Jun 08, 2011 — There are support groups for service members and spouses, but what about the children of 10th Mountain Division soldiers sent overseas? A theater class at Indian River High School teamed up with a local playwright to produce a very personal look at how teens respond to their parents' deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. The play, "In My Shoes", will be performed in the school's auditorium on Friday night. Todd Moe stopped by to meet the students and creative team.  Go to full article

Fort Drum, NY, Apr 11, 2011 — The war in Libya, unrest through the Middle East, and the nuclear crisis in Japan have pushed America's war in Afghanistan down the news agenda.

Fully half of Fort Drum's soldier population is on the ground in Afghanistan. The Army base's commander is in charge of coalition troops in the most dangerous part of the country. General James Terry briefed the media while on leave from Afghanistan last week. David Sommerstein was there and has out report.  Go to full article

Fort Drum, NY, Mar 16, 2011 — The 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum has spent much of the last decade in Afghanistan, fighting Al Quaeda and the Taliban.

More than five hundred soldiers and reservists from the North Country are currently serving in that country.

But New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says the time has come for President Barack Obama to set a clear time-table for bringing the troops home. Todd Moe has details.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 16, 2011 — Civil War buffs are commemorating the war's 150th anniversary this year. As part of an occasional series of conversations about the Civil War and its North Country connections, Todd Moe talks with a local re-enactor about women soldiers. Some women served as nurses, spies or camp cooks during the war, but others marched into battle. Forbidden from the military during the Civil War, hundreds of women disguised their gender by wearing uniforms and using masculine names. Canton Civil War re-enactor Martha Maine takes on the persona of her great grandfather, Harrison Carter Maine. She says patriotic, eager for adventure, or to accompany their husbands, hundreds of women assumed male identities to win the right to fight.

Maine speaks on "Women Soldiers in the Civil War" at a Brown Bag Lunch program at noon this Thursday at the St. Lawrence County Historical Association in Canton.  Go to full article

Fort Drum, NY, Jan 19, 2011 — This year, a reporter and a photojournalist from the New York Times have been following soldiers from Fort Drum during their deployment to Afghanistan. Through print, photos, videos, and readers' submissions, they've tried to capture the everyday reality of combat in northern Afghanistan for the 1-87th Infantry Battalion.

We've been checking in with reporter Jim Dao throughout the year. He's told us the stories of troops experiencing live fire combat for the first time and of families living through the pain of separation. Today we hear about the everyday stress of the young leaders on the ground in this war, the junior officers. Dao spoke with David Sommerstein.  Go to full article

Jan 18, 2011 — Late last week, a World War II veteran in Tupper Lake was awarded the Bronze Star 66 years after he saved another man's life. Adrien Girouard fought heroically in Italian campaign, but it took two congressmen and the better part of a lifetime for him to be honored. Chris Morris was at the ceremony and has our story.  Go to full article

Fort Drum, NY, Jan 14, 2011 — New York's Air National Guard says it till begin flying unmanned surveillance planes over the Adirondacks beginning this summer. The training missions will be used to help pilots and ground crews learn how to remote-control a spy plane known as the MQ-9 Reaper.

As Brian Mann reports, the planes will fly out of Fort Drum, but the pilots will be manning consoles in Syracuse.  Go to full article

Dec 23, 2010 — Yesterday, the US Senate passed a bill by a unanimous voice vote that offers billions of dollars of aid to workers who responded to the 9/11 attacks in New York City.

The measure goes next to President Barack Obama for his signature. It's seen as a major win for 9/11 rescue crews and first responders.

Brian Mann has our story.  Go to full article

Plattsburgh, NY, Dec 21, 2010 — In the coming months, rank-and-file service-members will be dealing with big changes in the military culture, now that don't-ask-don't-tell has been repealed.

Two lawmakers who represent the North Country will have direct oversight over that process. Democrat Bill Owens from Plattsburgh and Republican Chris Gibson from Kinderhook both sit on the House Armed Services Committee.

Both men served as officers in the military and as Brian Mann reports, they have very different opinions about gays serving openly.

(NOTE: This story includes a correction from the broadcast version)  Go to full article

Watertown, NY, Nov 26, 2010 — The first troops of President Obama's surge in Afghanistan have returned home. Some 50 soldiers from the 10th Mountain's 1st Brigade touched down at Fort Drum Wednesday. Over the coming months, the rest of the 3500 member brigade will come home after training the Afghan army and police in the northern part of the country.

According to the Watertown Daily Times, the brigade commander Colonel Willard Burleson says he's seeing signs of progress, including some Taliban insurgents giving up their fight.

Still, the Pentagon reports security gains as "slow" in Afghanistan, with members of the Afghan army also deserting. This as the U.S. military enters a four-year scheduled withdrawl from the country.

The New York Times has been taking a deep look at a teeny slice of the war effort. Through articles, photos, and video, the Times is reporting on one unit of Fort Drum's 1st Brigade, the 1-87th Infantry Battalion. Readers can submit their own photos and videos. Many come from fellow troops and family members.

The latest installment in the Times series came out earlier this week. The article told the story of Delta Company's six day mission against insurgents in the village of Nahr-i-Sufi, near Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. In a nutshell, the article invokes oft-quoted truism of war - that war is abject boredom sprinkled with brief moments of intense action and terror. Reporter Jim Dao says that was the pervading reality on the ground.  Go to full article