Watertown, NY, Dec 21, 2010 — President Obama is expected to sign the measure repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell tomorrow. The Senate voted to end the 17 year-old policy barring gays or lesbians from military service.

The policy shift is a big victory for gay rights. Polls show it has the support of a significant majority of Americans. Still, many people around Fort Drum were struggling with the new reality yesterday. David Sommerstein went to Watertown's Salmon Run Mall to sample opinion and filed this report.  Go to full article

Watertown, NY, Apr 02, 2010 — 4,500 soldiers with Fort Drum's 1st Brigade are in the process of shipping out to Afghanistan. They'll be stationed in the northern part of the country for a year. They'll train Afghan police and soldiers and work with local governments. The 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade is a key part of President Obama's surge of 30,000 additional troops.

New York Times military correspondent Jim Dao is embedding with the brigade's 1-87th battalion. He spoke with David Sommerstein from Fort Drum a couple days before the unit deployed. He says the unit represents a new mission in Afghanistan.  Go to full article

May 01, 2006 — Since the bombing of a famous shrine in Samarra, Iraq, in Februrary, sectarian violence in the country has skyrocketed. As a response, the US military dispatched several thousand Iraqi and American soldiers into Baghdad as reinforcements. One of the units pulled into the capital was the 1st Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. The brigade is based at Fort Drum near Watertown and has been in Iraq since last August. Its 3500 soldiers are expected to return later this summer. Before the shrine bombing, many of the brigade's units had been stationed in rural areas outside the city. Freelance reporter Ben Gilbert was embedded with some of them, and has this report on the transition to Baghdad.  Go to full article

Jan 11, 2006 — Soldiers from Fort Drum near Watertown were involved in the escape of a French engineer held captive in Iraq. Bernard Planche was kidnapped in Baghdad on December 5th. Planche fled from his captors Saturday. He approached members of the 10th Mountain Division who were conducting a checkpoint. Freelance journalist Bill Putnam is embedded with the 10th Mountain's 1st Brigade Combat Team in Iraq and sent us this story.  Go to full article

Aug 22, 2002 — The army's light infantry at Fort Drum is wrapping up two weeks of intensive combat readiness training, called Mountain Peak. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Aug 22, 2002 — David Sommerstein talks with Colonel Byron Bagby, currently Fort Drum's second-in-command, about the Mountain Peak training exercises and lessons learned from combat in Afghanistan.  Go to full article

Nov 29, 2001 — Infantry from the Army's Tenth Mountain Division crossed from Uzbekistan into northern Afghanistan yesterday to serve as a quick reaction force in case of renewed Taliban resistance around the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.  Go to full article

Nov 14, 2001 — About a thousand soldiers from Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division are just north of Afghanistan in the former soviet state of Uzbekistan. David Sommerstein spoke with Michael O'Hanlon, a specialist in military strategy and senior fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC, to learn more about the troops' possible role. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Oct 23, 2001 — Senator Hillary Clinton returned to Fort Drum near Watertown Saturday. She scheduled the extra trip especially to show her gratitude for soldiers and their families in the wake of September 11. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Oct 22, 2001 — During her second visit to Fort Drum in less than two months, Senator Hillary Clinton called preparations for military downsizing, including base closures, a distraction. She said U.S. military personnel should be allowed to focus on stopping terrorism. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article