Fort Drum

(03/07/12) President Obama has proposed a new mortgage relief program for membres of the military and veterans. Major lenders will review forecolusres or denials of re-financing. if wrongly foreclosed on, service members will be paid back their equity, and get extra compensation.

Service members are vulnerable to scams, bad deals, and complicated financing. Many are young and inexperienced in managing their finances -- and frequent moves can make them easy prey when they're feeling financial strain.

The problem is serious enough that an entire federal office is now devoted to protecting military families from financial fraud and abuse.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand brought Holly Petreaus, wife of CIA Director General David Petraeus, and head of to the new Office of Servicemember Affairs to Fort Drum last week. The office is part of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
About 200 people turned out to hear about the office's work.

Joanna Richards was there and has the story. more

(03/01/12) A unit at Fort Drum charged with helping wounded soldiers transition to civilian life was given a scathing review in a report by the Department of Defense Inspector General's Office. According to the report, the Warrior Transition Battalion was seen as a "dumping ground" rather than a place to help soldiers heal. Medical recommendations were ignored, and morale was low, with some soldiers saying they'd rather be in jail or being "shot at in Iraq" than in the battalion. Joanna Richards reports. more

(02/09/12) Fort Drum's 3rd Brigade Combat Team is beginning to come home after a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. The brigade, about 3,500 soldiers, was sent to an area just west of Kandahar City in southern Afghanistan, where few troops had been before.

They were deployed as part of President Obama's troop surge in the country. As the mission winds down, brigade commander Colonel Patrick Frank says his unit did a good job in a difficult setting. He spoke from Afghanistan with reporter Joanna Richards.
(CORRECTION: We originally reported that these troops were the first US soldiers in that region. Many comments on our story have challenged that assertion. We've contacted our sources at Ft. Drum for clarification and are still waiting for a reply. To the best of our understanding now, Col. Frank's unit was the first brigade level force to deploy there.) more

(02/03/12) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced last week that the military wants to close some installations as its reduces its force size and winds down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The process is called BRAC, for "base realignment and closure."

A spokeswoman for Fort Drum said the post isn't commenting on the announcement, but reporter Joanna Richards spoke with Carl McLaughlin, executive director of the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization in Watertown, about how Fort Drum may fare as the BRAC process takes shape. more

(01/27/12) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced yesterday that he wants Congress to authorize a new round of base closures that could help the Pentagon save more than 500 million dollars.

That news angered Congressman Bill Owens, whose district includes the Fort Drum Army base near Watertown. Martha Foley has details. more

(01/06/12) President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced sweeping plans for the country's defense yesterday. The new strategy has to accommodate a half billion dollars in budget cuts. Among other strategies, it predicts "smaller conventional ground forces." And a shift of focus to Asia.

The Army's 10th Mt. Division has been among the most heavily deployed units as America fought wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were immediate concerns about what the new vision yesterday would mean for the Fort Drum. Julie Grant caught up with Congressman Bill Owens of Plattsburgh yesterday, and finds him optimistic. more

(12/22/11) A $54 million federal appropriation will set off another round of construction at Fort Drum.
Some of the money will go toward new projects and some will go toward expansion of existing facilities. But overall, the award enables the continuing expansion of the Army Base. Joanna Richards reports from Watertown. more

(12/14/11) Fort Drum soldier Sergeant Jacob Perkins was awarded the Soldier's Medal Tuesday afternoon at the installation. The medal is given to soldiers for heroism outside the battlefield.

Sergeant Perkins came to the aid of a group of Canadian tourists in July, when their tour bus collided with a semi trailer on the Thruway in Waterloo, New York, between Syracuse and Rochester. Joanna Richards was at the ceremony at Fort Drum and has this report. more

(11/11/11) On this Veterans Day, the US Army is drawing down its forces in Iraq, preparing to leave the country by the end of the year.

And for the first time in a decade, policy-makers are talking about a major reduction in the number of soldiers. As many as fifty thousand troop positions could be cut in the next five years.

Brian Mann sat down yesterday to talk with Congressman Bill Owens, himself a former Air Force captain, to talk about those changes and how they might affect the military here in the North Country.

(11/11/11) There are support groups for service members and spouses, but what about the children of 10th Mountain Division soldiers sent overseas? Last spring, 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. In response to positive reaction, the play, In My Shoes, will be performed again tonight in Sackets Harbor and Saturday night in Clayton. Todd Moe met the students and creative team last June.