10th Mountain division News Roundup

Life on the Front Lines in Afghanistan,
Between Firefights, Jokes and Sweat, Tales and Tedium
2 stories about a platoon from D Co, First Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan.

Finding the Right Tool to Tell a War Story
NY Times article on 1/87 Infantry

Youtube Video
Jeremiah Ridgeway is the focus of a news story that was added to Youtube.

Facebook updates

We hear about the annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony here.

1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division gives us some pictures and Updates from Afghanistan.

2nd BN 22nd INF has a sneak peek of the welcome home preparations on Rt 26 from the families of Triple Deuce.

1-87 IN/1BCT/10MTN DIV gives us some pictures from HHC and Bravo Co

10th Mountain Division News Roundup

NSU assists area veterans


Schools: Drum liaison officers are positive addition

10th Mountain Division Band to lead CNY Veterans Parade

BPPJ gets update on Fort Polk affairs

Drum Soldiers Train Afghan Mountain Warriors

Don't Abandon COIN

Clinton E. Springer II

New to the page, a news article on the memorial service for PFC Springer.

A Soldier from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division died in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 24. The cause of death is under investigation.

Deceased is Private First Class Clinton E. Springer II, 21, of Sanford, Maine.

Springer joined the Army in March, 2009. After completing training he arrived at Fort Drum in July 2009. Springer served as an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 22 Infantry Regiment. He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 1st Brigade Combat Team in January 2010. It was his first deployment.

Springer’s awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal. He had completed the Combat Lifesavers Course this year prior to deployment.

Springer is survived by his mother and father.


A soldier's eternal peace in Falmouth

See Also
waronterrornews.typepad.com

freedomremembered.com

9wsyr.com

myabc50.com

bostonherald.com

Photo of arrival at Dover AFB from Yahoo News

goodsoldiers.blogspot.com

pressherald.com

kjonline.com

journaltribune.com

Print and video at wickedlocal.com

Print and video at myfoxmaine.com

watertowndailytimes.com

www.boston.com

capecodonline.com

wcsh6.com

sentinelsource.com

sentinelsource.com

fosters.com

10th Mountain Division News Roundup

After receiving an Operational Needs Statement from the 10th Mountain Division in March 2006, Remington upgrading M24 sniper rifle for the Army.

Picture of Capt. Maria Gregory, the Golf Company Commander, from 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, makes news article.

Fort Drum trops train to avoid IEDS
EVENT AT DRUM: Building relations with Afghans is key, officers say

10th Mountain Division News Roundup

4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, which is stationed at Fort Polk is scheduled to deploy in Sept., Oct.

Former 10th Mountain soldier, Kenitay Salyers, Receives Purple Heart for wounds sustained in Sept 2004.

A proposed law would allow someone on post to say "Have a beer, soldier" to a servicemember under the age of 21.

The post's Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation is using Facebook to allow Drum soldiers and families to get out and enjoy local activities.

Emergency Preparedness Kit event is Saturday, Aug. 28, at Fort Polk

Former member of 2nd of the 14th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division Rico Roman makes U.S. paralympics sled hockey team.

10th Mountain Division News Roundup

Two units back on Drum after war deployments
Families welcomed home two units Thursday after yearlong deployments. The 173 returning soldiers of the 630th Engineer Company, 7th Engineer Battalion were deployed to Afghanistan and 154 members of the 543rd Military Police Company, 10th Sustainment Brigade returned from Iraq.

New JCC community survey shows more people optimistic about life in NNY
We are optimistic, with the majority reporting that life in Jefferson County is getting better. We typically think this is a good place to live, a good place to raise children, and a good place in which to grow old. We are concerned about the national economy and think our own economy needs some improvement, but we think we have better shopping opportunities and better access to higher education than we did last year. We think the expansion of Fort Drum has a positive impact on our community.

Geothermal Energy Could Make the Department of Defense a Supplier of U.S. Energy, Not Just a Consumer
The U.S. military’s drive to replace fossil fuels with sustainable energy could result in an interesting twist: the military could wind up being a net supplier of energy to the U.S. electricity grid, in the form of geothermal power tapped from land owned by the Department of Defense (pdf alert).

Since 2004, Fort Drum in upstate New York has been installing geothermal systems in 19 buildings in various stages of completion. Across the country in Texas, Fort Bliss is looking to geothermal for achieving net zero carbon emissions in ten years. There are many more examples in between, and a study by the the Engineer Research and Development Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suggests that that the Department of Defense has enough geothermal resources to produce electricity for the national grid as well as its own bases.

Chowing down in the Army: New Fort Drum dining facilities compete with modern food options, changing tastes
If you served in the military more than a few years ago, or grew up watching old war movies, your image of an Army cook might be a guy in a white T-shirt and apron, glumly pulling KP duty in the mess hall by peeling a sack of potatoes.

The food he helped prepare was likely to be served (and received) with a dose of surly GI attitude. (Think almost any Beetle Bailey comic strip.)

At Fort Drum near Watertown, Specialist Ryan Rumminger is not that Army cook.

Wind study hits a snag
INDIAN RIVER: Drum officials not consulted, see tower problem

PHILADELPHIA — Gaining approval to erect a meteorological tower to assess wind conditions has been tougher than Indian River Central School District officials expected. And the delays in the wind study stem from a lack of communication between the Federal Aviation Administration and Fort Drum about how erecting the tower could affect low-flying aircraft.

"We thought with FAA approval, we could just go ahead with the study," Superintendent James Kettrick said.

FAA officials didn't consult Fort Drum officials directly when they approved a 164-foot-tall meteorological tower to assess wind on district property, and Fort Drum officials have an issue with the tower because its chosen site is close to the flight path of aircraft approaching Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield.

Spotted: People, Places & Things
Army Maj. Cornelius J. Pope has arrived for duty at Fort Drum, Watertown, N.Y. Pope is the son of Barbara Thurmond-Archibald of Bogart and the brother of Eddie L. Berry and Bryant K. Gantt of Athens. He graduated from Clarke Central High School in Athens.

"Assisting Locals, Increasing Trust" in Iraq During Drawdown
Colorful bags emblazoned with cartoon characters such as Winnie the Pooh and Barbie sat in a small, beat-up metal trailer, reflecting the early morning sun; a colorful contrast to the glistening sweat dripping from under the dusty helmets of soldiers working nearby.

The soldiers seemed to be everywhere at once, organizing supplies, arranging lines of concertina wire, and doing everything necessary to prepare for the people who would soon be descending on their temporary camp.

Even as the morning continued to heat up and the sweat continued to pour down, the soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, remained in high spirits, laughing and joking with each other and their Iraqi Army counterparts from 1st Battalion, 25th Brigade, 17th Iraqi Army Division.

BETH WILSON: Meet Me at the Flagpole at Disney
I love Disneyland. Oh, I know it is the smallest of the Disneyland Resorts but I love it. My husband and I have been season pass holders for most of our marriage. Several years ago, we happened to be walking along main street USA when we noticed something happening at the flagpole. The Disneyland Band, the Dapper Dans (barbershop quartet), and a “detail” were surrounding the flagpole. We joined the gathering throng to discover a special ceremony; the Flag Retreat Ceremony.

As the band, the “Dans” and the detail retire, something indescribable happens. Those vets gathered around the flagpole are slow to disperse. Joined by spouses, many wonderful connections are made. Gary spent six years in the Navy, on a boomer. David, who just returned from his fourth tour to Afghanistan, serves with the 10th Mountain Division out of New York. Gerald is a Vietnam era retired Air Force vet — with some great stories to tell. Donald, a World War II veteran, teared up during the ceremony. He landed on the beach on that “Day of Days” and swapped stories with several other Army vets and gave a warm and emotional, “Take care” to the active duty soldiers standing there.

10th Mountain Division News Roundup

Best places to watch the Patriots
ESPN writer Mike Reiss mentions the Ft Drum Commons as one of the best places to watch the New England Patriots.

Despite Hard Conditions, 1st BCT Keeps Spirits High
When President Obama ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, that changed the mission for the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum.

3,500 soldiers of the 1st BCT are in the region, but originally they were scheduled to deploy to Iraq.

Now in Afghanistan, near Kabul, Kandahar and the northern sections, Colonel William Burleson, commander of the 1st BCT says that his soldiers were aware of the tough conditions going in.

But despite that, soldier morale remains high.

See the full interview on Friday, at 5:55 AM on 7 News This Morning.

10th Mountain Division News Roundup

2 Military Helicopter Pilots Injured In Hard Landing
The Teller County Sheriff's Office is confirming that two pilots were injured in a hard landing of an Apache helicopter west of Fort Carson early Wednesday morning.

An AH-64D Apache Longbow from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, New York, made a hard landing south of Pikes Peak at approximately 1:30 a.m. The helicopter went down in Teller County, near Upper Gold Camp Road and Forest Service Road 376. There are no roads within 5 miles of the crash site.

Army to name NY building for soldier killed in '06
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) - The 10th Mountain Division is dedicating a Fort Drum building in the name of a soldier who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for aiding a wounded comrade under heavy enemy fire in Afghanistan.

A ceremony is being held Wednesday afternoon at the northern New York Army post to dedicate the Pine Plains Fitness Center as the Monti Fitness Center.


Public invited to Fort Drum's annual Mountainfest Thursday
Fort Drum is opening its doors to the public Thursday for the annual Mountainfest on Division Hill.

Thursday's event will begin at 11 a.m. with activities including a military equipment display, carnival games and a car show. Admission is free. The evening will feature live music by Jared Campbell, Whitetail and the division band. Visitors can enter the post through the entrance on Route 26 known as the "Gasoline Alley" gate.

10th Mt. Div.'s 2nd BCT returning to Fort Drum
More than 1,000 soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team have returned home from their latest deployment overseas.

About 300 soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment were welcomed back to Fort Drum in northern New York late Monday night by loved-ones and friends.

SITREP June 17th

BloodSpite here. Sorry for the delay. I was out of town all weekend. Thats no excuse however, so here's your latest news!



Hundreds line roads in procession honoring Sgt. Erick J. Klusacek, 22, who was killed June 8 in a vehicular accident while serving in Afghanistan.

The brother of a Fort Drum soldier is walking across the country to benefit the Warrior's Wish Foundation. Mark Klodzinski, 23, Ellicotville, Cattaraugus County, began his walk in March. He's the brother of Fort Drum soldier Adam Klodzinski, 24, also a native of Ellicotville. Adam, of the 132nd Infantry who has deployed twice to Afghanistan, said he has another brother, Erik, an Army veteran who was based out of Fort Campbell for eight years.

A Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) from Fort Drum, NY has begun training at the Mountain Post in preparation for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. The 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum is conducting High Altitude Mountain Environmental Training (HAMET) at the Mountain Post, FT Carson, Colorado.


A soldier in the 10th Mountain Division stands in a field base as a helicopter flies by overhead on June 6, 2010 in Belanday, south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Soldiers of the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division have fanned out in the vast hinterlands south of Kandahar, part of a counterinsurgency strategy aimed at protecting Afghan civilians and legitimizing the government of Afghanistan in the minds of the rural local populace. Getty

A 10th Mountain Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking classified information to Wikileaks has still not been charged with any crime, three weeks after being arrested and put in pre-trial confinement. PFC Bradley Manning, 22, is being held at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and has been assigned a military defense attorney while the Army and State Department investigate claims Manning made to an ex-hacker in online chats that he disclosed classified information.

SITREP June 9th

Hey Folks! BloodSpite here with another news round up for you!

The local community around Ft Drum has shown its support to the family and memory of First Army Lieutenant Joseph Theinert, was killed in Afghanistan while on patrol with the Bravo Troop 1-71 Cavalry. Lt. Theinert died when an improvised explosive device was detonated during a dismounted patrol.

Sandy Treat is being inducted into Vail's Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame this year as builders of the sport. Treat volunteered for the 10th Mountain Division, the famed soldiers on skis who fought in World War II, and trained and instructed fellow troops at Camp Hale.