Washington (Tribune News Service) — The Army has selected Fort Drum as the future home of a new task force that will bring about 1,500 new soldiers and civilian personnel to the sprawling garrison north of Watertown.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said he was informed of the decision today in a meeting with Army Secretary Christine Wormuth.

Fort Drum is already the base of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, one of the most deployed units in the military over the past two decades.

The Army’s decision to locate the new unit at Fort Drum is expected to provide an economic boost to Jefferson County and the North Country.

More than 31,000 soldiers and their families are based at Fort Drum, which also employs about 2,710 civilians. The Army garrison is one of the largest employers at a single site in New York state, and had an economic impact of more than $1.6 billion last year, according to an Army study.

Fort Drum had been selected as a finalist this spring in a U.S. competition to host an Army Multi-Domain Task Force, one of five units the Army is establishing to deal with emerging national security threats from China, Russia and other nations.

Each task force will focus on new technologies, weapons and strategies to fight future battles on air, land, water, and in cyberspace and outer space.

The Army decided today that Fort Drum will co-host a task force with an Army base in Wiesbaden, Germany, Schumer said. The task force will focus on Europe.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said the designation will enhance Fort Drum “as a pillar within America’s national defense strategy.”

Schumer said Army leaders told him that soldiers will likely rotate between Germany and Fort Drum, starting in 2025. The task force at the Army base in Wiesbaden was activated in 2021.

About 500 soldiers from Fort Drum have been deployed in Europe this year to support allies and NATO members amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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