Latest news with #FortDrum
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Army is deactivating police units in deep cuts to number of military cops
The shuttering of a military police battalion at Fort Drum, New York, this week marks the latest in a string of two dozen Army MP units closed in the last 18 months. The Army has already inactivated nine military police companies and 15 detachments. By fiscal year 2027, the service is slated to inactivate one MP brigade, four MP battalions, 15 MP companies and four detachments. The deep cuts in the number of soldiers serving as police continue a two-decade trend of reductions that have cut the Army's corps of military police nearly in half, from roughly 14,000 to 8,000. That drop has accelerated in the last two years, with at least nine police companies and 15 detachments closed. The 91st Military Police Battalion on Fort Drum, New York, became the latest and largest unit to be inactivated on June 13, saying goodbye the same day it celebrated its 80-year anniversary. 'While we inactivated from over 700 strong to just under 200 left on Fort Drum, we have done incredible feats,' Lt. Col. Richard Sposito, the battalion commander, said at the ceremony. The battalion was activated and then inactivated several times over its lifetime. It was first established in France for three months during World War II, twice more during the Korean and Vietnam wars, and then most recently at the upstate New York base in 2005. It's MP units deployed to support wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and in 2022 to Poland. Most recently, the 91st sent soldiers twice to the southern border. The Army's current reduction in police units and manpower began in February 2024 when the Army announced it would stand down military police units as part of force structure changes. An Army official told Task & Purpose that the reduction will eventually shutter one military police brigade, four battalions, 15 companies and four law enforcement detachments. The closed units include three companies under the 97th Military Police Battalion at Fort Riley, Kansas, the 759th Military Police Battalion at Fort Carson, Colorado and the 42nd Military Police Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, along with smaller detachments in Hawaii and Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The Army-wide reductions will also mean a drop in total military police jobs across the Army, which has been an ongoing trend for close to two decades. There are currently around 8,000 military police soldiers across the Army with 8,500 positions authorized for the upcoming fiscal year, according to Army officials, down from close to 10,000 in 2020. In fiscal year 2007, the Army had 14,000 authorized military police soldier billets. The cuts in police jobs also come after rollbacks in other career fields. In March 2024, the service asked 3,000 cavalry scouts and military police to reclassify into air defense and artillery jobs but allowed some MPs with specific skill identifiers for close security of high-risk individuals, investigations, and traffic management to reenlist or extend their service. 'Military Police structure has been reallocated to align critical capability to the priority theaters and support [large-scale combat operations] while preserving and in some cases adding to installation commander law enforcement missions and capabilities,' a spokesperson for the Army told Task & Purpose. MPs have long staddled two distinct roles — traditional law enforcement on base and combat support. With fewer police, those still in those roles will now focus more closely on their role as professional police, according to officials. Col. Jeremy Kerfoot, commander of the 89th Military Police Brigade, which is based out of Fort Hood, Texas, and oversees battalions at five bases, described the changes to his brigade in a September 2024 ceremony as 'creating a more professional soldier that's not torn between jumping from law enforcement to combat support and back.' Kerfoot said MPs would stay at an installation for two to three years at a time with more law enforcement-specific training on investigations, traffic management, and crime prevention. 'All of these protection and policing skills will be added to the repertoire by having more permanence in the law enforcement mission for each soldier that joins our law enforcement companies at installations,' he said in 2024. The changes also come as the Army hires more civilians to fill the roles of on-base law enforcement. 'In recent years, U.S. Army Military Police personnel have been deployed to high-threat areas in significant numbers. As a result, the Department of the Army has increased the number of civilian police and guards to protect Army garrisons and to guard critical secured facilities,' according to a website by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation, which maintains training standards for departments across the U.S., including the Army Civilian Police Academy at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Another major milestone came when the command tasked with investigating on-base crimes involving soldiers became the Army Criminal Investigation Division with its first civilian in charge — Gregory Ford, a former criminal investigator for the Navy, IRS, and an FBI terrorism task force. 'Historically, the organization was viewed as an Army command tasked with law enforcement duties. We must now clearly establish CID as an elite federal law enforcement agency that operates within and in support of the Department of the Army,' Ford said at his September 2021 swearing-in ceremony. The role of the modern military police has ranged from performing traditional law enforcement roles on base to doing combat support operations like detaining prisoners of war. In recent months, MP soldiers have been tasked with conducting patrols on foot and tracking migrant crossings with surveillance technology at the U.S. southern border. Earlier this month, the 49th Military Police Brigade of the California National Guard was ordered to lead Guard mobilizations in Los Angeles in the wake of immigration protests. In large-scale operations, the Army envisions MPs doing security for logistics, a major focus for the service if a conflict breaks out in the Pacific, where dispersed island chains and vast stretches of ocean make moving supplies more difficult. 'Protected logistics ensures the prompt arrival of priority supplies to frontlines, which increases endurance and prevents culmination. Small, dispersed units on a future battlefield will have no emergency supply reserves with which to continue operations in case of a missed resupply window,' Brig. Gen. Sarah Albrycht, the Army's provost marshal general, wrote in a summer 2024 letter to the force featured in The Dragoon, the official MP magazine. Sailors who can't deploy will be moved to empty jobs under Navy program Air Force relieves commander of pilot training squadron US military's highest ranking transgender officer says separation process is broken Army bringing in big tech executives as lieutenant colonels Trump reverts 7 Army bases to former names with new honorees, including Delta Force soldier
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Weather cancels Watertown's Armed Forces Day parade
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – Inclement weather has caused the Armed Forces Day Parade in the City of Watertown to be canceled. In a post on Facebook, the parade was canceled 'due to the weather forecast of thunderstorms.' Thunderstorms hit the Watertown area around 7:30 a.m. and thunder, lightning and downpouring of rain. This year was a milestone event with it being the 75th annual Armed Forces parade, the 40th anniversary of the stationing of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum and the 80th anniversary of the 10th Mountain Division taking of Riva Ridge during WWII. This 'highly toxic' plant is spreading around US: Here's how to get rid of it North Country Sports Scoreboard: Saturday, May 17, 2025 Looking for a home under $300K? Try these 10 major US metros Binational consumer group calls on Mexicans to boycott US, its products Over $2.1M in illegal drugs seized at South Texas ports, CBP says Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jersey Mike's sub shop coming to Watertown
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways May 5—WATERTOWN — Sandwich lovers will have a new place to get a sub on Arsenal Street. Jersey Mike's, the New Jersey-based national chain of sub shops, will be moving into a vacant storefront next to Red Robin in the Hannaford plaza next fall. Adam Palisa, who has owned a franchise in Syracuse for two years, said Monday that "the goal is to open" the new Watertown store in September. Fort Drum soldiers visiting the Syracuse Jersey Mike's store urged him to expand into Watertown, he said. It will be the first Jersey Mike's store in the north country, with more planned in the future. "Let's get to Watertown and open up there," he said. Construction on the interior of the storefront will begin once his company is finished with the approval process. The company requested sign approval from the Watertown Town Planning Board on Monday. It does not need a site plan review. The local store will employ between 30 and 40 people. After looking at other potential locations, Palisa chose the Hannaford plaza spot because he knew it had to be along Arsenal Street and it was close to Interstate 81. It's right down the street from the new Jreck Subs shop that opened after moving from its decades-old home on Arsenal Street. Palisa is not worried about the competition, saying that Jersey Mike's is known for freshly baked bread and toppings that aren't sliced until a customer orders them. "It's good quality, a little more expensive, but everybody seems to love it," Palisa said. Jersey Mike's has more than 2,700 stores nationwide. Nearly 300 more are planned.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fort Drum injects $2.55 billion into NNY economy in 2024
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (WWTI) – Fort Drum put in a $2.55 billion contribution into the Northern New York economy in 2024. The installation, which is the area's largest employers, released its Fiscal Year Economic Impact Statement for 2024. The post reported that $1.9 billion was spent in the tri-county region of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Jefferson Community College gets $4 million grant for training center The increase was 1.3-percent from that of the previous fiscal year. Base officials said the rise can be attributed to additional tuition assistance, federal aid to local schools and cost of living adjustments, among other factors. Fort Drum has contributed almost $36 billion to the local economy since data was first collected with the 1988 fiscal year. The economic impact came from payroll of military and civilian employees on the base. As Fort Drum is the largest single-site employer in the area, payrolls to these individuals as well as contractors and retirees made up the largest portion of the 2024 fiscal year's economic impact. This totals around $1.6 billion, which is an increase of 3.3% from the previous fiscal year. Area school districts received Department of Defense impact aid totaling just over $39 million in the last fiscal year as they continued to educate and enrich the lives of Fort Drum affiliated students. This represents an increase of 11.5-percent from the 2023 fiscal year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jefferson Community College gets $4 million grant for training center
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – Jefferson Community College is getting a boost to help its drive for a new vocational training center to help soldiers after their military career concludes. Empire State Development announced on Tuesday that JCC will be getting $4 million towards its $13 million Next Move NY Vocational Training and Job Readiness Center. This facility will help increase offerings at the college for Fort Drum soldiers and spouses transitioning out of the military. Fort Drum museum unveils exhibit showcasing WWII veteran's artwork A second grant of $600,000 also awarded to Advocate Drum, the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization for Next Move NY Live, Love, Stay Program that will hopefully encourage people to stay in the north country and seek employment in their post-military careers. ESD and the North Country Regional Economic Development Council are working hard to build a workforce pipeline for transitioning Fort Drum soldiers to New York's job market. These awards to JCC's Next Move NY Vocational Training and Job Readiness Facility and Advocate Drum's Next Move NY Live, Love, Stay Program will help keep veterans in New York State, fuel economic growth and open new opportunities in the region. Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight The vocational center would establish a hub for training and allow Jefferson CC to offer new, high-demand programming in engineering technology, mechatronics, advanced manufacturing and the skilled trades. The renovated facility and investment will also enable JCC to develop educational programs in critical workforce and trade skills areas, addressing the needs of regional employers, while supporting transitioning military members and their families. We are honored to receive this significant support through the Next Move NY initiative,' JCC President Dan Dupee said. 'This investment will allow us to establish a state-of-the-art Job Readiness Facility dedicated to supporting Fort Drum soldiers, veterans, and their families as they transition to civilian life.' Dupee added, 'We are deeply grateful to Governor Hochul, the Governor's Office, and the North Country Regional Economic Development Council for this incredible opportunity and for selecting our proposal among so many strong submissions. This facility will not only strengthen our college but also bolster the regional workforce and create new pathways for success in high-demand careers.' According to Empire State Development, the area is facing a severe shortage of workers and tapping into Fort Drum's 15,000 current active-duty service members could help deal with that shortfall. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
