Fort Drum, NY, Jul 29, 2010 — Vice President Joe Biden says Fort Drum's 2nd Brigade deserves "a hero's welcome" for its work training security forces in Iraq. Biden made a personal visit to the Army base near Watertown yesterday. He said it's the "dawn of a new era in Iraq" as the U.S. prepares to draw down 95,000 troops from the country. The security situation improved so much that Iraqi military and police took control more quickly than expected. That allowed the 2nd brigade to return home three months early. David Sommerstein was at Fort Drum for the vice president's visit and has our story.  Go to full article

Clayton, NY, Jul 15, 2010 — The North Country Access 2010 event gets underway at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton tomorrow. It's an all-abilities water sports event for those with impaired mobility, sensory limitations and other disabilities. The featured speakers include paralympic skier and track racer Christopher Waddell, who was paralyzed in a 1988 skiing accident, and Jon Kuniholm, a retired Marine who lost part of his right arm to an IED while a soldier in Iraq. Kuniholm is leading research into engineering devices to help disabled people, and a partner in the Open Prosthetics Project, which works to share advances in prosthetics design. He is both a researcher and an end user in developing prosthetic robotic hands. Kuniholm told Todd Moe that prosthetic technology is a field that hasn't changed much in 20 years because of its smaller consumer market.  Go to full article

Fort Drum, NY, May 10, 2010 — Fort Drum's commander says the Army post near Watertown is the busiest he's ever seen it. Major General James Terry told reporters at a media briefing Friday that the 10th Mountain Division's headquarters is training to take control of the Kandahar region of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, most Fort Drum soldiers are either in, returning from, or preparing to go to Afghanistan or Iraq. General Terry highlighted efforts to address mental health as the Army continues to struggle with combat trauma and the stress of repeat deployments. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Mar 12, 2010 — Tonight the new Iraq war thriller Green Zone opens in theaters across the North Country. It stars Matt Damon and deals with the Army's futile search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Director Paul Greengrass used real veterans of the war in Iraq in minor roles, including one from the North Country. Nathan Lewis is a student at SUNY Potsdam. He fought in Iraq at the beginning of the war in 2003. He later became an outspoken critic of it with Fort Drum's chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Lewis told David Sommerstein Greengrass reached out to veterans' groups for casting.  Go to full article

Fort Ann, NY, Jan 29, 2010 — A North Country officer chosen by the White House to head the Army National Guard has withdrawn his name from consideration. Major General Joseph Taluto, who lives in Fort Ann, in Washington County, was chosen by President Obama to lead the Guard nationwide back in May of 2009. But his nomination was held up by the controversy surrounding the murder of two of his officers during a deployment to Iraq in 2005. In a statement issued yesterday, Taluto said that the confirmation process had become a "distraction." He also announced that he will retire as head of New York state's national guard, ending a 44-year career. Brian Mann's report on Taluto's nomination first aired last May.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, Jan 08, 2010 — Iraq has never sent an athlete to the Winter Olympics. Back in 2005, before the games in Torino, Italy, Brian Mann profiled skeleton sled racer Faisal Gazi Faisal, from Baghdad. Once again this year, Faisal is fighting to win a berth at next month's Winter Games in Vancouver. Brian caught up with him in Lake Placid and found that his struggles and setbacks have mirrored the turmoil back home in Iraq.  Go to full article

Fort Drum, NY, Nov 02, 2009 — The cycle of "train, deploy, return, repeat" has been steady at Fort Drum since 2001. Troops are regularly leaving for Iraq or Afghanistan, or coming home. A chain-link fence across Route 26 from Fort Drum's airfield has become a part of that routine. Soldiers lodge red and blue plastic cups in the fence to make homemade welcome home signs for their comrades. Sgt. Robert Hoosier of the 10th CAB on "cup duty" is today's Heard Up North.  Go to full article

Aug 07, 2009 — Yesterday we reported that New York's National Guard is struggling to hire enough clergy to serve as part-time chaplains. The problem reflects an aging clergy and also a growing shortage of priests across the North Country - and across New York state. Brian Mann spoke with Father Douglas Decker. He's the priest at St. Cecilia's in the Jefferson County town of Adams. He also serves with New York's Air National Guard.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Aug 06, 2009 — The National Guard has solved its recruiting problem, for the most part, finding plenty of rank-and-file soldiers willing to sign up. But here in New York and across the country reserve units are struggling to find enough clergy willing to serve as chaplains. All the Guard services are scrambling to bring more religious into their ranks, but the Army National Guard has the deepest shortage. In New York, only 8 out of 24 chaplain's posts are filled. And there are no Roman Catholic priests serving in the Army Guard despite the fact that nearly half the soldiers are Catholic. Brian Mann sat down to talk about the problem with Colonel Eric Olsen from Saranac Lake. He's the state chaplain for New York's State Division of Military Affairs.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Jun 23, 2009 — An Adirondack group that combines the arts and healing begins its eleventh season this summer. The annual gathering at Great Camp Sagamore for women with cancer and chronic illness uses music, visual arts, yoga, writing, storytelling and nature walks to help women deal with their disease. Women at the Arts and Healing retreat say the rural setting of Great Camp Sagamore helps them slow down and focus. There are two retreats this year at Camp Sagamore and Piseco Lake. Creative Healing Connections co-founder and storyteller Fran Yardley tells Todd Moe that this year also marks a new chapter; the group is offering a retreat for women veterans dealing with issues from active duty in the first Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.  Go to full article