"We have been doing this since 2007," said Col. Thomas MacDonald, chief of staff, 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum. "The reason we have been doing this is because we really enjoy the great support from our local communities all across the Army, but in particular here."
Throughout the day Soldiers of 2nd BCT gave back to their local community by demonstrating how the Brigade's unique training and war fighting capabilities are deployed.
"We get to show the community not only what we do, but how we train every day and what we do to prepare for our nations wars and to support our community," explained Spc. Brian Sawyer, health care specialist, 41st Engineer Battalion, 2nd BCT.
Local business leaders spent 45 minutes at each of the five stations where they observed or participated in small unit military movement drills, military sniper requirements and equipment class, medical trauma care demonstrations, an electronic weapons trainer, and an hour lunch complete with meals ready to-eat.
Joseph Nehme, a resident of Syracuse N.Y., explained that main stream media only shows a portion of what goes into making a Soldier fit-to-fight.
"You see what you see in popular culture," explained Nehme. "With the military and the Army and things of that nature you never really get to see the behind the scenes of the training that goes into it.
What I saw today was an amazing level of organization, sophistication when it comes to the weapons, and the camaraderie that comes along with it."
Nehme applauded the Soldiers eagerness to address questions asked by those in attendance and stated it was nice to see how the other half of his community performed their jobs.
"Beyond the fact that the ladies and gentlemen here protect our country on the battle field, they're also members of the community," he explained. "Its part of the culture up here, and it's nice to come in and see them not only in their training phases but on a personal level."
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