the installation was the honor given to the Buffalo soldiers. This holds special meaning to me and to know that an Army installation continues this type of respect to troops who at the time were not considered the best of the best, brought tears to my eyes. Everywhere you go on the post, you will notice some type of reverence to this elite group of troops.
The other awe-inspiring experience on my trip was during my drive, well wrong turn I took, to visit the installation’s 1st Lady, the generous and humble, Mrs. Audrey Custer. The wrong turn took me into a housing area whose view of the mountains made me jealous. Imagine waking up to a light misty drizzle and standing outside with a cup of coffee and a breathtaking view of a lightly fogged mountain range, ahhh, you had to be there!
Fort Huachuca was constructed in 1877, it was just one of a group of forts established to guard southern Arizona against the Chiracahua Apaches, led by Geronimo. In 1886, the fort was the place that the Army’s strike force chased Geronimo and his followers leading to his surrender. This historic installation is home to many notable buildings and mentions in Hollywood movies. The Pershing House is an adobe structure that was built in 1884 and is traditionally the Post Commander’s quarters. Fort Huachuca has several museums to include the Buffalo Soldiers Museum, all offering a unique look into a history.
No one person in the military can mention military intelligence without mentioning Fort Huachuca. The fort is home to the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade which conducts MI MOS related training for the armed forces. The 111th MI Brigade host the Joint Intelligence Training Center at the installation. The area is often used for training troops. The area is similar to the mountains of Afghanistan.
I had only been at the installation for a few hours before being greeted by Mrs. Audrey Custer and the Public Affairs Officer, Ms. Tanja Linton. By the time I left, I felt like I had been on my personal version of the History Channel. Both offered so much information about the history of Fort Huachuca and the host city of Sierra Vista. I have never been around more passionate people when it comes to talking about living at or near a military installation and why it is one of those gems in the desert.
Of course, my purpose for speaking with Audrey, as with other senior spouses, had more to do with the support she gives her soldier and her thoughts on living this military life. Honest and to the point, one of the most notable things she stated was, “Except me as I am.” Classic at best!
Audrey is a down-to-earth Army wife who is vivacious and is about to embark on another life journey called retirement. The residents and civilian community members are happy to see that the Custers will enjoy life as retirees, but they are sad to see them go. What is it about them that makes it hard for this community to prepare to say farewell? As I found out, it’s the sincerity in reference to the care for fellow family members, soldiers and the community. This is their second time at the installation. The first time was from 2001 to 2003, after which they moved to Tampa and fought to get back to Huachuca, the place they will soon say goodbye to…if only for a moment. I can only imagine the final glance that Audrey and Maj. Gen. Custer take at the Fort Huachuca sign will be bittersweet.
Audrey invited me into her home, the Pershing house. The house is full of antiques which she has collected over 28 years. Many of the items came from England and was made in the nineteenth century, the same era in which the Pershing house was contructed. Audrey takes pride in having purchased many of the items with her income as a secretary. She collects so many unique items including bird’s nests, pinecones and vases made by hand from Mexico. Her husband even has his own unique collection of baseball caps and ticket stubs from various events he attended throughout his life. I was not only greeted by Audrey and Tanja, but her puppy dog as well. Many who know me won’t believe that I was actually comfortable with the dog after a few moments, but I have proof.
click to view larger image
Fort Huachuca's 1st Lady
Audrey Custer
Spouse of Major General John M. Custer
Commanding, U.S. Army Intelligence of Excellence and Fort Huachuca
FUN FACTS ABOUT AUDREY
Describe yourself with one word
Dedicated
Number of years married
28
Children
One daughter, Rachel, in college. We've raised an independent woman and are so proud of her.
To relax and unwind…
I read, take a walk, or cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie.
Reading…
Nora Roberts
Listening to…
Oldies
Favorite quote…
Live life to the fullest.
Favorite sports teams/s
Chargers/Padres
Thoughts on Family
Family is so important, after you leave your job you are left with family and friends.
Thoughts on the current state of the economy…
It's getting better every day, you just have to keep living, save for the future and have fun.
Thoughts on Life in General…
Enjoy it! It's better than the alternative.
The most satisfying aspect of being an Army spouse…
Getting to know so many amazing spouses and being able to make a difference in their life.
The one thing you would change about military life…
Weight allowances, everyone always struggles with making the weight. With our travels around the world we like to collect "memories" and sometimes we have to give those "memories" away.
Words to the wise for other Army wives...
Be involved. In any way you can, volunteer, attend ceremonies, coffees, school functions, join spouses clubs, etc.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Traveling and exploring the world.
What or who inspires you…
My family. They are always there to support each other. We keep in touch with Facebook, phone calls and visits.
What you love about your soldier…
His humor, his enthusiasm for life, and his love of soldiers.
Fashion and beauty regimen:
- I wear comfortable tennis shoes, jeans, t-shirt
- I dress up for functions, but as soon as I get home, it’s off and back to the jeans and t-shirts, comfort
- Fashion vice: jeans and tennis shoes
- Beauty vice: soap, water, lotion, easy to maintain haircut. (She and her daughter got their first pedicures this year. She figures: “Why pay money for something I can do myself.” Gotta love Audrey!
Hobbies:
- Reading
- Antiques
- Art
- Traveling
- Meeting people
- Facebook
Music:
- All except hard rock and some rock
- I sing along to songs when I’m by myself
- (love the Army song)
General Custer's Permission Slip:
Front...
Ask Yourself:
1. Is it legal and ethical?
2. Is it good for the Warfighter and Army Intelligence?
3. Is it somethign I am willing to be accountable for?
If so, dont' ask permission. You already have it.
Do What's Right!
John M. Custer, MG, USA
Back...
Custer's Criteria
Every Soldier and civilian in the Army Intelligence Corps has four individual responsibilities:
- Know your job
- Be situationally aware
- Be healthy and fit
- Treat every individual with dignity and respect
Leaders set the example!
Complaining solves nothing
Think through problems and let me know what YOU would do if YOU were the CG
Keep a sense of humor, enjoy your families and have fun
Comments (7)
Aug 10, 2010
Wow. I absolutely love this. The words of encouragement should be written on one of those permission slips too. lol. Thanks for sharing your life with us.
Katie
Aug 10, 2010
I think I want to start collecting antiques. I'm sure the pics do the actual home no justice. Very nice. Great support for the buffalo soldiers, I had no clue about that and McDonalds drivethru
Phyllis D.
Aug 9, 2010
Thank you for sharing something positive about Ft. Huachuca. I've only heard negative things but we're looking forward to visiting.
Shawn
Aug 10, 2010
Just from the picture of Gen. and Mrs. Custer, they look pretty cool. It's good to know they encourage fun while living mil life. Good stuff.
David
Aug 13, 2010
Having just spent a weekend with Audrey and having known her for 28 years, she was one of the first Army spouses that I knew as a new Army wife..the friendship that has stayed true all these years is a reflection of her dedication to staying connected! She's a visionary for our young spouses...if they heed her words they will come to love the Army life as much! Thanks Audrey for ALL you have done for so many Army Families..Job Well Done!!!
Terrie
Aug 13, 2010
I usually check out the site because of Val's world and the career section, but the photo of the Custer family caught my eye. How genuine! It's great to know a military spouse cares so much about us and she's down to earth with her jeans and tennis shoes! LOL
Marilyn
Aug 12, 2010
Thank you for sharing your life with us wives who are nervous about starting this new life.
Faith
