FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- When the Department of Defense made a decision to reactivate the 10th Mountain Division as a "light infantry" unit Sept. 11, 1984, only a handful of current Fort Drum Soldiers were even in the Army at that time: nine to be exact. While most Fort Drum Soldiers were still in grade school by the time the division was activated in New York, 1,164 weren't even born yet.
As 10th Mountain Division (LI) commemorates its 30th year anniversary in New York's North Country tomorrow, it celebrates its longest stretch of its history -- a lineage forged through constant conflicts and rapid deployments around the globe.
When the 10th Infantry Division deactivated June 14, 1958, during the Cold War, it wasn't anything new to the band of light infantry Soldiers who were brought together to fight in the mountainous regions of Europe during WWII. Early on, the 10th Light Division (Alpine), stationed at Camp Hale, Colo., would be redesignated or disbanded several times.
It wasn't until the early 1980s when the Department of Defense, in search of a newer, lighter, faster division, considered bringing back the 10th Mountain Division. As there were several places it was considering breaking ground, a few New Yorkers would emerge as the political architects of Fort Drum. Former New York Rep. David O'B. Martin, along with F. Anthony Keating, who served on the Fort Drum steering committee during the 1980s, and then-New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo lobbied to ensure the North Country would house the division headquarters. At the time, it was just one of seven that would be considered, but by August 1984, New York was considered the alternate location, with Fort Benning, Ga., as the front runner.
The decision to reactivate the 10th Mountain Division was met with much celebration, not just by the state, but more importantly, the North Country.
Fort Drum, which was first Pine Camp and then Camp Drum, was named after the Lt. Gen. Hugh A. Drum, who commanded the First Army during WWII. Throughout the years, it had served as a training camp for the Army Reserve and the New York Army National Guard. The activation of the division added more units and more Soldiers throughout the last 30 years and contributed $1.3 billion to the local economy.
Fort Drum is as unique compared to the rest of the Army as the North Country's weather, according to Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division (LI) commander. He and his wife Melissa and their children have called Fort Drum home three times now.
"Fort Drum definitely is unique, in my experience," Townsend said. "Several factors that make it unique: first of all, the wonderful environment here. I love the North Country, especially the North Country in wintertime."
Townsend noted that Fort Drum doesn't have a hospital, and that means that its Soldiers and Family Members go to local hospitals. It also doesn't have schools, and it houses a little more than 1/3 of its Soldiers and their Family Members.
"This connection and interdependence makes Fort Drum unique of all the places I've served," he said. "Of all the places I've served at in the U.S., Fort Drum rates No. 1 in my mind for that community connection."
During the last 30 years, the 10th Mountain Division has become one of the Army's most deployed divisions -- due in large part to the unique design of the unit as a rapid deployment force along with its training, logistics and airfield.
Yet, one of the forefathers of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, retired Col. Michael Plummer, who served as the division's chief of staff and assistant division commander for support 30 years ago, understood one thing: the monumental endeavor could not have been successful without their community partners.
Retired Maj. Gen. William S. Carpenter, who commanded the 10th Mountain Division from 1985 to 1988, and retired Lt. Gen. Paul Cerjan, who served as assistant division commander for support from 1985 to 1987, not only had the foresight to understand the importance the division would be to the Army in its future global missions, but more importantly how to build, from the ground up, what it would take to house, train and support its Soldiers, Family Members and Civilians.
"They understood that the communities had to be equal partners," Plummer said.
Plummer and his Family have called the North Country home since their arrival in December 1984. They are part of the approximately 30 percent of Fort Drum retirees who stay in the area, in large part because of the unique relationship between the Army installation and the communities.
"The founding fathers had a great vision for the Soldiers and their Families, and those who came after them followed that master plan," Plummer said. "If Bill Carpenter could see his vision, as well as Paul Cerjan, they'd look at you and say, 'we dreamed it -- it's even better.'"
In its last 30 years, 10th Mountain Division has added to the rich history it had from its beginnings, said Capt. Evan Muxen, who once served as the division historian, and the history is important for its young Soldiers to be proud of going into the next 30 years.
"It's really important for the young Soldiers to know their unit's history," said Muxen, who serves as a nonlethal effects officer in 1st Brigade Combat Team. "When they take pride in their unit and its future, that is what is recorded in the chronicles of the 10th Mountain Division. It's a sense of pride and honor."
Early on, the division's Soldiers participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Southwest Asia, Operations Restore Hope and Continue Hope in Somalia, Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, Operation Joint Guard in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
When it wasn't actively involved with worldwide conflicts, the division also lent a hand during natural disasters such as Hurricane Andrew in south Florida during September 1992.
Division Soldiers, as a part of Task Force Mountain, set up relief camps; distributed food, clothing, medical necessities and building supplies; and helped rebuild homes and clear debris. The last of the 6,000 division Soldiers to deploy to Florida returned home in October 1992.
Yet, it was its contributions and sacrifices made in the most remote and mountainous areas of Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom that would become the most notable.
During 2001, Soldiers from the division in support of OEF secured key forward operating bases in Afghanistan, screened more than 3,500 detainees at Sherberghan Prison in northern Afghanistan, and engaged in combat during Operations Anaconda and Mountain Lion. During Operation Anaconda, Coalition Joint Task Force Mountain, commanded by then Maj. Gen. F.L. Hagenbeck, killed several hundred al-Qaeda terrorists and destroyed an important enemy base of operations in the Shah-I-Khat Valley 100 miles southeast of Kabul. Subsequent operations destroyed 4.5 million pounds of ammunition and killed or captured several hundred more terrorists.
The division served as the Regional Command-East command and control center through three more rotations and one at Regional Command-South in Kandahar. Most notably, Townsend commanded Combined Joint Task Force-10 headquarters as the last Army division as a regional command headquarters while the International Security Assistance Force headed into the Resolute Support mission.
As the command and control center for ISAF's RC-East, it oversaw multiple forward operating base closures and the drawdown into the next phase of operations. It cased the CJTF-10 colors last November at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
"It is no coincidence, today's Mountaineers have been called upon to deploy more than any other Army division, since the 1990s," Townsend said. "We wear the mountain patch as part of our legacy. We are a light infantry division; we can go anywhere and fight anywhere."
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