ALBANY, N.Y. (Tribune News Service) — 10th Mountain Division leadership and familiar north country faces filled the state Capitol Tuesday for this year's annual Fort Drum Day.

It's been nearly four years since the last Fort Drum Day, which was started in 2012 by now-retired state Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie but suspended after 2019 by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was a chance for the leadership and members of the most deployed Army division and the largest military post in New York to interface with the state's leadership, meeting with key lawmakers on military and Fort Drum-related issues. Along with the leaders of the division and post, 14 New York-born service members joined the delegation visiting the Capitol Tuesday.

The day is also a chance for the organizations in the north country that work closely with Fort Drum, like the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization, the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce and the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust to meet with state leadership as well, introduce themselves to legislators who may make decisions on funding their organizations and advocate for the north country as a whole.

The day culminated with a Fort Drum color guard procession leading the opening of the state Senate, and a speech from Col. Matthew W. Braman, Deputy Commander for Support for the 10th Mountain Division.

"It's our honor to be here today," he said on the floor of the state Senate before introducing the history of the division, from its World War II-era beginnings to its 1980s revival at Fort Drum and subsequent growth to become the most frequently-deployed division in the Army today.

"And today our division headquarters is deployed to Romania on assist missions as we ensure our allies and partners in Romania, Hungary and throughout the Baltics," he said. "Our division's tactical headquarters is deployed to Poland to support the security assistance group in Ukraine, ensuring the timing and delivery of material to the Ukraine government training their soldiers so they can defeat the Russians. And finally, our soldiers in Finland, back doing the mission this division was designed to do at its inception, of becoming alpine warriors."

Sen. Mark C. Walczyk, R-Watertown, who hosted the 10th Mountain Division contingent in the state Senate Tuesday, reflected on the importance of the post to the state as its largest single-site employer and as a source of immense pride.

"As host of the 10th Mountain Division, I think of the economic impact of being a military community, supporting their mission, but as United States citizens, you should know that the recognizable patch the leader mentioned, of crossed bayonets with a mountaintop over it, is something that we should all be very proud of as New Yorkers."

Assemblyman Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown, who represents Fort Drum in Albany and hosted the contingent in the Assembly earlier Tuesday, said the visit was geared toward keeping Albany leaders aware of Fort Drum, its unique characteristics and its impact on the north country and New York state.

"Obviously, the post is federal," he said. "But we are trying to make sure that interaction is there, that (state officials) understand what the economic impact is, and that's big. That's broader than just northern New York even."

He said that Fort Drum and U.S. Department of Defense officials remain interested in working with state leaders on some key issues, like offering parity or a grace period for military spouses who hold teaching certificates in other states to allow them to teach in New York.

Gray said it's important for state officials to see Fort Drum, to be aware of its existence and aware of the unique way it interacts with the communities around it. The post has neither a school nor a hospital, relying on local school districts and the hospitals in Carthage, Lowville and Watertown to offer the services typically provided by DOD staff on post. Gray said that allows for a much deeper community connection to the post, but said the decision-makers in Albany sometimes need to be reminded of the unique circumstances.

"I have a bill on the reciprocation of teacher's certificates, and a member came up to me and said the bill won't move the way it is," he said. "I said this is important for Fort Drum, and he said 'that's a federal school anyhow.' That sent the bells off to me that they don't understand that Fort Drum is a decentralized base."

As the 10th Mountain Division officials moved through Albany, one consistent appeal was for local leaders to advocate for recruitment in their home districts.

"If you didn't hear the message from (Col. Braman) I'll repeated it once again. Recruit, recruit, recruit," said Sen. Walczyk. "There is an excellent division here in New York state where young men and women from your districts can continue to call New York home, and there is a place for them in the United States Army."

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