Dry Heat: Light & Life on an Arizona Army Post

Since 1877 the U. S. Army stationed soldiers on Fort Huachuca, an Army post in southern Arizona.  Although the mission has changed over the years, America’s soldiers still come and go in the service of their country.  Thomas Decker, who served as the Installation Staff Chaplain from 1996 through 2000, opens a soulful window into this historic post and the surrounding region.  Echoing the Army Chaplaincy’s credo to bring God to soldiers and soldiers to God, Decker’s free verse poems—“Alibi Round,” “The Water Nazi,” “Reptilian,” “Disarming Abernathy,” “Finding Religion,” “Border Crossing,” “No Black Eye for America,” and “Semper Fi”—offer poignant and passionate insight into Army life both on and off duty.