FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Seventy local community professionals from Watertown, N.Y., and throughout the North Country gathered Thursday to participate in Fort Drum's annual Day in the Life of a Soldier.
The event, which is hosted by the installation, 10th Mountain Division (LI), and the Fort Drum Chapter of the Association of the United States Army, helps civilians gain a better understanding of how Soldiers work and live on a day-by-day basis.
Immediately after all of the participants registered, Brig. Gen. Michael L. Howard, 10th Mountain Division (LI) acting senior commander, welcomed the guests.
"I'm glad you are all here this morning," he said. "The purpose -- and what we are trying to get out of this -- is to raise awareness in you about what it is that our Soldiers do. I think we have a pretty decent line-up."
Howard explained that the first stop would be to the Bridgewater-Vaccaro Medical Simulation Center.
"I think you'll get a real appreciation for just how good our youngest guys are in saving each other's lives," he said. "You are going to see what they really deal with in combat. You are going to walk away with the appreciation of how hard it would be to do what they do, and to do it fast and accurate, during combat."
After Howard's introduction, the visitors were split into three teams and assigned to different Soldiers who were charged with escorting the group to the different stations.
Before going to their first station, the groups stopped to observe training that was being conducted by the Air Assault School in a nearby field. Participants observed firsthand some of the training Soldiers endure while they rappelled from a UH-60 Black Hawk 100 feet from the ground.
At the Bridgewater-Vaccaro MSTC, Maj. Martin Stewart, officer in charge, explained how the facility trains not just combat medics, but also emergency medical technicians from surrounding communities.
"We have a desire to work with the community," Stewart said. "We will actually have an Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Course that will incorporate some providers from the Samaritan Medical Center and Carthage Area Hospital."
Participants learned about the different courses medics are required to complete in order to maintain their medical skills, while also observing a team of medics secure a battle site and treat and evacuate casualties in the simulation room, which uses state-of-the art manikins to portray injured Soldiers.
After the MSTC, the team walked over to the Virtual Training Facility.
Once there, Ron Cooper, Training Support Branch chief for the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, talked about how the simulators at the Virtual Training Facility help Soldiers hone their skills with a variety of weapons before actually going out to the ranges. By doing simulated training first, it helps save thousands of dollars.
Each participant had an opportunity to "fire" an M4 rifle, M249 machine gun as well as some of the other weapons in the Engagement Skills Trainer.
Participants got to enjoy a lunch of Meals, Ready-to-Eat with their guides. This allowed the Soldiers to showcase their culinary talents by explaining to the curious participants how to heat and mix the MREs to make them taste better.
After lunch, the group was bussed to the Light Fighters School, where the visitors had an opportunity to rappel down a practice wall and observe Soldiers practicing combatives.
At the end of the day, each participant left with a better understanding and appreciation for what our Soldiers do on a daily basis.
"I can't tell you how impressed I've been with my experience here at Fort Drum," said Dr. Charles Bradshaw, a neuropsychologist with Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "I hope to encourage my fellow VA employees to come to one of these, so they can see and experience what a day in the life of a Soldier is all about."
Another participant who enjoyed herself was Deborah Carpenter, a secretary at Samaritan Medical Center.
"Today was an amazing day!" she said. "It showed us pieces of Army life for Soldiers that I had no idea existed. They let us shoot the simulated 'guns,' which was amazing because I didn't realize how heavy they are and how hard it was to change some of their parts so quickly. It was a great day."
The day concluded with photo opportunities for all of the participants.
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