Jun 01, 2007 — In mid-June, Senator Hillary Clinton touted a vote in the Armed Services Committee that would funnel almost $350 million to the base. A week before that, Fort Drum got $357 million for construction projects. Administrators say $1.2 billion flowed through the base last year. The money is following the troops, according to Carl McLaughlin, Executive Director of the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization. A whole new brigade--6,500 soldiers--was reassigned to the base in 2004, triggering new offices and training sites, as well as services and housing for soldiers and families. In January 2005, a housing forum estimated the community needed over 2,000 more homes for soldiers and families. McLaughlin told Jonathan Brown between on and off-base construction, that gap is being closed.  Go to full article

May 25, 2007 — A new documentary about Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division debuts Sunday at 7pm on WPBS in Watertown. The Last Ridge: the Uphill Battles of the 10th Mountain Division uses vintage film footage, first-person accounts, and on-location reenactments to bring to life the 10th Mountain's role in World War 2. NPR's Scott Simon is the narrator. Abbie Kealy directed, wrote, and produced The Last Ridge. She told David Sommerstein it's the story of the division's daring assault on the German front in the mountains of northern Italy in 1945.  Go to full article

May 16, 2007 — As families at Fort Drum wait anxiously for news of the missing soldiers, North Country Congressman John McHugh says he still supports the military build-up in Iraq being led by U.S. General David Petraeus. But in an exclusive interview with North Country Public Radio, the Republican suggested for the first time that the moment for victory in that country may have passed. We'll air our in-depth conversation with the congressman at 8:35. As Brian Mann reports, McHugh is talking for the first time about breaking with the Republican leadership on major policy decisions about the war.  Go to full article

May 16, 2007 — Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, North Country Congressman John McHugh has walked a cautious line. The Republican has supported President Bush and the GOP leadership, while also publicly chiding the Defense Department's civilian leadership. McHugh represents Fort Drum, home to the 10th Mountain Division and is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. The Congressman now says the "surge" strategy in Iraq should continue through the summer, but says the strategy should face close scrutiny by Congress in September. As the death toll rises and public support for the war erodes, this middle ground position may become more and more difficult to sustain. On Tuesday, Congressman McHugh spoke at length about the war with Brian Mann. The interview began just as officials at Fort Drum were confirming that three soldiers from Watertown had been captured by an Al Quaeda splinter group in Iraq.  Go to full article

Jan 18, 2007 — New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton says she'll introduce legislation that would cap the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. She and North Country congressman John McHugh held a joint press conference in Washington yesterday. Both were intensely critical of President Bush's plan to expand the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. They also called on the White House to commit more resources to Afghanistan, where soldiers and civilian aid workers face growing attacks from Taliban and Al Quaeda. Brian Mann reports.  Go to full article

Nov 24, 2003 — A helicopter crash in Afghanistan yesterday killed 5 soldiers and injured 7. Families and units of the 10th Mountain Division soldiers involved have been notified, but base officials haven't provided further details yet. Two soldiers from Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division were seriously injured yesterday in Afghanistan when their vehicle struck a land mine. David Sommerstein has more.  Go to full article

Mar 28, 2002 — More than 3000 soldiers from Fort Drum are in the last two months of their deployment in Kosovo. Their main mission is to enforce a safe and secure environment in the war-torn region.

But the soldiers are using more than weapons to keep the peace. They're providing humantarian assistance to help rebuild a damaged land from the ground up. And they're trying to bring ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs together to end centuries of hatred. David Sommerstein went to Kosovo with the U.S. Army earlier this winter and has this report...  Go to full article

Mar 12, 2002 — A thousand soldiers from Fort Drum have been in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan since last fall. Military families work hard to prepare for deployments, and to live through them. We hear from Rena, who's waiting at Fort Drum while her husband Darryl is in Afghanistan, and Chaplain Ron Thomas who oversees family support programs at the base.  Go to full article

Feb 28, 2002 — More than 3000 men and women from the 10th Mountain Division--based at Fort Drum near Watertown--are deployed in the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo. They're enforcing a delicate peace between Kosovar Serbs and Kosovar Albanians. And they're helping to rebuild a region torn apart by war. But for the individual soldier, the daily grind of peacekeeping can sometimes obscure the mission. David Sommerstein recently traveled to Kosovo with the U.S. Army and has this report.  Go to full article

Feb 07, 2002 — This week David Sommerstein is overseas with the U.S. Army. He's in the Serbian province of Kosovo, visiting with soldiers of the Tenth Mountain Division from Fort Drum near Watertown. Over 3000 Fort Drum soldiers have been there since November as a part of a multinational peacekeeping force that includes Italian, German, French, and British troops. David arrived at Camp Bondsteel, a U.S. peacekeeping base in Kosovo, Wednesday morning.  Go to full article