A look at 30 years of the 10thMountain Division at Fort Drum

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‘Climb to Glory’

A look at 30 years of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum

3view FROM THe TOP: Fort Drum’s commander, Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, addresses the future of the post, his connection to the area, and even a little football. Page M4

AROUND THe GLOBe: With the motto ‘Climb to Glory’ as its backdrop, the 10th Mountain Division defines its history in this two-page photo gallery. PageS M8-9

MUSiCAL MiSSiON: Whether in a war zone or a local park, the 39-member 10th Mountain Division Band stands ready to inspire soldiers and civilians. Page M10

SeCTiON MSunday, September 7, 2014

WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESM2 Sunday, September 7, 2014

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By TED BOOKERTIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — It’s the heartbeat of the north coun-try’s economy.

As the largest employer in Northern New York, Fort Drum has accounted for an economic impact of $19.72 billion on the region over the past quarter-century.

The impact of the installa-tion has more than quadrupled since the post began collect-ing data in 1988, when the fig-ure was about $272 million. It has been above $1 billion ev-ery year since 2006, peaking at about $1.7 billion in 2008.

Last year it was $1.4 billion. In the early 1980s, Fort Drum

was a sleepy U.S. Army instal-lation used for reserve forces training. But the announce-ment 30 years ago this week that the 10th Mountain Divi-sion would be activated at the base led to a $1.3 billion ex-pansion of Fort Drum in the mid-1980s, lifting the north country’s economy out of the doldrums.

From 1984 to 1988, the num-ber of jobs in Jefferson County surged by more than 50 per-cent, from about 27,000 to 42,000.

The community enjoyed an increase in soldiers midway through the first decade of the new millennium when, to meet demands of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army added a third brigade combat team to the division and bulked up other brigades to make them more autonomous when they deployed. Those moves ex-panded the post by about 7,000 soldiers from 2003 to 2006.

The branching out of Fort Drum has spurred growth in five key areas across the north country: jobs/businesses, housing, schools, health care and infrastructure.

JOBS AND BUSINESSESFor north country business-

es, the greatest boon from Fort Drum comes from the pay-checks of soldiers. Last year, military and civilian payrolls totaled about $937 million and $176 million, respectively.

The post employed nearly 22,000 people — 18,060 sol-diers and 3,895 civilians — at the end of fiscal 2013.

Carl A. McLaughlin, execu-tive director of the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization, an advocacy group, said a spike in soldiers on post from 2003 to 2006 led to steady commercial growth on Route 11 near the base in the town of LeRay and off outer Arsenal Street in the town of Watertown.

Before 2003, “the population wasn’t a sufficient quantity to tip the scales for developers,” he said. “It took off with that second expansion, and they responded to the demand that followed soldiers moving to the north country. All of the growth has been driven by soldiers and their family members. It’s pay-checks circulating throughout the economy.”

Growth on outer Arsenal Street since 2003 has included the expansion of the Walmart Supercenter and Salmon Run Mall, along with about 300,000 square feet of newly construct-ed commercial space at Towne Center Plaza.

New restaurants have in-cluded Olive Garden, Chipo-tle Mexican Grill, CiCi’s Pizza, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Cold Stone Creamery and Sonic Drive-In. Four hotels were built off Arsenal Street, and two off Route 11 in LeRay. Those six hotels have a combined 635 rooms.

Along with drawing soldiers, expanded commercial offer-ings on outer Arsenal “also spurred further Canadian visits to the area,” Mr. McLaughlin said, adding: “It used to be that they passed through Water-town to go to Destiny USA in Syracuse.”

Small businesses also have capitalized on the growth in the military population, according to Lynn M. Pietroski, president and CEO of the Greater Water-town-North Country Chamber of Commerce.

“Some of these shops could absolutely say the majority of

their customers are military dependent. It could be a wife, husband, child or someone who is retired,” she said. “And we’re seeing a lot of military personnel retire here and open businesses for themselves.”

Soldiers’ paychecks have had a direct impact at Bradley’s Military Surplus, which opened in 1992 outside the post’s main gate off Route 11 in Evans Mills.

“We’ve benefited probably more than any other business around here, because we’re directly tied into the success at Fort Drum,” said manager Mi-chael J. Seymour.

Since 2000, he said, his store has benefited from Walmart and other corporate retailers that have planted roots outside of Fort Drum’s main gate to draw more traffic along Route 11. In the early 1980s, Route 11 simply was a way for travelers to get to Watertown from the north, the 48-year-old Felts Mills native said.

“Other than small gas sta-tions dotted through the area, there wasn’t much,” he said.

Businesses also benefit by receiving contracts from Fort Drum to provide goods and services. This year, for exam-ple, Renzi Foodservice secured an estimated $16 million con-tract to be the exclusive pro-

vider of food and beverages to all dining facilities on the base. And last February, the Army announced its intention to award a 20-year contract to the on-site ReEnergy Black River biomass facility, which would supply the post with electricity to meet its current peak con-sumption of about 28 mega-watts at any given time.

HOUSINGThanks to Fort Drum’s pres-

ence, the north country has experienced a major housing boom over the past three years.

In 2011, the Army calculated that 1,035 market-rate rental units were needed in the re-gion to meet the demand for housing by Fort Drum person-nel. That figure was based on the scarcity of available hous-ing and the projected return of 19,000 soldiers from Afghani-stan by the summer of 2013. During the preceding spring, the number of new units un-der construction exceeded the Army’s benchmark.

Highlights include three large-scale complexes near-ing completion in Watertown: the 296-unit Beaver Meadow Apartments by COR Develop-ment Co., Fayetteville, behind

the Target store off outer Ar-senal Street; 394 market-rate townhouses by Morgan Man-agement, Pittsford, at the Preserve at Autumn Ridge off County Route 202; and 200 units by Norstar Development USA, Buffalo, at Creek Wood Apartments on the city’s north side.

James W. Wright, CEO of the Development Authority of the North Country, said those three housing projects were made possible by the creation in 2011 of Jefferson County’s Commu-nity Rental Housing Program committee, which committed local funding needed to launch projects and helped secure state funding. In addition, tax incentives to attract developers were negotiated by the Jeffer-son County Industrial Devel-opment Agency and approved by municipalities.

The housing stock in the greater Watertown area and town of LeRay has been much-improved from new construc-tion, which has benefited the community at large, Mr. Wright said.

“The broader picture is that the need for military hous-ing enabled the buildout of housing in general, because ourselves and none of the other (development) agencies viewed it as building military housing, but building com-munity housing,” he said. “You saw that in the marketplace. There used to be pent-up de-mand with absent choices. Now you have an array of choices, all of which are quality and affordable.”

In the early 1980s, “The area was stagnant, and so was its housing stock,” Mr. Wright said. But “when demands were placed on the housing stock, the long-term solution re-quired the building of housing stock. That has had community value.”

SCHOOLS Last year, north country

school districts surrounding the installation received $48.6 million in federal impact aid for accommodating military children. That aid assists dis-tricts that have lost property-tax revenue because of tax-ex-empt federal property or have increased expenses due to the enrollment of military chil-dren. The three main school

districts that educate thou-sands of military children in the area are Indian River, Car-thage and Watertown.

Enrollment at Indian River has ballooned in the past five years because of the construc-tion of new housing, said James R. Koch, the district’s business manager. The district-wide en-rollment, including students in kindergarten through 12th grade, jumped from 3,698 to 4,342 from 2010 to 2013.

Military students account for about 65 percent of the stu-dent body in the district, which surpassed Watertown in 2011 to have the highest such en-rollment among districts in the region. In 2013, at the start of the new school year, mili-tary students at Watertown ac-counted for about 20 percent of the student body, which had a K-through-12 enrollment of 3,902. At Carthage, 54 percent of the 3,542 enrolled students were military-affiliated.

Fort Drum Mountain Com-munity Homes — a partner-ship between the Army and private developer Actus Lend Lease — has been responsible for building about 1,700 homes on post in Indian River’s dis-trict since 2005, Mr. Koch said. Housing communities built in-clude Crescent Woods, Monu-ment Ridge and Adirondack Creek. Most recently, 740 mar-ket-rate rental units have been built over the past six years at Eagle Ridge Village off Route 342 in the town of LeRay. The project was completed in the spring by Clover Construction, Williamsville.

“What triggered our enroll-ment growth is the availability of homes — it’s really that sim-ple,” Mr. Koch said.

The Indian River district, which has eight schools, has expanded several times to ac-commodate the influx of mili-tary students, Mr. Koch said. In January, residents in the dis-trict approved a $33.2 million capital project that calls for the construction of 10 classrooms at Evans Mills Primary, expan-sion of the music facility at the high school, more cafeteria space at three schools, the ad-dition of a solar energy field, and a multipurpose turf ath-letic facility.

The project was funded by $23.2 million in state aid and $10 million in federal impact

Drum powers three decades of growth

AMANDA MORRISON n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

In December 2012, the state opened I-781, a $55 million connector highway spurred by the growth of Fort Drum.


The sign on New York State Route 11 North welcomes people to the main entrance of Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division.

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISIONn Description: Light Infantry

n Base: Fort Drum, N.Y.

n Activation date: Feb. 13, 1985. (Announcement that the division was coming to the base was made on Sept. 11, 1984.)

n Motto: “Climb to Glory”

n Mission statement: “The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) and Fort Drum RAPIDLY deploys trained and combat-ready forces globally in order to prevent, shape or win in ground battle.”

n Number of soldiers: 18,060

n Number of affiliated civilian workers: 3,895

See ECONOMY M15

30 Years at Fort Drum WatertoWn Daily times

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C M Y K

By GORDON BLOCKTIMES STAFF WRITER

It was a day of celebration in the north country on Sept. 11, 1984, 30 years ago this week, as the region learned the Army would activate the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum.

“The Department of Defense’s decision makes everyone a win-ner,” Rep. David O’B. Martin, R-Morristown, said that day as he clenched a crocheted flag at a meeting of the Watertown Ameri-can Legion Post 61.

Getting to that point, however, took a great deal of bipartisan lobbying and support from Wa-tertown to Washington through-out the year, primarily from Mr. Martin, who died two years ago at the age of 68.

“It’s what he lived and breathed,” said Cary R. Brick, Mr. Martin’s chief of staff. “With-out that personal passion, there wouldn’t be a Fort Drum as we know it today.”

The Army introduced a new Light Infantry unit concept in early 1984, with The Washington Post outlining an Army strategy to cut response times for conflicts com-pared to more heavily armored units. For a community that had seen companies and even other military units consider placements in Northern New York, the possi-

bility of a division and an influx of new people was exciting.

“To hear that something like this was coming to the north coun-try got everybody on the balls of their feet.” said F.

Anthony Keating, currently the civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, John McHugh.

In the mid-1980s, Mr. Keating held small roles on the Fort Drum steering council, which launched soon after the announcement that the 10th Mountain Division would be coming to Fort Drum. The council evolved into what is now the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization.

Fort Drum would see competi-tion from installations in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Washington, Alaska and Califor-nia, and the possibility of the Army splitting the placement.

In the early going, Mr. Martin appeared less optimistic about

the plan coming to fruition in the north country.

“The odds are long; I’ll be candid with you,” he told a crowd during a GOP dinner at the Italian-Amer-ican Civic Association in late Feb-ruary of 1984.

However, his efforts, along with support from Gov. Mario M. Cuo-mo and a bipartisan collection of state and congressional lawmak-ers, helped Fort Drum become a leading contender. Local business and community leaders rallied for the cause.

“It required a certain amount of political will in the community,” said Donald C. Alexander, a mem-ber of the steering council since its inception. “We spent months going to anybody and everybody that would have us, talking about the ex-pansion and what it could mean for the community.”

Hearings in Watertown drew hundreds of people, most in support of the base. Gov. Cuo-mo attended a hearing at Wa-tertown High School in June 1984.

“New York is a great state with all its resourc-es standing ready,” he said in proposing $5 million in sup-port for the area if the division were added. “We want you (the division), and we think we are good for you.”

By August, Fort Drum was considered the “pre-ferred alternate,” with the post hosting the 10th Moun-tain Division’s headquarters and a brigade, while a second brigade was being housed temporarily at Fort Benning, Ga., until the division’s permanent site could be readied.

Fort Ben-ning had been the most re-cent home of the division; it

deactivated there in 1958.However, the decision

on Fort Drum had not been finalized, leaving weeks of anticipation as Army and De-partment of Defense leader-ship went over their final op-tions.

Then, on Sept. 11, 30 years ago, the north country had its official answer: the division was coming north. There was a lot of work to do, but it was a moment when a new future for the region was in view.

“There was clearly euphoria,” said Terrence L. Roche, garrison commander of Fort Drum at the time of the announcement. “We were going to grow and make it happen.”

In 1984, preparation, then celebration

WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

A Times clipping from Sept. 11, 1984, shows Rep. David O’B. Martin announcing the 10th Mountain Division activation. To read the full story, go to http://wdt.me/drum1984

Keating

n July 13, 1943: 10th Light Division (Alpine) forms at Camp Hale, Colo., primarily with soldiers from the 87th Mountain Infantry Battalion, established two years earlier.

n Nov. 6, 1944: Division is redesignat-ed as 10th Mountain Division. It fought throughout the Alps of Italy during World War II, securing major victories at Mount Belvedere and Po Valley.

n Nov. 30, 1945: Division is disbanded after post-war return to Camp Carson, Colo.

n July 1, 1948: Reactivated as the 10th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan. Among highlights of its time as training unit was service in Germany during Operation Gyroscope.

n June 14, 1958: Deactivated at Fort Benning, Ga.

n Sept. 11, 1984: Announcement that Fort Drum will get the division, leading to massive levels of development in the north country in anticipation of a large influx of soldiers.

n Feb. 13, 1985: The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) reactivates at Fort Drum.

n 1990-1991: 1,200 division soldiers deployed to southwest Asia during Op-eration Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

n August 1992: 6,000 soldiers deployed to South Florida to aid in the recovery from Hurricane Andrew for nearly two months.

n Dec. 3, 1992: Division’s headquarters designated as headquarters for all Army forces during Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. Division soldiers played a role in the country through March 1994.

n September 1994 through January 1995: 8,600 division soldiers aid in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, supporting the return to power for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

n March 1997: Three division com-panies begin operations in Bosnia and

Herzegovina for Operation Joint Guard, serving for about six months.

n Sept. 11, 2001: The United States is attacked by Osama bin Laden-led al-Qaida terrorists. In the months ahead, division soldiers are moved to strategic locations domestically, and in Kuwait, Qatar and Uzbekistan.

n November 2001: Division personnel arrive at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, guarding it and providing security for humanitarian efforts. Over the next 10 years, units from the division are de-ployed to Afghanistan on a regular basis.

n March 2003: Soldiers from the division’s 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry and elements of the connected 41st Engineer Battalion make their way to Iraq, where they support the 10th Spe-cial Forces Group. The infantry battalion also secures airfields and oil transfer stations and trains Kurdish militias.

n March 11, 2003: Eleven soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash a few miles northeast of the post’s Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield.

n April 2003: Division soldiers deploy to Djibouti to support the global war on terror.

n June 8, 2004: Hamid Karzai, presi-dent of Afghanistan, visits Fort Drum, awarding Purple Hearts to Spc. Victor Thibeault and Sgt. Daniel Swank.

n Sept. 27, 2004: 10th Mountain Divi-sion adds 3rd Brigade Combat Team and marks its transformation into modular brigades, which are intended to deploy independently. The transformation of the Army brings more than 5,000 addi-tional soldiers to post.

n Jan. 19, 2005: Division adds 4th Brigade Combat Team, based in Fort Polk, La.

n February 2005: Eight 10th Moun-tain Division soldiers are demoted after a December 2003 incident in Afghani-stan in which the soldiers took pictures of themselves pointing unloaded weap-ons at a bound and hooded detainee.

n May 5, 2006: A CH-47 Chinook helicop-ter crashes, killing 10 division soldiers in Afghanistan. Among them was the com-mander of the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry

Regiment, Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty, who had led soldiers in clearing fighters and finding caves in Gardez, Afghanistan, in 2002.

n Nov. 28, 2007: Fort Drum reacti-vates the 3rd Battalion, 85th Infantry Regiment, as the Warrior Transition Unit. The battalion serves as a place for soldiers suffering from physical and psychological injuries to heal and transition back to a unit or to civilian life. A complex for the unit on post was finished in May 2012.

n June 2010: Army officials announce the arrest of Fort Drum soldier Spc. Bradley Manning in connection with

sensitive information being disclosed to the website WikiLeaks. The soldier, now referred to as Chelsea Manning, was tried and convicted on multiple charges and is being held at Fort Leav-enworth on a 35-year sentence.

n June 23, 2011: President Obama visits 150 soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team and tells them the divi-sion will keep fighting in Afghanistan. Obama later holds a closed-door session with families who have lost loved ones overseas.

n Dec. 3, 2012: Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend takes over command of the

division from Gen. Mark A. Milley.

n January 2014: Division headquarters deploys for yearlong period leading the Regional Command East, closing out opera-tions in Afghanistan at the deadline to end combat operations in the country at the end of 2014.

n Aug. 14, 2014: The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, recently returned from a nine-month deployment in Afghani-stan, formally deactivates as a part of Army-wide force reductions.

Sources: Times archives, U.S. Army Public Affairs

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION TIMELINE


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C M Y K

Some of our nation’s most prominent political and military leaders have been aligned with the 10th Mountain Division, which was activated at Fort Drum in 1985 after the announcement of the division’s location was made the previous year. Below are their reflections, along with some of the politicians who work to support and sustain the divi-sion and the post. The quotes were submitted by email.

“In 1945, I joined the 10th Mountain Di-vision as a re-placement in Italy and was wounded a few months later on April 14. I was there 30 years

ago when the division moved to Fort Drum. Over the years, I’ve been proud of the members of the 10th Mountain Division for their heroic service all around the world.”

— Former U.S. Sen. Robert J. Dole, R-Kan.

“Congratulations and a very happy 30th anniversary to the sol-diers, families, veterans and em-ployees of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum, N.Y. I also extend a special salute to the many north country commu-nities that have supported the 10th Mountain Division over the past three decades, especially during these nearly 13 years of conflict and sacrifice, as this vital Army division provided ready and responsive forces for our nation. The Milley family has many fond memories of our service at Fort Drum, and we extend our best to our friends who are serving there proudly on this milestone anniversary year. Best wishes and Climb to Glory. Free-dom’s Guardian! Climb to Glory!”

— Gen. Mark A. Milley, com-manding general of U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., and former commanding general at Fort Drum

“Charlene and I have many fond memories of our time in the north country assigned to the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum. It is a place where soldiers want to serve and where families want to raise their children. The strong support of the community has helped to make Fort Drum one of the best installations in the Army.”

— Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, com-mander, U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa

“Filled with thousands of brave men and women who put their lives on the line for America’s free-dom, Fort Drum is a special place — for our state, for the north coun-try, and for our nation. As the world changed and our nation’s military needs evolved, Fort Drum, and its world-famous 10th Mountain Division, was at the absolute cut-ting edge of that transformation to a more highly trained, nimble, and tactical fighting force capable of projecting American power around the world at a moment’s notice. On the home front, too, the spectacular growth of Fort Drum has been a massive shot in the arm to the north country economy. I will continue to fight in Congress to make sure the health of Fort Drum, and the entire Watertown area, is a priority for another 30 years.”

— U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.

“The announcement 30 years ago that the legendary 10th Mountain Division would reacti-vate at Fort Drum has proven to be a great choice. (The division) has grown Fort Drum exponen-tially and strengthened the econ-omy of the north country. The 10th Mountain Division has some of the bravest, most heroic men and women serving our country, and I am proud that they call Fort Drum, New York, home.”

— U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gilli-brand, D-N.Y., member of the Sen-ate Armed Services Committee

“The 10th Mountain Division is essential to our nation’s secu-rity and has proven its military value for decades. We owe a great debt to the soldiers and their families who have supported its many vital missions. Fort Drum has also been an important eco-nomic partner for Watertown and numerous communities in the surrounding area. Drum

has brought nearly $20 billion to the region over the past 25 years, money that goes into local schools and local communities. The thousands who work and serve on post depend on the sur-rounding community for every-thing from basic goods to moral support. Continued use and im-provement of Fort Drum ensures that our military and civilian communities, really the whole re-gion, can continue to thrive.”

— U.S. Rep. William L. Ow-ens, D-Plattsburgh

“Fort Drum and the 10th Moun-tain Division are a huge part of the north country — the fort is a ma-jor job creator, a significant part of our economy, and its troops and their families are not only defend-ers of our freedom, they are also our friends and neighbors. Over the past three decades, the north country came together to support a growing Fort Drum, and we must continue to do everything possible to build on this success and keep Fort Drum strong. As state sena-tor, I will continue my efforts to support our brave service mem-bers, bolster our community and encourage Fort Drum’s continued economic growth.”

— State Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton

“Decisions made 30 years ago as the 10th Mountain Divi-sion was being activated at Fort Drum have en-abled the com-munity and installation to

grow and benefit from each other. The level of integration provided for all those years ago has allowed our civilian and military commu-nity to support each other. Several schools, the health-care system and community have met the chal-lenge to expand capacity and are stronger as a result. Soldiers and their families have added a new dy-namic to the fabric of this commu-nity, and we all pull together when duty calls and our neighbors need support. While many dwell on the economic impact of the divi-sion, the bonds of friendship have strengthened to those of a family and have made our passion for our division second to none.”

— Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa

“The 10th Mountain Division has a long tradition of being on the forefront of serving and pro-tecting our country around the world at a moment’s notice. They have become like family to our community and a critical part of our national defense strategy.”

— Assemblyman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River

“We are incredibly proud to call Fort Drum the home of the U.S. Army’s historic 10th Mountain Di-vision light infantry unit. If elected, I will be a strong advocate in Wash-ington for protecting Fort Drum, the brave military men and women stationed there, and their families. I will fight against devastating de-fense cuts, and work hard to ensure Congress recognizes the unique strengths of the 10th Mountain Di-vision as the future model for our nation’s military to face the global challenges of the 21st century.”

— Elise M. Stefanik, Repub-lican candidate for New York’s 21st Congressional District

“For 30 years, the men and wom-en of the 10th Mountain Division have selflessly fought to preserve our freedom. The division was the first to heroically answer the call to duty in Afghanistan after 9/11. And it eventually became the most de-ployed division in the entire Army. It is for this sacrifice and service that I will continue to fight to ensure the strength of the 10th Mountain Divi-sion, both for the economy of our re-gion and the security of our nation.”

— Aaron G. Woolf, Democrat-ic candidate for New York’s 21st District

“Fort Drum is important to the economy of the region, but we should be examining how to transition from our dependence on the base to building a diversi-fied economy.”

— Matthew J. Funiciello, Green Party candidate for New York’s 21st Congressional District

— Compiled by Times staff reporter Daniel Flatley

VIPs weigh inBy GORDON BLOCKTIMES STAFF WRITER

Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend has served as commander of Fort Drum and the 10th Moun-tain Division since late 2012, but his career has intersected with the north country multiple times during his career.

The Georgia native and North Georgia College gradu-ate joined the Army in 1982, serving in several roles within the 10th Mountain Division and across the Army before taking command at Fort Drum.

From 1999 to 2002, Gen. Townsend led the 4th Battal-ion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team. From 2003 to 2004 he was the division’s op-erations officer.

In a phone call with the Times from Afghanistan last month, Gen. Townsend spoke about his north country ties and the direction the post and division are heading.

The interview has been con-densed for space purposes.

Q: You’ve talked a lot about the connec-

tions between the post and the north country. How do you view that connection, es-pecially since you’ve raised your family in this area?

A: I think that connec-tion is really interde-

pendency. Fort Drum depends on the Fort Drum community, Watertown, Jefferson County, Lewis County. We depend on the surrounding community for the essentials of life on Fort Drum. We don’t have our own hospital; we use the hospitals in the community. We don’t have our own schools; our children go to school in the community. We only house a little over a third of our fami-lies. Two-thirds of our families live off post, in the community.

Jobs, we have soldiers and family members who have jobs off base. We have skilled workers from the community who work on our base. Recre-ational opportunities. There’s a symbiotic relationship.

I think the FD community also depends on us. About $1.4 billion in economic im-pact, the largest employer in Northern New York. I think the community depends on us, and we depend on them.

Q: What do you do for fun around the north

country?

A: First of all, Fort Drum and the north country

area is my wife Melissa’s favor-ite duty station of all the places we’ve been. The combination of the post and the communi-ty. We’ve liked a lot of the duty stations we’ve been at, but for her I think Fort Drum probably ranks No. 1.

When we’re off duty, I like to hunt and fish and shoot. Together we like to travel around the north country ar-

ea, sightsee, walk, shop, do all that, go see the sights.

For example, while I was home (in the north country) on block leave, we went up to the Thousand Islands, we took a river cruise, and went down to the Singer Castle, which has only been open for a few years now. We went to the Adiron-dacks for a long weekend, Lake Placid, went to Rome, toured the fort in downtown Rome, and went to the Oriskany bat-tlefield and toured that. That’s the kind of stuff we like to do.

From Lake Ontario all the way through the Adirondacks, over to Lake Champlain and Burlington, Vermont, down to New York City, that’s been our range. We like to see New York.

Q: Where do you see Fort Drum heading?

A: Our division, it’s no accident that our divi-

sion was the most deployed in the Army before the (global) war (on terror). We’re still the most deployed, and I think we’re going to continue to be used a lot by our Army. We’re a light infantry division, a rapid deployment force; we have excellent facilities for rapid deployment and train-ing. We have superb ranges, superb infrastructure, superb airfield. We’re a very versatile division, and we’re relatively inexpensive to maintain and train, comparing our division to other divisions. I think that the Army is going to rely on us a lot, even as Afghanistan winds down. It’s not over yet, and it won’t be over for a few years at least, but I think our division will be involved here and other places around the world.

Although I think Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Divi-sion have a strong, good fu-ture ahead of us, I’m looking at sequestration. It’s hurt-ing our readiness; it’s going to hurt our Army’s readiness and end strength. If seques-tration is not overturned by Congress, I believe our Army will get smaller, and I think that inevitably, some of that is going to come to Fort Drum. I think that if the north coun-try, the state of New York, Jefferson County, if they like having their 10th Mountain Division and their Fort Drum, it’s probably in the commu-nity’s best interests to let their voices be heard.

I’m concerned about the effects of sequestration on the Army, but setting that aside, I think our division and our post is exactly what the Army needs strategically.

Townsend enjoys NNY ties

NORM JOHNSTON n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend is Fort Drum’s commander.

Q: Favorite sports teams?

A: Atlanta Braves, Falcons, Georgia Bulldogs. He said he also likes the Syracuse Orange and the Watertown Red and Black semipro football team.

Q: What music is on your workout playlist?

A: Classic-rock bands like Fleetwood Mac, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Q: Who’s playing you in a movie?A: George Clooney.

Q: Last book you read that wasn’t related to the military? A: The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein.

GeN. TOwNseND: the lIghter sIde

COMMANDING GeNeRALsThe commanding generals of Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division since the division’s activation in 1985, with their most recent rank and current status:

n December 1984 to April 1988: Lt. Gen. William S. Carpenter; now retired.

n April 1988 to September 1990: Maj. Gen. Peter J. Boylan Jr.; retired.

n September 1990 to September 1991: Lt. Gen. James R. Ellis; retired.

n September 1991 to August 1993: Lt. Gen. Steven L. Arnold; retired.

n August 1993 to July 1995: Lt. Gen. David C. Meade; retired.

n July 1995 to June 1997: Lt. Gen. Thomas N. Burnette Jr.; retired.

n June 1997 to March 1999: Lt. Gen. Lawson W. Magruder III; retired, now a consultant with LWM III Consulting in San Antonio.

n March 1999 to August 2001: Lt. Gen. James L. Campbell; retired.

n August 2001 to August 2003: Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck; retired, now inaugural director of the Engi-neering Leadership Institute at the University of Florida.

n August 2003 to August 2005: Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III; commander of U.S. Central Command in Tampa.

n August 2005 to April 2007: Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley; retired, teaches at Arizona State University.

n April 2007 to September 2009: Lt.

Gen. Michael L. Oates; retired, now vice president for strategy and busi-ness development for the Air and Missile Defense at Lockheed Martin in Grand Prairie, Texas.

n September 2009 to November 2011: Lt. Gen. James L. Terry; now head of U.S. Army Central at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C.

n November 2011 to December 2012: Gen. Mark A. Milley; recently promot-ed to four-star general. He took com-mand of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., in mid-August.

n December 2012 to present: Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend.


Gen. Mark A. Milley, pictured in 2012, thanks the community for supporting soldiers and their families.

WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES FILES

Maj. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck speaks at a 2002 press conference at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. He retired as a lieutenant general.

1ST BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM

n Headquarters and Headquarters Company

n 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion

n 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment

n 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment

n 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment

n 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment

n 10th Brigade Support Battalion

n 7th Engineer Battalion

2ND BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM


n 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion

n 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment

n 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment

n 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment

n 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment


3RD BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM (DEACTIVATED AUG. 14)


n 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion

n 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment

n 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment

n 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment

n 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment


Note: Some battalions will move to 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams as a result of the deactivation.

10TH COMBAT AVIATION BRIGADE


n 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment

n 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment

n 2nd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment

n 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment

n 277th Aviation Support Battalion

10TH SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE


n 10th Sustainment Brigade Troops Battalion

n 548th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion

n 91st Military Police Battalion

n 63rd Ordnance Battalion

n 33rd Financial Management company

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVIsION UNITs AT FORT DRUM


Dole

Russell


C M Y K


Left, Lt. John H. Peters, 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, explains training exercises to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2001.


Former President George W. Bush shakes hands with a soldier during a visit to Fort Drum in 2002.

JUSTIN SORENSEN n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

President Barack Obama greets a 10th Mountain Division soldier at the base in 2011.

Politician visits

By SUSAN MENDEJOHNSON NEWSPAPERS

Waiting often is the hardest part of being married to a soldier.

Waiting for a phone call that might not come from thou-sands of miles away.

Waiting to learn if a spouse is still alive.

Waiting to find out if a loved one will be deployed or when he or she will return home.

For Priscilla R. Hall, the ago-ny of waiting started one morn-ing in August of last year in the middle of a telephone con-versation with her husband, Nathan M., a 33-year-old Fort Drum staff sergeant who was serving a nine-month deploy-ment in Afghanistan.

“The phone went dead,” Mrs. Hall, 33, said of the Army’s land-line device, which is con-nected to the Internet. “I didn’t hear from him again for two weeks. All our communication was cut off.”

She said the situation wor-ried her because military spouses know a “blackout” probably means that one or more soldiers have been killed. She said the military shuts down communication to pre-vent a deceased soldier’s fam-ily members from learning the bad news from outside sources before there is official notifica-tion from the Army.

“It was a sick feeling when the phone went dead,” Mrs. Hall recalled.

The waiting also was difficult for Mrs. Hall’s two daughters — Destiny V. Morgan, 14, and Bryanna P. Frye, 10.

Mrs. Hall’s youngest daugh-ter cried some afternoons when she saw other soldiers pick up their children at the end of their day at Carthage Central School.

“She would have crying spells. It was really hard,” Mrs.

Hall said. “Nine months to a child seems like a lifetime.”

Her attempts to reach her husband on Facebook and email went unanswered.

“In the military, they say no news is good news,” Mrs. Hall said. “But that’s the hardest part, not being able to talk to him. You go to sleep with your phone beside you. You don’t want to believe that something bad will happen, but you have to prepare yourself.”

She said she wasn’t con-vinced that her husband was all right until she heard his voice on the phone two weeks later. It was a quick call, but it was the lifeline the family needed to get through their separation. Mrs. Hall found out communication had been cut off because her husband’s unit had been attacked.

“You learn that a couple-min-ute phone call can mean more than a long, drawn-out phone

call,” she said. “You just want to hear their voice. That was the most important phone call.”

EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGESObtaining and keeping a job

is a challenge faced by many military spouses. Keeping a job can be especially hard when a soldier is deployed and the spouse is left alone to take care of children.

When finding reliable child-care became too difficult, Tara J. Smolen, a military wife from Gouverneur, said she decided to leave her job as a certified nursing assistant.

Just two months after their Aug. 31 wedding last year, her husband, Chad E., left for a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan. Mrs. Smolen was left to care for her sons, Garri-son P., 5, and Gavin S.,12.

“I was working the night shift,

and it just became too difficult. It’s really difficult to find a sitter you can trust, and I kind of got tired of looking,” she said.

The family has orders to transfer next May to Hawaii, which will be another adjust-ment for Mrs. Smolen, 33, a life-long Gouverneur resident.

For military families, adapt-ing to transfers and moving is part of the lifestyle.

“It’s going to be a change, but I knew what I was getting into because I have friends who are in the military,” Mrs. Smo-len said. “The military can just say you have to be somewhere on such and such a date.”

Despite the challenges of military life, spouses say deal-ing with long deployments and other hardships have helped them find an inner strength they didn’t know existed.

“Our first deployment pushed us, but we made it through, and

I’m proud of myself (for that),” Mrs. Smolen said.

Mrs. Hall said it’s important to stay strong for your spouse and children.

“I never knew I could be so strong,” she said. “If you’re weak, it makes it harder for them.”

SENSE OF COMMUNITYStacy M. Chandler, a native

of the Rome, N.Y., area, has been a military wife since her husband, Gordon J., joined the Army in April 2013.

The couple moved into a duplex on Fort Drum in Octo-ber with their three children — Layla, 8, Alexis, 3, and Paige, 2.

The family got separated

when Mr. Chandler left for ba-sic training in Georgia, which his wife said was challenging.

“That was the first time we were ever separated,” Mrs. Chandler said. “I was all by my-self with three kids.”

However, she said she sup-ports her husband’s decision to join the Army and believes the choice was positive for her family.

“It was worth it,” she said. Although the Chandlers

haven’t faced a deployment, Mrs. Chandler, 29, said she en-joys the sense of community she feels at Fort Drum and in the surrounding area,

“I love it here. It’s a very close-knit community,” she said.

Uncertainty part of military marriages

By TED BOOKERTIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — Soldiers on post liken modern barracks to college dormitories.

Compared to barracks hous-ing offered here two decades ago, today’s living spaces pro-vide soldiers with more ameni-ties and independence, accord-ing to Sgt. Patrick I. Olvecky, who allowed the Times to tour his liv-ing space last month.

“It’s a lot like a college dorm, but I think our rooms are big-ger,” said Sgt. Olvecky, a mem-ber of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment.

The 22-year-old from Fulton said his barracks — a two-story building with 204 beds — have plenty of perks for soldiers. The building, named “1-32” after the battalion, was constructed in 2009.

Sgt. Olvecky, whose battalion returned from its deployment to Afghanistan last month, said all soldiers have their own 200-square-foot rooms. Each living unit has two private rooms for soldiers, including spacious walk-in closets with room for soldiers’ gear and per-sonal belongings. Roommates share a 228-square-foot com-mon area that includes a kitch-en and bathroom.

In the past decade on post, the Army has built 27 new bar-racks and has renovated 26 of 29 older barracks, said Jeremy L. Wildhaber, Fort Drum hous-ing manager. About $372 mil-lion has been spent to build new housing facilities, and

about $52 million has gone to private-room renovations.

“It’s part of the Army-wide plan to build enough rooms to enhance the quality of life for soldiers,” Mr. Wildhaber said.

Soldiers are permitted to have electronics such as com-puters and televisions in their rooms; they also are allowed to decorate their walls with post-ers, Sgt. Olvecky said.

Soldiers also have access to a “day room” near the entrance of the first floor, which includes tables for billiards, foosball and pingpong, along with a lounge

area with a big-screen television. Sgt. Olvecky said his cur-

rent living arrangement differs greatly from the older barracks he stayed in when he arrived on post four years ago. Back then, two soldiers were assigned to each room, and the common area was shared by four soldiers.

Sgt. Olvecky said the older housing arrangement had lim-ited space for soldiers to store their belongings.

“A bed, desk and wall locker were the only amenities,” he said.

Of the 29 older barracks, built in the mid-1980s, the three un-

renovated ones provide over-flow housing when there is a “full nest” of soldiers on post, Mr. Wildhaber said. The 26 that were renovated were refur-bished to feature the private-room configuration.

Command Sgt. Maj. Roy A. Holmes, 43, from Malone, said living in barracks housing in the mid-1990s was much dif-ferent from today. He recalled the many rules he needed to follow as a soldier stationed at Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Ky., from 1994 to 1996.

“In the 1990s, all of the rules

were dictated by the chain of command,” said Sgt. Maj. Holmes, who now lives off-post in the village of Evans Mills. “Your military uniform needed to be hung up on the left side of the closet, and you needed to have the length of about 2 cen-timeters between each hanger. You didn’t have any room to hang up your personal clothes, and you had to keep them in a bag on the floor. Your socks needed to be folded like a dol-lar bill.”

Because of the plethora of rules, soldiers had to be vigi-lant at all times, Command Sgt. Maj. Holmes said.

Though soldiers’ rooms are still checked for cleanliness, he said, stringent guidelines no longer exist.

“They have a lot more free-dom than they did 15 to 20 years ago,” he said. “It’s not as

stressful, because soldiers can go into their rooms to be alone if they want to.”

Sgt. Olvecky said he’s re-sponsible for checking the cleanliness of three soldiers on a regular basis.

“Everything has to be clean and organized,” he said. “The gear should be organized in the closets so they can be ready to go quickly.”

Other rules also are enforced by Sgt. Olvecky. For example, guests are allowed to stay un-til midnight in rooms, but they cannot spend the night.

Sgt. Olvecky also said he keeps a close eye on soldiers’ trash bins. Fort Drum launched a re-cycling program two years ago in which soldiers are required to recycle all plastic bottles.

“If they don’t do it, I’m the one who’s responsible,” he said.

Modern barracks offer more space, privacy


Fort Drum soldier Patrick I. Olvecky, a member of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, sits in his room in one of the barracks on Fort Drum. Sgt. Olvecky’s barrack was built in 2009.


Sgt. Olvecky lives in building ‘1-32,’ which is named after his battalion. The barrack is one of 56 soldier housing facilities on Fort Drum.

JASON HUNTER n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

Tara J. and Chad E. Smolen were married on Aug. 31, 2013. Two months later, Chad was deployed.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Staff Sgt. Nathan M. Hall gathers with his wife, Priscilla R. Hall, and his stepdaughters, Destiny V. Morgan, left, and Bryanna P. Frye.



C M Y K

Global duty for 10th Mountain Division

Bosnia: Multiple units deployed to the country in March 1997 for construction and defense missions, with follow-up missions running from 1998 to 2000.

Former Yugoslavian repuBlic oF macedonia: Division members aiding in efforts in Kosovo joined with elements of Task Force Falcon operating in the country. Among those were the 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, which guarded the airport at Skopje used by peacekeepers.

Fort irwin, caliF.: Multiple training stints at the National Training Center.

Fort polk, la.: Multiple training stints at the Joint Readiness Training Center.

south Florida: About 6,000 division soldiers deployed in August 1992 to aid in the recovery from Hurricane Andrew. Division soldiers were there for about two months.

new York citY: About 250 personnel and 50 2,500-gallon fuel tankers from units throughout the division were dispatched in November 2012 to aid in the recovery from Superstorm Sandy.

canada: Multiple training missions occurred over the years between American and Canadian forces, such as Exercise Ghost Dragoon in the Ottawa River Valley in August, or the Operation Guerrier Nordique on Baffin Island in March.

wales: Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, trained with British Army members at Brecon Beacons in July 2014.

kosovo: Division members were in the country for some of 2001 and 2002 as a part of Operation Joint Guardian, where they performed multiple peacekeeping roles.

iraq: Division units first deployed to the country in March 2003, where they supported the 10th Special Forces Group. They also secured airfields and oil transfer sites, and trained Kurdish militants. Division forces operated there during the Gulf War.

cuBa: Division soldiers were staged at Guantanamo Bay in September 1994 prior to Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.

honduras: Among the division’s operations in the country was its training under Joint Task Force Bravo in summer 1993. About 120 and 150 members of the 1st Brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, took part in the operation.

haiti: About 8,600 division soldiers went to the country in fall 1994, securing areas of Port-au-Prince and elsewhere to set up a return of exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as a part of Operation Uphold Democracy.

panama: Multiple division units have sent soldiers to the country for operations and training exercises, including multiple operations at the former Jungle Operations Training Center at Fort Sherman, Panama.

egYpt: Multiple division units were dispatched to the Sinai Peninsula during a peacekeeping effort during the Gulf War.

djiBouti: Members of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, deployed to the country in April 2003 to support the global war on terror.

somalia: Division forces deployed to the country from 1992 to 1994 to aid in Operation Restore Hope and Operation Continue Hope.

pakistan: Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, trained with Pakistani and other U.S. forces in summer 1997 as a part of Inspired Gambit 97.

aFghanistan: Division units have deployed to the country regularly since Sept. 11, 2001. Currently, the 10th Mountain Division’s headquarters is leading operations in the country’s Regional Command-East.

uzBekistan: Division soldiers, primarily from 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, deployed to Karshi-Khanabad, a former Soviet air base in Uzbekistan, where they were joined by soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, to secure the airfield and provide humanitarian support in October 2001.

saudi araBia: Division elements operated in the country during the Gulf War, and in 2000, members of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, served there.

kuwait: Among first deployments to the country following the attacks of 9/11 were soldiers of 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, who secured coalition equipment, facilities and personnel here and in Qatar in October 2001.

qatar: Division soldiers responding to the attacks of 9/11 to secure coalition equipment, facilities and personnel were sent here and to Kuwait in October 2001.


A Fort Drum soldier patrols the streets in Homestead, Fla., where Hurricane Andrew devastated the area in August 1992.


A girl watches a U.S. patrol drive by in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, while marking the 1994 return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.


10th Mountain Division and Russian soldiers meet in Bosnia during a NATO joint peacekeeping mission in May 1997.


1st Lt. Adam M. Malson, 4th Battalion, 31st Regiment, walks through a market near Baghdad in 2005.


A soldier from the 10th Mountain Division waits for an open phone to call home on Christmas Eve, 2004, at Camp Liberty in Baghdad.

COMpILED bY GORDON bLOCk, WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESGRApHIC bY LAuREN HARRIENGER


Military police conduct searches at the Bagram Airfield post entrance gate in Afghanistan in 2002 as local civilian workers enter.

By JAEGUN LEETIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — When U.S. troops are on the ground in unfamiliar territory, it’s vital to have eyes from the skies track-ing enemy movement.

“Our focus is to support our ground troops and keep them safe overseas. That’s what we’re here for; that’s what we train for,” said Maj. Sandra D. Stoquert, spokeswoman for the 174th At-tack Wing, Syracuse, which flies MQ-9 Reaper aircraft at Fort Drum’s Wheeler-Sack Army Air-field.

Joining the Reapers at the airfield, an MQ-1C Grey Eagle — a smaller, 3,600-pound un-manned aircraft that can carry as many as four Hellfire mis-siles — recently reported for duty at a unit activation cer-emony for the “Valkyries.”

The aircraft is one of nine Grey Eagles that will join the Delta Company of the 1st Bat-talion, 10th Aviation Regiment, aka Valkyries.

Commonly referred to as drones, remotely piloted air-craft (RPA) are operated by a team of two — a pilot and a

censor operator.“It (unmanned aircraft) fits

in everywhere. It really pro-vides the needed situational awareness for proper decision-making on the battlefield,” Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ryan J. Owen, the company’s execu-tive officer, said at this past Ju-ly’s activation ceremony.

Takeoffs and landings are handled by a ground-control station, but once the drone reaches flying altitude, control can be handed over to pilots and censor operators in the United States through satellite links.

When training, the 174th Attack Wing’s 10,500-pound Reapers are flown out of Fort Drum’s airfield by airmen at the base, who transfer control to remote cockpits in Syracuse.

“It’s just like a typical cock-pit. They (pilots) are in control of the speed, everything. It’ll have a throttle, everything that a typical pilot would have in an aircraft,” Maj. Stoquert said.

And like any other aircraft, accidents can occur while op-erating drones.

Most recently, a $10 million Reaper crashed Nov. 12 into

Lake Ontario — about 12 miles off the coast of the lake’s east-ern shore — due to navigation-al software failures.

The U.S. Air Force has since remedied the software problem.

Some people also are con-cerned that military RPAs could be used to spy on U.S. citizens, but Maj. Stoquert said federal law prohibits such use of drones.

“We cannot break U.S. laws and conduct surveillance on U.S. citizens. We know people worry about that, but there are laws in place to prevent that from happening,” she said.

Although the Army will be drawing down its active-duty forces from about 520,000 sol-diers to fewer than 450,000 in 2020, it plans to launch a Gray Eagle company for each of its 10 active-duty divisions across the country, and for a few spe-cial operations units.

Pending approval by Con-gress is a proposed $27 million project to build a new han-gar for the Gray Eagles at Fort Drum. Construction for the project could begin as soon as next spring, and would take two years to complete.

Drones offer ground troops support, safety from above


kYrgYzstan: Division soldiers trained on peacekeeping methods here and in Uzbekistan in 1998 with military forces from Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey.


C M Y K

n Editor: Tim Farkasn Contributing editor: Gordon Blockn Photo editor: Norm Johnstonn Design editor: Lauren Harriengern Staff writers: Gordon Block, Ted Booker, Chris Brock, Daniel Flatley, Craig Fox, Brian Kelly, Jaegun Lee, Susan Mende, Josh St.Croix, Perry White

n Staff photographers: Jason Hunter, Norm Johnston, Justin Sorensen, Amanda Morrisonn Copy editors: Tim Farkas, Rich Fylen Research: Lisa Carr

On the webn All content from this 16-page special section, plus videos

and other supplemental material, can be found at www.fortdrum.com.

n To comment on what Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division mean to you as a north coun-try resident, visit

www.facebook.com/WDTNews.

In nnY bUSIneSS MAGAZIne

n For more on the 10th Mountain Division’s 30 years at Fort Drum, pick up the September issue of our sister publication at the Watertown Daily Times, 260 Washington St., after Sept. 12. The cost is $2.95. The magazine’s website can be found at www.nnybizmag.com.

SeCtIOn CredItS

by dAnIeL FLAtLeYTIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — Before chaos descended on wooden huts in an isolated training area, 1st Sgt. Aaron A. Huber and Capt. Curt J. Belohlavek, boots sodden from a July rain, sat for a moment to talk about their unit’s most re-cent training evolution while a man wearing a dishdasha and carrying a plastic uzi walked in and out of the room.

The place was surrounded — not by the enemy, but by soldiers from the C Troop, 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regi-ment, who had been observing the movements of the camp, purported to be the headquar-ters for an explosives dealer supplying a growing insurgen-cy in the area.

As the afternoon wore on, the first sergeant and troop com-mander conferred with other officials who had come to ob-serve the training.

Just before their operational deadline, the scouts of 1-71 crashed through the woods, swiftly and deliberately execut-ing a plan crafted by the troop’s non-commissioned officers, taking the explosives lair by force, killing the dealer, and his guards in the process.

The operation, which its ob-servers termed a success, repre-sents an attempt by the Army to refine a broader set of skills now that a 12-year focus on combat operations in the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts and cities of Iraq has given way to an open horizon.

Some of the skills left behind as soldiers adapted to new and constantly changing environ-ments are being revisited in ear-nest as commanders try to plan for as many different scenarios as possible.

“As a unit and as an Army, it

makes sense to get back to those skills,” Capt. Belohlavek said.

The training mixes veteran soldiers with those relatively new to the Army and involves scenarios that might be novel even to the more experienced non-commissioned officers, who learned most of their tac-tics fighting in a specific set of circumstances overseas.

“Our NCOs have stepped it up,” Sgt. Huber said of the non-commissioned officers. “They trained on it, executed it to the standard and above. It’s good to see them taking pride in their unit and aspiring to be an elite reconnaissance unit in an in-fantry division.”

For another enlisted soldier with more than 20 years of ex-perience, the skills gained over 12 years of combat are not lost, but rather incorporated into the training doctrine.

“You’ll hear people say, ‘We forgot. We lost (the skills),’ but I don’t necessarily think that’s the case,” said 1st Sgt. Casey S.

Vanwormer, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Sgt. Vanwormer joined the

Army in 1994, hoping to earn money to help pay for his edu-cation. Twenty years later, at age 38, he’s still in, coordinating training and working with junior soldiers.

“ T h e r e ’ s nothing like being in the Army,” he said.

B u t t h e way the Army trains has changed significantly since Sgt. Vanwormer first en-listed.

“Time was on our side back in those days,” he said. “We had a lot of time to work through our training cycle from individual to collective action.”

As the wars in Iraq and Af-ghanistan continued, training cycles became compressed as units deployed, returned

home, absorbed new person-nel and rapidly retrained for the next go-around.

With such a shortened time-line, the Army focused on giving its soldiers the skills and tactics they needed to survive and suc-ceed in a specific part of the world, according to Sgt. Vanwormer.

“I don’t think we lost any-thing deliberately,” he said. “Our leaders had to choose what would keep our soldiers alive in combat and make them successful. Now we’re opening up some of those old stores of knowledge.”

Sgt. Vanwormer said today’s Army is much more techno-logically advanced than before, with everything from night-vi-sion goggles to improved body armor available to every soldier.

But the true advancement, he said, is in the way units that never would have trained or deployed together before have learned to work together and in-tegrate their skills.

The operation executed by C Troop was an example of that cooperation.

On patrol with the cavalry scouts that July day were sol-diers trained as signals intel-ligence operators, forward ob-servers and snipers. Working in concert, they surveilled the target for hours, collecting in-formation on the movements of the personnel working there and relaying that information back to base before moving in to neutralize the threat.

What initially appeared to be chaos that afternoon — the slamming of armored bod-ies into wooden barriers, the shouting and shots fired, the smell of cordite, even the calls for evacuation after a suspi-cious package was identified — was the result of training.

broader skills seen as key to training


1st Sgt. Aaron A. Huber, left, and Capt. Curt J. Belohlavek discuss the evolution of training exercises.

Vanwormer


Fort Drum soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, advance on an enemy position during a recent training session on post.

by ChrIS brOCKTIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — Powering the base’s troops and civilians through nourishment is a task that requires versatility.

Fort Drum and the Army have had to keep up with the changing tastes of troops over the years. It’s much different from when the base’s food pro-gram manager, Jesus E. Santana Pena, served as an Army cook in Germany from 1976 to 1981.

Mr. Pena, who left the Army in 1999 as a master sergeant, where he served at U.S. Army South in Panama as the instal-lation’s food adviser, has been at Fort Drum for the past two years. He also has had Army food leadership roles as a civil-ian in Kosovo and South Korea.

“From 1976 till now, things have changed from ‘You get what they put on your plate’ to three choices of meat per meal, short-order menu, a salad bar, desserts and beverages,” Mr. Pena wrote in response to e-mailed questions. “There is also self-serve sandwich bars.”

But such changes are good for the bottom line of Mr. Pe-na’s main mission, which is to serve the needs of soldiers.

“What I enjoy about my job is the satisfaction of providing meals to soldiers and trying to make them all happy regard-less of their background,” Mr. Pena said.

Fort Drum has about 18,000 soldiers and 4,000 civilian work-ers, including contractors, who can use the post’s three full din-ing facilities and one “grab-and-go” facility. About 400 soldiers work at the dining facilities.

Soldiers have noticed differ-ences in the base’s food.

Sgt. Janell J. Emerson-Fa-rina, a member of the 10th Aviation Combat Brigade, lives in Theresa but frequents two “chow halls” on post: the Mule-skinner dining facility at Re-store Hope Avenue and Eighth Street, and the one at Wheeler-Sack Army Air Field.

Sgt. Emerson-Farina said she has noticed healthier op-tions, more selections, greater awareness of possible food al-lergies, and a bigger variety of spices used in food.

“It just tastes better,” she said, adding that she enjoys the omelet station and an area where diners can request specially made ham-burgers or other sandwiches at the airfield’s dining hall.

“It’s made right then and there for you instead of cooked en masse,” she said. “There’s individual attention.”

The amount of food dished out at the base is worth about $11 million a year, according to Mr. Pena.

The Supply and Subsistence Management Office and In-stallation Food Service work together to ensure the dining facilities and training units at Fort Drum receive the highest-quality foods.

In July, it was announced that Renzi Foodservice of Water-town had secured an estimated $16 million contract to be the exclusive provider of food and beverages to all dining facilities on Fort Drum. The contract will last at least two years but run no longer than five. The deal be-came effective Aug. 17; a Penn-sylvania company had the pre-

vious contract. A Fort Drum spokeswoman

said the $5 million difference between the contract awarded and the value of the food is due to factors such as the anticipat-ed rising cost of food and the increased troop support with redeploying units during the life of the contact.

In addition to Renzi, the base has contracts with Lep-age Bakeries in Auburn, Maine; Upstate Farms in Rochester for dairy items; Carlo Masi in Utica for produce; and Purchase-based PepsiCo for drinks.

Mr. Pena said that depend-ing on the training cycle of troops, the 1,700-square-foot SSMO warehouse on post can

receive up to 16 tractor-trailer loads per month.

Those loads increasingly focus on fresh produce and healthier menu options.

“This begins with preparing, cooking and serving meals with

fresh ingredients from ‘scratch’ in lieu of heating up pre-pre-pared entrees,” Timothy K. Sprague, Chief Warrant Officer 2 and 10th Mountain Division food adviser, said in an email.

For example, he said, more

fresh, raw vegetables are being steamed in the post’s kitchens rather than workers heating up canned vegetables.

Such concepts, Mr. Sprague said, are in accordance with a pi-lot program: the Mountain War-rior Healthy Initiative. He said a similar program is underway at Fort Bragg, N.C., and other in-stallations throughout the Army.

Despite healthier options, “comfort foods” are still con-sumed by soldiers.

“Biscuits and gravy are still served every morning along with big scoops of home-fried pota-toes,” Mr. Sprague said. “Ham-burgers and hot dogs are not get-ting removed from the Army’s standard menu any time soon.”

The overall goal of the pilot program, Mr. Sprague said, is to ensure that the most healthy options are considered for every meal, and that fresh, nutritious foods are offered and promoted.

He added that the Army din-ing facilities continue to hold monthly meetings where din-ers can provide feedback on items.

“This has a very large impact on current and future menu standards,” CWO Sprague said.

No small order on post when feeding the troops


Spc. Kyle Sprinkle prepares to carve a beef quarter during a Thanksgiving meal at the 2nd Brigade dining facility on Fort Drum. About $11 million in food is served at the base each year.


WatertoWn Daily times Sunday, September 7, 2014 M9M8 Sunday, September 7, 2014

C M Y K C M Y K

30 Years at Fort Drum

Above and on the right-hand side of Page M9 are film contact sheets from black-and-white negatives taken during dignitaries’ visits to the north country in the 1980s and ’90s.


10th Mountain Division soldiers assemble at Bagram Airfield before leaving by helicopter for a cave-clearing mission in Gardez province, Afghanistan, in 2002.


Returning from the Gulf War, soldiers are bused to Fort Drum through a welcoming crowd in 1991.


A soldier reunites with his family after returning home during ceremonies at Fort Drum on March 14, 2013.


An artillery honor guard fires a 10-gun salute during a change-of-command ceremony at Fort Drum last year.


Preparations are made before the 9/11 remembrance ceremony from 2013 at Fort Drum.

JASON HUNTER n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES

Sgt. Tony T. Shelton, Brownville, hugs his wife, Jennifer A. Smith-Shelton, following a deployment ceremony in 2012 for the Delta Company 2-108th Infantry at the Ogdensburg Armory.


Spc. John R. Allen, left, and Pfc. Brandon M. Gautier, 4th Battalion, 31st Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, give each other a high-five before making a convoy run from Patrol Base Justice to Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2005.


A 10th Mountain Division soldier talks with a Somalian as relief workers unload a shipment of supplies in January 1993.


Soldiers hold roses for their family members as they wait to be dismissed during a homecoming ceremony.

WatertoWn Daily times


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By CHRIS BROCKTimeS STaff WriTer

WATERTOWN — With an arsenal ranging from tubas to electric guitars, and whether in a war zone or a local park, the 10th Mountain Division Band stands ready to inspire soldiers and the civilian com-munity.

The 39-member band, to-gether or in sections, takes on a variety of roles, from playing as a rock band at public events to serving as the ceremo-nial band for official military functions, such as welcoming units home from overseas.

That mix is what is attrac-tive for soldiers such as Staff Sgt. Stephen P. Hann, who plays trumpet for the 10 De-grees Brass band, one of the offshoots of the 10th Moun-tain Division Band.

“I like going out to play for the folks around town and the soldiers,” Staff Sgt. Hann said. “It’s seeing the smiles on their faces and the reaction that we get whenever we play good music for them that they aren’t expecting to hear.”

In recent years, that music has been played in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1999-2000), Iraq (2008) and Afghanistan (2006 and 2010). A portion of the band deployed to Af-ghanistan in 2003, and five members are now deployed in Afghanistan perform-ing as a brass/woodwind ensemble.

But no matter where it goes, the 10th Mountain Division Band, which has a mission to inspire, is inspired itself by the support it gets from military brass and community mem-bers in the north country.

“A lot of the people in charge now have had multi-ple deployments, and a lot of them have seen the good that bands can do when they are deployed,” said Chief Warrant Officer Daniel P. Wood, band-master of the 10th Mountain Division Band. “They bring a little piece of home to the soldiers who are so far from home. It helps the soldiers to

hit the pause button on all the negative things that are going on around them. They have live music, not just on an iPod, and people are bringing joy to them.”

He added, “Especially with the 10th Mountain Division, the leadership is really sup-portive of music and the pow-er it has on our troops.”

Meanwhile, community support for the band in the north country has been as-tounding, he said, especially in local performances.

“The reception we get wherever we go is amazing,” Mr. Wood said. “People want to feed us and take care of us. I don’t think we could ask for better audiences than we get around here.”

For example, the band has been a regular at the Concerts on the Waterfront Series in Sackets Harbor and also has

performed at local events such as the Independence Day concert at Thompson Park in Watertown and the

Norwood Village Green Con-cert Series in St. Lawrence County.

The roots of the 10th Moun-

tain Division Band date to 1942, when it was formed at Camp Edwards, Mass. It was deactivated in 1958 but reac-tivated in 1987 when assigned to Fort Drum.

In addition to the brass band, the 10th Mountain Di-vision Band is divided into units of the rock band Ava-lanche, the funk jam band Cold Fusion, and brass quin-tet Vertigo Brass.

All of the smaller units form the 39-member 10th Moun-tain Division marching band, concert band and ceremonial band.

The variety of musical styles keep Chief Warrant Of-ficer Wood on his toes. In ad-dition to leading the full band — which plays music from pa-triotic marches to current ra-dio favorites, and from Aaron Copland to Queen — he has to keep up to date on a variety of popular songs for the full band and its smaller units.

The music performed by the band has a positive, up-beat tone.

“That’s something that’s really important to us,” Mr. Wood said.

That positive message is something he enjoys about his job.

“I really love the opportu-nity to go out and represent the thousands of soldiers who are out there doing re-ally hard work and facing the enemy in the eye,” Mr. Wood said. “Those are the people we need to go out and represent and to remind the public.”

Mr. Wood, who was raised as an “Air Force brat” but calls New Mexico his home, said that each time the band performs, it represents every member of the 10th Mountain Division, from infantry to in-telligence to engineering.

“When we get thanked, I like to think what that infan-tryman is thinking, or that engineer, who is not able to be out there in the public in such an overt way,” he said. “I’m able to take that and pass it on.”

10th Mountain Band mission: to inspire

NOrm JOHNSTON n WaTerTOWN DaiLY TimeS

Members of Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division Band perform at last month’s Concerts on the Waterfront Series at Sackets Harbor.

WaTerTOWN DaiLY TimeS fiLeS

The 10th Mountain Division Band, including Staff Sgt. John Nottelmann, left, on clarinet and Sgt. Kimberly Ward on piccolo, performs the national anthem at a Clarkson University men’s hockey game.

To watch video of the 10th Mountain Divi-sion Band per-forming, scan this QR code or visit http://wdt.me/10thMtnBand.

By JOSH ST.CROIXTimeS SPOrTSWriTer

Syracuse University football coach Scott Shafer was presented a flag from Lt. Col. Brian Beckno at his team’s annual four-day training camp at Fort Drum last month.

Beckno, former commander of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in the 10th Mountain Division, told Shafer and the players it was the same flag that flew over the bat-talion’s headquarters during a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan, which ended in July.

“I gave coach Shafer the raw flag with the dirt and dust from while we were there, embedded in its fi-bers, just to let them know that we were thinking of them,” said Beckno, commander of the host battalion during Syracuse’s first two football camps on post in 2012 and 2013.

“That team down there and that coaching staff, they’re all family,” he added. “The relationship that we have with them is (that) I’d do any-thing for those guys both profession-ally and personally.”

The bond between SU athletics and Fort Drum has grown strong, as was recognized by Syracuse Univer-sity’s 12th chancellor and president, Kent Syverud, during his inaugura-tion ceremony in April.

Among the four areas that are nec-essary for the university to thrive, Syverud said in his speech: “I believe Syracuse University must once again become the best place for veterans.”

Shafer said Syverud wants the col-lege and its athletics department to be recognized as No. 1 in the country at working hand-in-hand with cur-rent troops and veterans.

“I’m real excited that my ultimate boss has aspirations to make these things even bigger and better,” Sha-fer said. “We have good people at Syracuse working with good people at Fort Drum. I think this thing is

just going to blow up in the next few years, and I’m excited to be a small part of it.”

The football team’s camp on post, which includes a kids clinic for mili-tary families and a scrimmage open to the public, has become the annual

highlight of the growing relationship between the Orange and the 10th Mountain Division.

Players and soldiers of similar ages have bonded, as have higher-ranking military officials and coach-es who are about the same age. The

football team sent videos and care packages to soldiers in the 2nd Bat-talion, 87th Infantry Regiment, while they were deployed.

“I’ll speak for the 10th Mountain Division and General Townsend (Maj. Gen. Stephen) — there isn’t anything that we won’t try to do for Syracuse University and their foot-ball team in trying to keep the part-nership going,” said Beckno, who will be re-stationed next month as a result of the August deactivation of the division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team. “And I think they’ll continue to expand as more of the division probably stays back and isn’t always deploying.”

The SU basketball team was on post for a one-day event in 2011 that

included paint ball and leadership exercises, which also have been in-corporated into the football camp.

“We had already formed a bond with Fort Drum, so (the foot-ball training camp) was a way to strengthen that,” said Bob Brotzki, the SU assistant athletic director for player development, who helped orchestrate all three football camps. “The true allure was to be able to come up here and possibly give back, to let our players spend some time with the soldiers up here.”

SU has donated tickets for all of its sports to the Fort Drum Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Of-fice for “many, many years,” accord-ing to Beckno.

In January, for example, about 250 Fort Drum soldiers received tickets to the SU men’s basketball game against Pittsburgh.

Soldiers also have been invited to campus for tours of the athletic facil-ities and to watch various SU teams practice.

SU football, Fort Drum share unique bond


Syracuse football players try their hand at the team-building task, Spiders Web, during training camp last month at Fort Drum.


Syracuse University’s PJ Batten does physical training with teammates at Fort Drum, where the Orange has spent a week for each of the past three seasons.

To watch videos of the Syracuse football team practicing at Fort Drum, scan this QR code or visit http://wdt.me/syracuse-fortdrum.



C M Y K


By CRAIG FOXTIMES STAFF WRITER

After 22 years in the mili-tary, including the last seven at Fort Drum, Stephen J. Con-away knew exactly where he and his family should live when he retired.

They fell in love with the Thousand Islands and St. Lawrence River and the area’s beauty.

“I loved the Jefferson Coun-ty lifestyle,” said Mr. Con-away, 51, who stayed in the north country and started the Thousand Islands Winery in Alexandria Bay.

Mr. Conaway, who retired as a major in the 10th Mountain Division in 2009, is one of 2,600 former Fort Drum soldiers who have continued to live in Northern New York since re-tirement, according to the Fort Drum Economic Impact State-ment released last year.

The figure represents one of the nation’s largest contin-gents of military retirees living near an Army post, according to the statement.

Michael T. Plummer, for-mer 10th Mountain Division chief of staff, who lives in Wa-tertown, said 30 percent of the base’s retirees remain in the north country.

Among the reasons cited by former soldiers for stay-

ing is that the area is a good place to raise a family and find a job that fits well with military back-grounds.

“They love the quality of life,” said

Carl A. McLaughlin, executive director of the Fort Drum Re-gional Liaison Organization, an advocacy group for the post. “It’s the whole package.”

It was partly the love of the 10th Mountain Division that brought Christopher E. Horn-barger, 46, back to Watertown after he served at Fort Drum for 20 years. Mr. Hornbarger was involved in the division’s missions in Somalia and Haiti, where his appreciation for ca-maraderie with his fellow sol-diers grew.

A retired lieutenant colonel, he was assigned to Fort Drum in the early 1990s as a Cobra at-tack helicopter pilot and then commanded a company of choppers for the 10th Moun-tain Division before teaching at West Point. He also served at the Pentagon, in the White House, at Central Command in Tampa, and in Iraq under Gen. David Petraeus.

Mr. Hornbarger’s wife,

Elizabeth A., grew up in Wa-tertown and graduated from Immaculate Heart Central School, and her husband found his new career there. He said his previous stint as an as-sistant professor of American politics at West Point — teach-ing freshman and sophomore cadets — had a profound im-pact on his life.

“Teaching was my passion,” he said.

The Hornbargers decided to stay in the north country, and Mr. Hornbarger ended up at IHC, where the school created the position of executive system administrator for him.

For fellow veteran Brett E. Kessler, Lake Ontario was one of the many reasons he re-mained in the region.

While stationed at Fort Drum, Mr. Kessler, an artillery officer who retired as a lieu-tenant colonel at age 41, start-ed sailing in Northern New York, where he and his wife, Barbi D., have raised their three children.

He first served at Fort Drum from 1994 to 1997, and then again from 2005 to 2009.

“We fell in love with the area the first time we were here,” said Mr. Kessler, an Arizona na-tive who has developed an avid interest in the outdoors.

In the north country, he and his two teenage sons have become interested in snow-mobiling, and he also ma-neuvers his 18-foot sailboat around the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.

At first, sailing was a hobby, but it grew into a business. Two years ago, Mr. Kessler started SAIL Ontario in Henderson Harbor and now offers lake charter tours with a 32-foot Masthead Sloop.

Mr. Conaway also has made a difference in the north coun-try. He helped to establish the region’s wine trail, which cur-rently features six wineries, two distilleries, and a growing number of breweries.

Vets take pride in NNY


Fort Drum vet Stephen J. Conaway started Thousand Islands Winery.

McLaughlin

Fort Drum land use The base covers 108,733 acres. The breakdown:

pAMELIA

GOUVERNEUR

SOuRcE: FORT DRuM

WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES Sunday, September 7, 2014 M13WATERTOWN DAILY TIMESM12 Sunday, September 7, 2014

C M Y K C M Y K


Soldiers salute a photo of Pfc. Joshua A. Gray during a memorial ceremony at Fort Drum in March. Pfc. Gray died in Afghanistan at the age of 21.

By GORDON BLOCKTIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — Since the 10th Mountain Division reac-tivated at Fort Drum in 1985, more than 300 of the division’s soldiers have made the ulti-mate sacrifice for their country while serving overseas.

The division does not pub-lish an official count of soldier deaths, but names compiled through the Watertown Daily Times, The Associated Press and Fort Drum’s Fallen War-riors web page put the total at 312.

Nearly all of the deaths oc-curred after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as division soldiers deployed regularly to Afghanistan and Iraq. Three fatalities occurred during divi-sion operations in Somalia in 1993.

Many of the soldiers killed were under the age of 25, and five were women.

Soldiers who have given their lives for our country:

n Staff Sgt. Omar Aceves, 30, of El Paso, Texasn Sgt. Brandon E. Adams, 22, of

Hollidaysburg, Pa.n Staff Sgt. Jesse W. Ainsworth,

24, of Dayton, Texasn Sgt. Maj. Phillip Robert Albert,

41, of Terryville, Conn.n Staff Sgt. Nekl B. Allen, 29, of

Rochester, N.Y.n Sgt. Lonnie C. Allen, 26, of Bel-

levue, Neb.n Sgt. Glenn R. Allison, 24, of

Pittsfield, Mass.n Spc. Brian M. Anderson, 24, of

Harrisonburg, Va.n Spc. Brushaun X. Anderson,

20, of Columbus, Ga.n Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack, 20, of

Torrance, Calif.n Pfc. Carlos A. Aparicio, 19, of

San Bernardino, Calif.n Staff Sgt. Jason R. Arnette, 24,

of Amelia, Va.n Spc. Paul J. Atim, 27, of Green

Bay, Wis.n Staff Sgt. Travis W. Atkins, 31,

of Bozeman, Mont.n Pfc. Brian J. Backus, 21, of Sag-

inaw Township, Mich.n Sgt. Rafael E. Bigai Baez, 28, of

San Juan, Puerto Ricon Pvt. Michael V. Bailey, 20, of

Waldorf, Md.n Pfc. Cody G. Baker, 19, of

Holton, Kan.n Spc. Brian K. Baker, 27, of

West Seneca, N.Y.n Sgt. Nathan S. Barnes, 23, of

American Fork, Utahn Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, 43, of

Waterloo, Wis.n Pfc. Matthew A. Bean, 22, of

Pembroke, Mass.n Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer,

44, of Perrysburg, Ohio.n Pfc. Jose O. Belmontes, 28, of

La Verne, Calif.n Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Ben-

son, 40, of Winona, Minn.n Spc. Nicholas P. Bernier, 21, of

East Kingston, N.H.

n Cpl. Ray M. Bevel, 22, of An-drews, Texasn Spc. Ryan A. Bishop, 32, of Eu-

less, Texasn Pvt. Joseph Robert Blake, 34,

of Portland, Ore.n Capt. Aaron R. Blanchard, 32,

of Selah, Wash.n Sgt. Edward H. Bolen, 25, of

Chittenango, N.Y.n Pfc. Matthew C. Bowe, 19, of

Coraopolis, Pa.n Spc. William G. Bowling, 24, of

Beattyville, Ky.n Pfc. Brian Jay Bradbury, 22, of

Saint Joseph, Mo.n Staff Sgt. Juantrea T. Bradley,

28, of Greenville, N.C.n Sgt. Bryan Allen Brewster, 24,

of Fontana, Calif.n Sgt. William D. Brown III, 44,

of Franklin, N.C.n Pfc. Brian A. Browning, 20, of

Astoria, Ore.n Spc. Armer N. Burkart, 26, of

Rockville, Md.n Spc. Keith T. Buzinski, 26, of

Daytona Beach, Fla.n Staff Sgt. Christopher F. Caba-

coy, 30, of Virginia Beach, Va.n Spc. Jonathan D. Cadavero,

24, of Takoma Park, Md.n Cpl. Bobby T. Callahan, 22, of

Jamestown, N.C.n Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mitch-

ell K. Carver, 31, of Charlotte, N.C.n Spc. Christian J. Chandler, 20,

of Trenton, Texasn Spc. Robert K. Charlton, 22, of

Malden, Mo.n Sgt. Robert Joseph Chiomen-

to, 34, of Fort Dix, N.J.n Pfc. Eric D. Clark, 22, of Pleas-

ant Prairie, Wis.n Lt. Col. Todd J. Clark, 40, of Ev-

ans Mills, N.Y.n Staff Sgt. Shawn Michael Cle-

mens, 28, of Allegany, N.Y.n Pfc. Adare W. Cleveland, 19, of

Anchorage, Alaska n Spc. Junot Mevs Legrand Co-

chilus, 34, of Charlotte, N.C.n Cpl. Jeremiah Scott Cole, 26,

of Hiawatha, Kan.n Spc. Justin D. Coleman, 21, of

Weeki Wachee, Fla.n Sgt. 1st Class James D. Con-

nell, 40, of Lake City, Tenn.n Spc. Koran P. Contreras, 21, of

Lawndale, Calif.n Spc. Robert James Cook, 24, of

Sun Prairie, Wis.n Pvt. Charles S. Cooper, 19, of

Jamestown, N.Y.n Sgt. Richard V. Correa, 25, of

Honolulu, Hawaii.n Pvt. Isaac T. Cortes, 26, of

Bronx, N.Y.n Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19,

of Nashville, Mich.n Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer,

25, of Gilmanton, N.H.n Spc. Daniel L. Cox, 23, of Par-

sons, Kan.n Pfc. Peter K. Cross, 20, of Sagi-

naw, Texasn Staff Sgt. Ari R. Cullers, 28, of

New London, Conn.n Spc. Kerry M. G. Danyluk, 27,

of Cuero, Texasn Staff Sgt. Carletta S. Davis, 34,

of Anchorage, Alaskan Pfc. Justin Ray Davis, 19, of

Gaithersburg, Md.n Staff Sgt. Esau I. De la Pena-

Hernandez, 25, of La Puente, Calif.

n Pfc. Jackie L. Diener II, 20, of Boyne City, Mich.n Pfc. Darren A. Deblanc, 20, of

Evansville, Ind.

n Sgt. Jason C. Denfrund, 24, of Cattaraugus, N.Y.n Spc. Preston J. Dennis, 23, of

Redding, Calif.

n Sgt. Jeremy Edward DePottey, 26, of Ironwood, Mich.n Pfc. Jesse W. Dietrich, 20, of

Venus, Texasn Spc. Alan N. Dikcis, 21, of Ni-

agara Falls, N.Y.n Chief Warrant Officer 2 Chris-

topher Brian Donaldson, 28, of Eff-ingham, Ill.n Chief Warrant Officer 2 Pat-

rick Dorff, 32, of Minneapolis, Minn.n Spc. Mark J. Downer, 23, of

Warner Robins, Ga.n Spc. Robert Eugene Drawl, 21,

of Alexandria, Va.n Pfc. Kasper A. Dudkiewicz, 22,

of Mangilao, Guamn Sgt. Shane P. Duffy, 22, of

Taunton, Mass.n Sgt. Shawn M. Dunkin, 25, of

Columbia, S.C.n Staff Sgt. Terrence D. Dunn,

38, of Houston, Texasn Sgt. Russell Meade Durgin, 23,

of Henniker, N.H.n 2nd Lt. Seth J. Dvorin, 24, of

East Brunswick, N.J.n Sgt. Donald R. Edgerton, 33, of

Murphy, N.C.n Pfc. Kevin Finch Edgin, 31, of

Dyersburg, Tenn.n Spc. Jonathan D. A. Emard, 20,

of Mesquite, Texasn Spc. Richard C. Emmons, 22,

of North Granby, Conn.n Sgt. Michael John Esposito,

22, of Brentwood, N.Y.n Sgt. 1st Class Bobby L. Estle,

38, of Lebanon, Ohion Sgt. Jerry R. Evans, 23, of Eu-

faula, Ala.n 1st Lt. Forrest Pinkerton Ew-

ens, 25, of Gig Harbor, Wash.n Spc. Clay P. Farr, 21, of Ba-

kersfield, Calif.n Spc. Joshua R. Farris, 22, of La

Grange, Texasn Sgt. Shawn M. Farrell II, 24, of

Accord, N.Y.n Lt. Col. Joseph James Fenty,

41, of Ronkonkoma, N.Y.n Spc. Wilfred Flores, 20, of

Lawton, Okla.n Pfc. Byron J. Fouty, 19, of Wa-

terford, Mich.n Sgt Edward J. Frank, 26, of

Yonkers, N.Y.n Spc. Jameel T. Freeman, 26, of

Baltimore, Md.n Spc. Chad Edward Fuller, 24,

of Potsdam, N.Y.n Spc. J. Adan Garcia, 20, of Ir-

ving, Texas.n Sgt. Mickel D. Garrigus, 24, of

Elma, Wash.n Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison, 25,

of Houston, Texasn Cpl. Rogelio Rolando Garza,

26, of Corpus Christi, Texasn CWO 2 Bradley J. Gaudet, 31,

of Gladewater, Texasn Sgt. Benjamin Lewis Gilman,

28, of Meriden, Conn.n Pfc. Nathaniel Given, 21, of

Dickinson, Texasn Sgt. Nicholes Darwin Golding,

24, of Addison, Mainen Pfc. Joshua A. Gray, 21, of Van

Lear, Ky.n Spc. Toccara Green, 23, of

Rosedale, Md.n Cpl. Jeremy R. Greene, 24, of

Springfield, Ohio

In memoriam 312 soldiers from the division have given their lives

n Pfc. Satieon V. Greenlee, 24, of Pendleton, S.C.n Sgt. John Cripe Griffith, 33, of

Las Vegas, Nev.n Cpl. Aaron Matthew Griner,

24, of Tampa, Fla.n Staff Sgt. Jeffrey A. Hall, 28, of

Huntsville, Ala.n Staff Sgt. Dennis J. Hansen,

31, of Panama City, Fla.n Spc. Ethan C. Hardin, 25, of

Fayetteville, Ark.n Pfc. Adam J. Hardt, 19, of

Avondale, Ariz.n Pvt. Devon J. Harris, 24, of

Mesquite, Texasn Sgt. 1st Class Todd M. Harris,

37, of Tucson, Ariz.n Spc. Joshua A. Harton, 23, of

Bethlehem, Pa.n CWO 2 Brian D. Hazelgrove,

29, of Fort Rucker, Ala.n Cpl. Lorne E. Henry. 21, of Ni-

agara Falls, N.Y.n Sgt. Matthew D. Hermanson,

22, of Appleton, Wis.n Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez,

23, of Hyattsville, Md.n 1st Lt. Robert J. Hess, 26, of

Fairfax, Va.n Pfc. Thomas J. Hewett, 22, of

Temple, Texasn Sgt. David Michael Hierhol-

zer, 27, of Lewisburg, Tenn.n Spc. Rudolph R. Hizon, 22, of

Los Angeles, Calif.n Capt. (Dr.) Roselle M. Hoff-

master, 32, of Cleveland, Ohion Sgt. Cornell L. Houston, 31, of

Mobile, Ala.n Sgt. 1st Class Casey E. Howe,

32, of Philadelphia, N.Y.n Pfc. George J. Howell, 24, of

Salinas, Calif.n Staff Sgt. Christopher Thomas

Howick, 34, of Hamburg, N.Y.n Spc. Arturo Huerta-Cruz, 23,

of Clearwater, Fla.n Spc. Joshua U. Humble, 21, of

Appleton, Mainen Staff Sgt. Wesley Hunter, 28, of

Lockney, Texasn Spc. Terry J. Hurne, 34, of

Merced, Calif.n Sgt. 1st Class David R. Hurst,

31, of Fort Sill, Okla.n Sgt. Wakkuna Almira Jackson,

21, of Jacksonville, Fla.n Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle E.

Jackson, 28, of Sarasota, Fla.n CSM Dennis Jallah Jr., 49, of

Fayetteville, N.C.n Spc. Dennis James Jr., 21, of

Deltona, Fla.n Lt. Col. Leon G. James, 46, of

Sackets Harbor, N.Y.n Sgt. Lindsey T. James, 23, of

Urbana, Mo.n Pfc. Douglas J. Jeffries Jr., 20,

of Springville, Calif.n Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of

Lawrence, Mass.n Pfc. John C. Johnson, 27, of

Phoenix, Ariz.n Sgt. Robert Paul Kassin, 29, of

Las Vegas, Nev.n 1st Lt. Benjamin D. Keating,

27, of Shapleigh, Mainen Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mat-

thew G. Kelley, 30, of Cameron, Mo.n Pfc. John F. Kihm, 19, of Phila-

delphia, Pa.n Spc. Jarrid L. King, 20, of Erie,

Pa.n Sgt. Michael D. Kirspel, 23, of

Hopatcong, N.J.n Spc. John K. Klinesmith, 25, of

Stockbridge, Ga.n Staff Sgt. Anthony Santos Lag-

man, 26, of Yonkers, N.Y.n Pfc. James P. Lambert, 23, of

New Orleans, La.n Capt. Kevin C. Landeck, 26, of

Wheaton, Ill.n Pfc. Ira B. Laningham, 22, of

Zapata, Texasn Sgt. Thomas L. Latham, 23, of

Delmar, Md.n Spc. Patrick L. Lay, 21, of

Fletcher, N.C.n Spc. Jeff LeBrun, 21, of Buf-

falo, N.Y.n Sgt. Carlie M. Lee, 23, of Bir-

mingham, Ala.n Sgt. Cody R. Legg, 23, of Es-

condido, Calif.n Lt. Col. Jaimie E. Leonard, 39,

of Warrick, N.Y.n Staff Sgt. Dwayne P. R. Lewis,

26, of New York, N.Y.n Spc. Anthony M. Lightfoot, 20,

of Riverdale, Ga.n Staff Sgt. John D. Linde, 30, of

New York, N.Y.n Staff Sgt. Eric J. Lindstrom, 27,

of Flagstaff, Ariz.n Sgt. Dale T. Lloyd, 22, of Wat-

sontown, Pa.n Pfc. Rueben J. Lopez, 27, of

Williams, Calif.n Spc. Jason Allen Lucas, 24, of

Columbus, Ohion Staff Sgt. Patrick Lee Lybert,

28, of Ladysmith, Wis.n Sgt. Terry J. Lynch, 22, of

Shepherd, Mont.n Sgt. Anthony R. Maddox, 22,

of Port Arthur, Texasn 1st Lt. Adam Malson, 23, of

Rochester Hills, Mich.n Pvt. Giovanny Maria, 19, of

Queens, N.Y.n Pfc. James H. Martin Jr., 23, of

Collinsville, Ill.n Sgt. Marcus C. Mathes, 26, of

Zephyrhills, Fla.n Pfc. Patrick W. May, 22, of

Jamestown, N.Y.n Sgt. Charles John McClain, 26,

of Follensbee, W.Va.n Sgt. Derek T. McConnell, 23,

of Parsippany, N.J.n Sgt. Robert M. McDowell, 30,

of Deer Park, Texas

n Spc. Dwayne J. McFarlane, 20, of Cass Lake, Minn.n Staff Sgt. David A. Mejias, 26,

of San Juan, Puerto Ricon Sgt. Christopher P. Messer, 28,

of Petersburg, Mich.n Spc. Alexander J. Miller, 21, of

Clermont, Fla.n 1st Lt. Scott F. Milley, 23, of

Sudbury, Mass.n Spc. Raymond N. Mitchell, 21,

of West Memphis, Ark.n Sgt. Raul Moncada, 29, of

Madera, Calif.n Pfc. Jeremiah J. Monroe, 31, of

Niskayuna, N.Y.n Sgt. 1st Class Jared Christo-

pher Monti, 30, of Raynham, Mass.n 1st Lt. Adam G. Mooney, 28, of

Cambridge, Md.n Pfc. Benjamin G. Moore, 23, of

Robbinsville, N.J.n CWO 2 Dwayne L. Moore, 31,

of Williamsburg, Va.n Pfc. Keith J. Moore, 28, of San

Francisco, Calif.n Pfc. Brian Michael Moquin,

19, of Worcester, Mass.n Pfc. Gil Morales Del Valle, 21,

of Jacksonville, Fla.n Cpl. Darby T. Morin, 25, of

Victoria, Canadan Spc. Jordan M. Morris, 23, of

Stillwater, Okla.n Sgt. James S. Moudy, 37, of

Newark, Del.n Pfc. Adam J. Muller, 21, of Un-

derhill, Vt.n Spc. Rodrigo A. Munguia Ri-

vas, 27, of Germantown, Md.n Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy,

21, of Lynchburg, Va.n Spc. Jeffrey F. Nichols, 21, of

Granite Shoals, Texasn Sgt. Curtis L. Norris, 28, of

Dansville, Mich.n Sgt. Jasper K. Obakrairur, 26,

of Hilo, Hawaiin Pfc. Alex Oceguera, 19, of San

Bernardino, Calif.n Spc. Justin Lee O’Donohoe,

27, of San Diego, Calif.n Pfc. Matthew D. Ogden, 33, of

Corpus Christi, Texasn Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, 24,

of Staten Island, N.Y.n Pfc. Evan William O’Neill, 19,

of Haverhill, Mass.n Sgt. Gregory Owens, 24, of

Garland, Texasn Sgt. Steven M. Packer, 23, of

Clovis, Calif.n Sgt. Michael F. Paranzino, 22,

of Middletown, R.I.n Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, of

Boscawen, N.H.n Sgt. Roger Pina Pena, 29, of

San Antonio, Texasn Pfc. Charles C. Persing, 20, of

Albany, La.n Pvt. Brandon T. Pickering, 21,

of Fort Thomas, Ky.n Staff Sgt. Tyler E. Pickett, 28, of

Saratoga, Wyo.n Pfc. Dennis J. Pratt, 34, of

Duncan, Okla.n Sgt. Austin D. Pratt, 22, of Ca-

det, Mo.n Pfc. Joel A. Ramirez, 22, of

Waxahachie, Texasn Pfc. Mariano M. Raymundo,

21, of Houston, Texasn Sgt. Jose J. Reyes, 24, of San

Lorenzo, Puerto Ricon Sgt. Joseph A. Richard, 27, of

Lafayette, La.n Sgt. Ferdinan C. Richardson,

27, of Sunnymead, Calif. n Spc. Robert M. Rieckhoff, 26,

of Kenosha, Wis.n Pfc. Henry C. Risner, 26, of

Golden, Colo.n Cpl. Fernando Daniel Robin-

son, 21, of Hawthorne, Calif.n Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Rodriguez,

28, of Baltimore, Md.n Pfc. Michael A. Rogers, 23, of

White Sulphur Springs, Mont.n Spc. Nicholas K. Rogers, 27, of

Deltona, Fla.n Pfc. Richard H. Rosas, 21, of

Saint Louis, Mich.n Spc. Andrew J. Roughton, 21,

of Houston, Texasn Pfc. Theodore B. Rushing, 25,

of Longwood, Fla.

n 2nd Lt. David E. Rylander, 23, of Stow, Ohion Sgt. 1st Class Charles M.

Sadell, 34, of Columbia, Mo.n Spc. Marko M. Samson, 30, of

Columbus, Ohion Pfc. Tenzin L. Samten, 28, of

Prescott, Ariz.n Sgt. Paul T. Sanchez, 32, of Ir-

ving, Texasn Sgt. Ian Thomas Sanchez, 26,

of Staten Island, N.Y.n Sgt. Javier Sanchez, Jr., 28, of

Greenfield, Calif.n Spc. Jeremiah T. Sancho, 23,

of Palm Bay, Fla.n Sgt. Kurt D. Schamberg, 26, of

Euclid, Ohion Sgt. Anthony J. Schober, 23, of

Reno, Nev.n Sgt. Jason A. Schumann, 23, of

Hawley, Minn.n Sgt. Justin Andrew Scott, 22, of

Bellevue, Ky.n Pfc. Kerry D. Scott, 21, of

Mount Vernon, Wash.n 1st Lt. Robert A. Seidel, 23, of

Gettysburg, Pa.n 1st Lt. Neale M. Shank, 25, of

Fort Wayne, Ind.n Spc. Joshua D. Sheppard, 22,

of Quinton, Okla.n 1st Sgt. Billy J. Siercks, 32, of

Velda Village, Mo.n Spc. Christopher Franklin Sit-

ton, 21, of Montrose, Colo.n Maj. Douglas E. Sloan, 40, of

Evans Mills, N.Y.n Pfc. Andrew Richard Small,

19, of Wiscasset, Mainen Sgt. Aaron M. Smith, 25, of

Manhattan, Kan.n Sgt. Timothy M. Smith, 25, of

South Lake Tahoe, Calif.n Pvt. Daren A. Smith, 19, of

Helena, Mont.n Pfc. Stephen P. Snowberger,

18, of Lopez, Pa.n Sgt. Christopher P. Soderlund,

23, of Pineville, La.n Spc. Omar Soltero, 28, of San

Antonio, Texasn Sgt. Richard A. Soukenka, 30,

of Oceanside, Calif.n Pfc. Clinton E. Springer, 21, of

Sanford, Mainen Cpl. Derek Anthony Stanley,

20, of Tulsa, Okla.n Sgt. Derek T. Stenroos, 24, of

North Pole, Alaskan Sgt. James D. Stewart, 29, of

Chattanooga, Tenn.n Sgt. Mark A. Stone, 22, of Bu-

chanan Dam, Texasn Spc. Matthew K.S. Swanson,

20, of Lake Forest, Calif.n Pfc. Jack T. Sweet, 19, of Alex-

andria Bay, N.Y.n Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Taylor,

25, of Charleston, S.C.n Pvt. Nathan Z. Thacker, 18, of

Greenbrier, Ark.n 1st Lt. Joseph J. Theinert, 24,

of Sag Harbor, N.Y.n Pfc. Adam Lee Thomas, 21, of

Palos Hills, Ill.n CWO 2 Joshua M. Tillery, 31,

of Beaverton, Ore.n Spc. David Nelson Timmons,

23, of Lewisville, N.C.n Spc. Brandon T. Titus, 20, of

Boise, Idahon Sgt. Andrew R. Tobin, 24, of

Jacksonville, Ill.n Chief Warrant Officer 2 Benja-

min H. Todd, 29, of Colville, Wash.n Sgt. Travis M. Tompkins, 31,

of Lawton, Okla.n 2nd Lt. Richard Torres, 25, of

Clarksville, Tenn.n CWO 2 Eric William Totten,

34, of Dallas, Texasn Staff Sgt. Steven R. Tudor, 36,

of Dunmore, Pa.n Master Sgt. Tulsa T. Tuliau,

33, of Watertown, N.Y.n Cpl. Angelo Joseph Vaccaro,

23, of Deltona, Fla.n Sgt. Timothy R. Van Orman,

24, of Port Matilda, Pa.n CWO 2 Terry L. Varnadore, 29,

of Hendersonville, N.C.n Staff Sgt. Eric R. Vick, 25, of

Spring Hope, N.C.n Pfc. Jonathan M. Villanueva,

19, of Jacksonville, Fla.n Spc. Andrew P. Wade, 22, of

Antioch, Ill.n Sgt. Christopher A. Wagener,

24, of Fairview Heights, Ill.n Pfc. James A. Waters, 21, of

Coverdale, Ind.n Pvt. David L. Waters, 19, of Au-

burn, Calif.n Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Weiglein,

31, of Audubon, N.J.n Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler, 22,

of Columbia, S.C.n Spc. Blake D. Whipple, 21, of

Williamsville, N.Y.n Chief Warrant Officer Ken-

neth R. White, 35, of Fort Collins, Colo.n Pfc. James Paul White, 19, of

Huber Heights, Ohion Sgt. Jeffery Scott Wiekamp, 23,

of Uvalde, Texasn Pfc. Matthew W. Wilson, 19, of

Miller, Mo.n Spc. Christopher M. Wilson,

24, of Bangor, Mainen Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philip

E. Windorski, 35, of Bovey, Minn.n Sgt. Justin D. Wisniewski, 22,

of Standish, Mich.n Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton, 21, of

Oak Park, Calif.n Spc. Edwin C. Wood, 18, of

Omaha, Neb.n Spc. Charles J. Wren, 25, of

Beeville, Texasn Staff Sgt. Nathan L. Wyrick, 34,

of Enumclaw, Wash.n Spc. John J. Young, 24, of Sa-

vannah, Ga.n 1st Lt. Andres Zermeno, 26, of

San Antonio, Texas


Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley attends a memorial ceremony at Fort Drum in 2013.


Family members of Capt. Aaron R. Blanchard stand near his portrait during a memorial ceremony for him and 1st Lt. Robert J. Hess at Fort Drum last year. Capt. Blanchard was 32; 1st Lt. Hess was 26.

Continued on page 13

Continued from page 12

In memoriam 312 soldiers from the division have given their lives


Family members of Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Rodriguez mourn as his casket is lowered from an airplane in 2012. Sgt. Rodriguez died in Afghanistan.

By JAEGUN LEETIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — The base’s landscape is managed much like a state or federal wildlife habitat, with one major differ-ence: the end goal.

“We’re here, first and fore-most, to support the mission,” said Jason E. Wagner, Fort Drum’s natu-ral-resources branch chief. “We want to make sure that our for-ests , our g r a s s l a n d s and all of our habitat on this post are healthy, robust and resilient — so that regardless of what training ac-tivities happen today or tomor-row, Fort Drum will always have a sustainable landmass to do its training on.”

It’s an endless challenge for Mr. Wagner and his staff of 18 forestry and wildlife experts, whose objective is to keep roughly 109,000 acres of land di-verse and “mission-ready” not just for the next decade, but for a hundred years from now.

“Our biggest challenge is

that we work on a 100-year tim-escale and we get a new com-manding general every two to three years,” he said. “So we get a new boss who has their own vision and definition of where the world goes, and we can’t change gears that fast.”

But his crew always does its best to find an alternative solu-tion or let the commanding of-ficer know what can and can’t be done at a given site.

The constant turnover of soldiers also poses a challenge to the post’s environmental workers.

“Most of the time, by the time I’ve educated them and they un-derstand what we do and what the result of that is, they leave,” Mr. Wagner said. “But our big-gest challenge is also one of our biggest rewards, because we are always reaffirming why we do what we do.”

And the work they do — maintaining a diverse ecosys-tem on post — ultimately helps soldiers prepare for combat in various environments.

“The beauty of Fort Drum is that you can go from all-grass-land or all-forest to a place where your feet are wet all the time; from sandy soil to clay

soil. The variety here at Fort Drum is amazing,” Mr. Wagner said. “We don’t manage like a state forest; we don’t manage like a national park or a wildlife refuge. Here at Fort Drum, our drive is to have as much habitat as possible for training.”

Besides collecting and ana-lyzing data, natural-resources workers put a lot of effort into mitigation. While they do their best to make sure training activi-ties do not “negatively impact the land for the future,” he said, Fort Drum inevitably would need to fill a marsh once in a while.

“Every construction project

that fills a wetland gets a state permit as well as a federal permit that allows us to do that,” Mr. Wagner said. “We try to avoid all those wetlands. But if we can’t do anything else and we have to fill one, then we mitigate for it. So if we had to fill an acre of wet-land, we have to build an acre of wetland someplace else.”

One of the prevalent miscon-ceptions about Fort Drum is that its forests are closed to the pub-lic, Mr. Wagner said.

“I grew up right here in Champion, just four miles from the fence, and as a kid, I never came over here. I wasn’t even

really sure that you could use it,” he said. “People think, ‘It’s a military base, you can’t go on it.’ Well, we’ve got about 63,000 acres that are available for rec-reation on any given day.”

By hosting five major events a year — Maple Days, an Arbor Day ceremony, a fishing derby, migratory bird field trip and Outdoor Adventure Days — in addition to general outreach efforts, natural-resources management workers try to show that the community is welcomed on post.

“Fort Drum offers one of the largest tracts of contiguous land

open to the public for recreation in the northeast,” said Raymond E. Rainbolt, manager of the post’s Fish & Wildlife program.

In addition to state hunt-ing regulations, Mr. Rainbolt said, hunters must abide by a few extra Fort Drum-specific rules: wear blaze-orange cloth-ing; put firearms in cases or trunks of vehicles when they are transported; and regis-ter all firearms brought on post with military police. All recreationists first must ob-tain a free annual recreational pass and call the Sportsman’s Hotline at (315) 772-0053 be-fore visiting Fort Drum to check in and learn which areas are open on any given day. Visitors also must pick up recreation maps in person at a kiosk out-side of Fort Drum’s Natural Re-sources Permit Office off Route. 26, between Great Bend and Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield.

“First and foremost we’re here to support the soldiers and their families,” Mr. Wagner said. “But Fort Drum doesn’t exist without its community.”

For further information or to apply for a recreational ac-cess pass, visit www.fortdrum.isportsman.net.

At Fort Drum, land maintenance, training go hand in hand

Wagner


Commercial loggers clear wooded areas during a forestry project at Fort Drum. Jason E. Wagner, Fort Drum’s natural-resources branch chief, says the post will always have sustainable land to accommodate its training.

30 Years at Fort Drum30 Years at Fort Drum WatertoWn Daily times WatertoWn Daily times


C M Y K


When I was a newcomer to the north country almost two decades ago, I was astounded by the cultural diversity that existed in a city the size of Wa-tertown and a rural region such as Jefferson County.

Most of my working life has been spent in very rural areas of New York — the northern Catskills and the southern portion of the Capital District were the areas where I cut my journalistic teeth. These areas were notable for their racial and cultural uniformity.

Once I got here, I marveled at how different it was. People of many cultures, and colors, were common and obviously far more integrated into the community than they would have been in other rural areas of the state.

This influence was not limit-ed to race or ethnicity. Varying American accents represent-ing every region of the country — from the easy drawls of the Deep South to the soft-spoken laconic speech of the Far West to the broad, flat vowels of the mid-Atlantic states — fill the air throughout this area.

Recently, all this was brought home to me when I stopped at a light on Arsenal Street behind a car with Alaska plates and next to a car with New Mexico plates. If you’re observant enough, in a 24-hour period you probably can find plates from nearly every state in the union — and from Ontario, of course.

Nearly all of this marvelous rainbow of the local citizenry

is because of Fort Drum. The broad base of our military forces is exemplified by the makeup of the north country. Over the past 30 years that mark the activation of the 10th Mountain Division at the post, this cultural influence has been a steady, resolute and irresistible force here. We are all the more wealthy for it.

Each year, officials at the post release a study of the economic influence it has on the region. And don’t get me wrong — that influence is enormous. Removing the billions of dollars the post has injected directly and indirectly into the local economy would be devastating for the region.

But I worry that we some-times ignore the cultural en-

richment that has come from the presence of Fort Drum.

As a student of New York, and someone who has traveled extensively through it, I know firsthand that this small area is more tolerant, more aware, more embracing, of diverse racial and cultural influences. From the restaurants to the churches, from the stores to the schools, people of color and people of di-verse ethnic and religious back-grounds are made more at home here than in any rural area of the state I’ve visited.

I’m sad to say there are many areas of this state where

bigotry abides and is out in the open, its ugliness there for all to see. In this area, however, it is far less prevalent than in most of the state’s rural areas.

I am sure there are those read-ing this who harbor hate — or fear — in their hearts. And I’m equally sure there are those who express the vile sentiments of racial hate in the form of ignorant epithets and appalling invective. But I promise you there is much less of that here than in other similar areas of this state and nation.

I am firmly convinced this is directly due to the presence of Fort Drum in the north country. When you work, play, shop, learn and pray next to a rainbow of colors, experiences and beliefs, you tend not to look at race or ethnicity and focus instead on the person. That is the first step in breaking down the barriers of bigotry. In Watertown and the

north country, those barriers are, if not entirely shattered, at least tattered and isolated.

So as we celebrate the 30th birthday of the division’s life at Fort Drum, let’s not forget the hu-man importance the soldiers and their families have imported here. When your kids go into the world comfortable with the benefits of cultural diversity, when you real-ize you don’t have to put up with haters in your community, when you consider the number of re-ally wonderful soldiers and their families you have met who don’t look or sound exactly like you, give thanks for the richness the post has brought into your life.

You, and I, and everyone who lives in the north country, have been blessed by this.

Perry White is the managing ed-itor of the Watertown Daily Times. Reach him at [email protected].

All cultures intersect PERRYWHITE

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C M Y K


By BRIAN KELLYTIMES STAFF WRITER

FORT DRUM — When Fort Drum’s future is discussed, the phrase “crystal ball” often comes up, as in, no one has one.

While veteran watchers of the post don’t envision a dooms-day scenario in which it is closed entirely, they do foresee more reductions in forces ahead due to federal spending cuts com-monly known as sequestration. But observers also see potential opportunity with the addition of drones, the possible placement of a missile defense system on post, and the availability of vast tracts of land for military training.

The base already has lost 1,500 active-duty soldiers with the Aug. 14 deactivation of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Also, the Army in June released its “Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Army 2020 Force Structure Re-alignment.”

The study painted a worst-case scenario for the base, in which 16,000 soldier and civil-ian jobs could be cut by 2020, a move that would cause a $1.6 billion economic catastrophe across the north country.

The study comes as the Army plans to decrease its active-duty ranks from about 520,000 soldiers to between 440,000 and 450,000, or potentially as few as 420,000, if sequestration continues.

“I can’t describe what that would do,” said Carl A. McLaughlin, executive director of the Fort Drum Regional Liai-son Organization. “I don’t even want to think about what that would do to the community.”

While more military cuts are likely by 2020, F. Anthony Keating, civilian aide to the secretary of the Army, said Fort Drum would be able to handle its share, assuming the cuts would be spread across the Army, as opposed to one base suffering the lion’s share of reduc-tions, or even being closed.

“My best guess is that we would be likely to do our pro-portionate share,” Mr. Keating said. “I think there are very few (bases) that would take a hit disproportionately.”

Michael T. Plummer, former 10th Mountain Division chief of staff, who lives in Watertown, said the division has proved its value as one of the most de-ployed divisions in the Army, with more than 20 deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. He said, however, that the decision to make cuts

in force “depends on the whims of Congress,” including which party is in power and who the president is in 2016, when se-questration could return in full force under the federal budget.

“I’m an optimist, and I hope sanity will prevail and you’ll have a 10th Mountain Division, albeit smaller,” Col. Plummer said.

With the loss of soldiers al-most a certainty, Mr. McLaugh-lin said the community must be-gin to consider what the “tipping point” could be in the future eco-nomic investment in the area, or the point at which companies will become reluctant to invest in new housing or business ven-tures in the north country.

Fort Drum has sounded the alarm in recent years over the lack of adequate housing for soldiers, and developers have met those needs with hundreds of new housing units both on and off post.

“I think the way we did our building was very, very precise, as was our approach to creating rental housing,” Mr. McLaugh-lin said. “But if you take away the demand, that’s where you start to see disinvestment.”

Mr. Plummer said that because of the division’s numerous de-ployments since 2001, Northern New York already has experienced the type of economic impact that the loss of soldiers can have on a community, and most businesses have weathered it. He said the

new quality housing available at Fort Drum also will make it more likely that soldiers’ families will re-main in the area during future de-ployments, rather than return to the their hometowns to wait out those deployments.

“Because they’re going into better housing, more families will stay here than back in the day,” Mr. Plummer said.

He said the Fort Drum area has proved to be an attractive post for soldiers because of

quality schools, a relatively safe environment, and commu-nity support for the base and its personnel. He said the 10th Mountain Division enjoys one of the highest re-enlistment rates for present-duty assign-ment in the Army, and that about 30 percent of the base’s retirees stay in the area.

“There is no other communi-ty in the United States that takes as good of care of its soldiers and families than this community,”

Mr. Plummer said.Mr. McLaughlin said Fort

Drum also is a state-of-the-art military base that has been designed with modern war-fare and rapid deployments in mind, which hasn’t been the case with some older bases. He said the base remains un-encroached by development, meaning there is plenty of room for training without dis-turbing surrounding commu-nities, something that isn’t seen at more urban bases.

Also, the base has plenty of available air space, making it an ideal training ground for re-motely piloted drones, a poten-tial growth area at Fort Drum.

Given the base’s strengths, Mr. McLaughlin said he sees Fort Drum’s assets continuing to be valuable to the Army even if force cuts are made. He said that even with sequestration looming, world events continue to remind people that, at some point, the Army will need an in-creased, not reduced, force.

“Not for one minute do I think that we can sit back and pretend that we are not going to need our Army in the future,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “We’ve seen it over and over again. It’s only a matter of time before they’re go-ing to need to call them back up.”

For the same reason, he said he doesn’t envision Fort Drum being closed, or “mothballed,” with conventional wisdom in-dicating the post’s assets will be needed in the future.

“Again, you’re always think-ing one day you’re going to have to regrow it, rebuild it, and build-ing it from scratch is going to be a lot harder,” he said. “Frankly, these guys get deployed over and over again and always have suc-cessful missions. You can’t argue with the job they’ve done.”

Mr. Keating said he doesn’t

expect the base to take an inor-dinate hit in force size, but, “If sequestration stays with us be-yond 2016, all bets are off. It’s a wild card.”

Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, agreed that seques-tration remains the unknown quantity in the long-term equa-tion, but he said that with the drone program in place and the possibility of a missile defense system being located at Fort Drum, he doesn’t foresee a dra-matic change in the number of soldiers at the post, as any forc-es lost through sequestration could be supplemented by new programs.

“You’re diversifying Fort Drum, and with that diversifica-tion you’re able to add bodies,” Mr. Owens said. “Short term, I don’t see (troop levels) changing much due to sequestration, and long term, my goal would be to try to work toward a net-zero posi-tion by trying to add new things.”

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sent a letter to Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno last month emphasiz-ing the state’s strong support of Fort Drum and stressing the negative impact that cuts to forces at the base would have on Army preparedness and the north country’s economy.

Gov. Cuomo’s letter outlined several areas in which the Army benefits from its relationship with the north country com-munity and offered to continue to provide the state’s support to strengthen those ties.

Meanwhile, the Fort Drum Re-gional Liaison Organization has been collecting signatures on pe-titions both online and on paper, urging Army officials to keep the post’s mission and manpower intact. The petition can be found at www.drum2025.com.

The future: possible cuts, but potential


Retired Col. Michael T. Plummer says the 10th Mountain Division has proved its value as one of the Army’s most deployed divisions.


Members of the 10th Mountain Division listen to a speech given by 1st Brigade Combat Team commander Col. Stephen L. Michael during a combined deployment ceremony last year at Fort Drum. A study released in June says 16,000 soldier and civilian jobs could be cut from the post by 2020.

aid — resulting in no effect on taxpayers. “From 1988 on forward, we have risen

to meet the needs of the military child,” Mr. Koch said. “In 2010, we opened an additional 38 classrooms to take the bump in enrollment. And we’ve done the same thing with this project, with an additional 10 elementary classes and more space in other places.”

HEALTH CAREThe network of private health-care

institutions across the region has been strengthened because of the growth of the military populace from 2003 to 2006, according to Denise K. Young, executive director of the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Or-ganization. The group, established in 2005, has tackled an array of health-care issues to improve the quality of care available to soldiers.

Initiatives led by the organization in recent years have made health care for military and civilian families more ef-ficient at its network of five hospitals and two health clinics in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, Mrs. Young said.

From 2010 to 2012, a telemedicine information exchange launched, enabling institutions to share elec-tronic patient records, a project that increased access to specialty care for some 160,000 residents across the re-gion. Mrs. Young said the exchange allows primary-care physicians to ac-cess the entire medical history of pa-tients who have records at different institutions.

“Health care is better coordinat-ed, duplicate tests are reduced, and soldiers can access their tests and records outside the gate,” she said. “Physicians are able to use those re-cords to take care of the whole pa-

tient, because they have access to ev-erything that happens.”

As of this year, about 1,400 jobs are in the region’s private health-care sector as a direct result of Fort Drum, Mrs. Young said. The post’s econom-ic impact “isn’t just about dollars spent — it’s good jobs for our popula-tion,” she said.

Because there is no hospital on base, the five hospitals across the region served by the regional health organization play a key role in pro-viding care for military members. The five are Samaritan Medical Cen-ter, Watertown; Lewis County Gen-eral Hospital, Lowville; Carthage Area Hospital; E.J. Noble Hospital, Gou-verneur; and River Hospital, Alexan-dria Bay.

INFRASTRUCTUREThe town of LeRay has led the

ongoing construction of roads, wa-ter and sewer lines to meet the de-mands of housing and commercial growth spurred by the expansion of Fort Drum in the mid-1980s. A decade earlier, LeRay had only one water district and no sewer districts, Town Supervisor Ronald C. Taylor

said. That quickly changed, howev-er, when the Army decided to build housing on land that needed water and sewer lines.

In 1986, a plan materialized in Le-Ray to build the 400-unit Woodcliff community, an Army housing com-plex at routes 342 and 11.

“We had to build a water and sewer district in a hurry out there, and it was

done in an unbelievable amount of time to meet the needs for 400 units of housing,” said Taylor, who has served as supervisor since 1991 and was a board member for eight years before that.

Roads branching from Route 11 have been built by the town to ac-commodate commercial growth. Last year, the town built Taylor Road, a mile-long connector from the in-tersection at Walmart off Route 11 to Eagle Ridge Village. The road, named after the town supervisor, has allevi-ated traffic congestion for some 700 families at Eagle Ridge by providing another route to exit the site, Mr. Tay-lor said.

LeRay residents have benefited from growth spurred by the post, too, as the town has maintained a stable tax rate, he said.

“The town gets well over $1 million a year in sales tax, and it’s used for many things,” Mr. Taylor said. “Some towns have really had to struggle, cut corners and pinch pennies, but we’ve been able to buy new equipment when needed and pay our employees a reasonable wage.”

In December 2012, the state De-partment of Transportation opened Interstate 781, a 4.8-mile highway linking Route 11 to Interstate 81 through the towns of LeRay and Pa-melia. The $55 million state project broke ground in August 2010.

U.S. Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, said the connector high-way is one of many infrastructure projects spurred by Fort Drum that will have a lasting impact on the com-munity.

“I think the connector road and the various water and sewer projects that have gone in throughout the area will have a long-term benefit to the com-munity,” he said. “You’ve also had im-proved broadband in the community. Fort Drum has created and driven outcomes that are much broader than just servicing the post.”

Economy ... From M2


The north country has experienced a housing boom over the past three years. One nearly completed project is the 394-unit Preserve at Autumn Ridge townhouse complex in Watertown.

The Indian River, Carthage and Watertown school districts educate the largest number of military children in the north country. The first number below represents the total student body at the start of the 2013-14 school year, and the second number marks the percentage of military children.


Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, speaking at an AARP luncheon in Watertown last year, says any forces lost through federal cuts could be supplemented by new programs at Fort Drum.


C M Y K


A look at 30 years of the 10thMountain Division at Fort Drum

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