Fort Drum

Sign of Fort Drum located in front of base near entrance that welcomes all newcomers and vistors.

The North Country has been home to one of the most historical and powerful military training sites since 1908. Fort Drum, in Watertown, New York, is now home of the 10th mountain Division that today consists of 10,500 dedicated soldiers.

Fort Drum came to the North Country in the early 1900s, when the war department begin looking for areas in northern New York to train troops. The Watertown Chamber of Commerce proposed the Army establish a training area on 10,000 acres of land along the Black River near Felts Mills, Great Bend and the village of Black River.

Although the military's presence had been felt in that area of the North Country since 1809 when companies of infantry soldiers were stationed at Sacket's Harbor to enforce the Embargo Act and control smuggling between northern New York and Canada, the military still felt that the North Country would be the ideal home for military training.

In 1908, Brigadier General Frederick Dent Grant, son of General Ulysses S. Grant, was sent to Watertown, New York,. with 2,000 regulars and 8,000 militia. He found the 10,000 acres of land that he labeled, Pine Plains to be an ideal place to train troops. The government quickly purchased the land and training soon started and continued for many years.

Pine Camp became Camp Fort Drum in 1951 named after Lt. Gen. Hugh A. Drum who commanded the First Army during World War II. During and after the Korean Conflict a number of units were stationed and trained at Camp Fort Drum to take advantage of its terrain and climate brought by the North Country.

"The 10th Mountain Division is designed to move quickly and cover a large amount of area in a short time period."

Today, Fort Drum consists of 107,265 acres of land. The Commander of Fort Drum is Major General Franklin L. Hagenbeck, who has been in command of the 10th Mountain Division since August 2001. There are 10,500 soldiers stationed there, who come from all around the United States, U.S. territories, and Puerto Rico. The 10th Mountain Division is a light infantry unit, which means that there are no tanks and no heavy artillery.

"The 10th Mountain Division is designed to move quickly and cover a large amount of area in a short time period," said Major Dan Bohr, media relations officer.

Symbol that represents the 10th Mountain Division.

On May 11, 2002, while training at Fort Drum a helicopter went down and 11 soldiers of the 10th mountain division died in the crash. An investigation is still being conducted.

The 10th Mountain Division had sent 2,500 soldiers to central command of operations. These soldiers have been sent to central command to support the war on terrorism. "Once a solider is sent to central command they are no longer under Fort Drum command until they return. Soldiers that are sent to central command can be sent anywhere from eastern Africa to central Asia," said Major Bohr.

Some of the 2,500 soldiers sent off to central command could have been sent off to the war in Iraq, however Fort Drum does not have any information on the soldiers locations once they have left Fort Drum.

The American Red Cross and Fort Drum have had an on going relation with one another for many years. The Red Cross has an office located on Fort Drum.

Betty Ridgeway, American Red Cross communications chair, says, "We do a lot of the communications for Fort Drum dealing with emergencies. If a solider that is stationed on Fort Drum needs to return home do to a family illness or death, we look into the situation get all the fact then we contact command and fill them in on what has happened, then they take it form there."

The Red Cross has a large volunteering program that plays a big role at Fort Drum. The Red Cross volunteers can work in the office running paper work or they can take a more hands on approach volunteering at the medical clinic called, MEDTAC or the dental clinic called, DENTAC. Volunteers can also work with blood drives and blood mobiles.

Fort Drum has been part of the North Country for many years bringing dedicated citizens together and training them to part of the world's most powerful army, turning them into hero's and role models for younger generations to look up to.

Have you ever thought about joining the U.S. Military? Let us know.