I served at Fort Drum in the 90's, when it had just transitioned from a National Guard Camp to a Fort, so much of this will be dated.
1. First the negatives:
- The Watertown area historically has been an economically depressed area, population tends to be ...... unattractive, with the highest obesity rate I have ever seen, before or since.
- Syracuse is not a very military friendly town, not much there to recommend it.
2. Now the good.
- 10th Mountain is a very good division, and has a solid reputation. Because it is so far north and still under the umbrella of the 18th ABC, it in my time allowed for us to avoid a lot of the distractions of being at a major installation and focus on smaller (battalion and below) soldier activities. Since there are fewer echelons to deal with, I found senior captains and majors had much more latitude in getting the job done.
- The weather is a bit harsh, but.... if you like winter activities, cross country skiing was one of my passions, it can provide for some great recreational days. Make no mistake though, in a full three year tour you and your family will find out a lot about 70 degree temperature variations. I found the environment stimulating, many did not.
3. Playing Army.
- Fort Drum has a strangely shaped maneuver area, with much of it difficult to get to, so it will feel like the training area is actually quite small, or feels like it takes forever to drive to all of it. The up side for me, and a downside, was we got deployed a lot; Somalia, Haiti, Puerto Rico..... (notice a lot of places that are HOT)
4. The climate
- We used to joke that there were 4 seasons, June, July, August and Winter. Not exactly correct, but it could feel like it. The days in the early Summer through September were very long and I used to ride my bicycle 40 to 60 miles on my day off, did a lot of climbing in Western New York state, did a lot of sporting clays, and hiking in Vermont. In parts of the winter there were what you would expect in days that could freeze over an entire Great Lake. Wind could be brutal and the worst ice storm I have ever encountered happened my last year there. Halfway through the winter you are going to wonder if the sun exists in a tough year.
5. Bottom line, if your family can take it, you will learn a lot there (my best assignment for professional growth).
Good luck,
Class of '77
