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Sunday, April 28, 2019
Piatt
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vision, he said.
“That’s very unique,” he
said. “That does not always
happen with a lot of military
facilities.”
That bonding between Fort
Drum and the community is
something that he’s worked
on since becoming the com-
mander, he said.
After Sept. 11, 2001, a fence
went up all around the instal-
lation. That close relationship
might have been lost.
In 1985, however, Fort Drum
and Army leaders decided not
to build a hospital or schools
on post, making soldiers and
their families become part of
the north country community.
“We were forced to make a
connection,” Gen. Piatt said.
The general said that he’s
made many connections, add-
ing he’s leaving lots of north
country friends as he starts his
new chapter in his life.
His Fort Drum legacy?
He’s proud that he accom-
plished his mission of making
sure that Fort Drum is ready
today for tomorrow’s missions
and that its soldiers are always
up to the challenges that are
asked of them.
He credited former Fort
Drum Commander Mark A.
Milley, nominated in Decem-
ber as the chair of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, for preparing
him for that task.
Throughout his time here,
Gen. Piatt has had the reputa-
tion of supporting his troops
Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, left, runs with fellow soldiers during a division run on Friday morning at Fort Drum.
and their well-being.
A few months ago, Gen. Pi-
att expressed anger about the
living conditions that soldiers
and their families experienced
on post in the privately-owned
FROM PAGE A1 WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
Fort Drum Mountain Commu-
nity Homes, including leaky
roofs, black mold and ventila-
tion problems.
Gen. Piatt insisted that it
shouldn’t happen to soldiers
who put their lives on the line
for their country. He promised
to correct the problems imme-
diately.
As he nears 20 years in the
Army and his retirement, Gen.
Piatt will conduct a ceremony
on Thursday — the re-en-
listment of a soldier who had
asked him to conduct it. It will
be the officer’s final such cer-
emony. “It’s an honor for me to
do it,” Gen. Piatt said.
Honor is a word that Gen.
Piatt uses a lot. Honor for the
community. Honor for Fort
Drum. Honor for the Army.
Honor for country. And honor
for his troops.
He has a long history with
Fort Drum.
Before being assigned as
commander in 2017, he served
in the 10th Mountain Division
during two previous stints, the
first time as a major from 1999
to 2003 at a time when his two
children were small and stu-
dents in the Indian River Cen-
tral School District.
He returned to Fort Drum,
serving from 2012 to 2013
as the deputy commanding
general in support of the 10th
Mountain Division. It was dur-
ing that time that his daughter
Jessica graduated from Car-
thage High School.
“The community has been
very welcoming to me and my
family,” he said.
While the general was away
on assignment, his wife, Cyn-
thia, and son Josh came back
to the north country in 2014,
so that his son could graduate
from Carthage High School
that June.
“He could have chosen
anywhere in the country and
he wanted to come back and
graduate from Carthage,” the
general said, joking that his
wife “served four assignments”
here because he was deployed
at the time.
His daughter, marketing di-
rector for the local chamber of
commerce, will remain in the
north country after he leaves.
She’s getting married to state
Assemblyman Mark C. Walc-
Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, left, speaks to soldiers on Friday.
zyk in September. He plans to
visit them often.
“I’ll be back for visits as a dad
and visits as a granddad” when
that time comes, the general
said.
In recent days, Gen. Piatt
has been saying his goodbye.
On Thursday, he came to Wa-
tertown just to say thanks to lo-
cal dignitaries about how they
worked together for the bet-
terment of Fort Drum and the
north country.
The general and Jefferson
County Legislature Chairman
Scott A. Gray became friends
through their admiration of
Carthage High School sports.
“He’s as much of a north
country guy as a base guy,” Mr.
Gray said.
On his last Friday as Fort
Drum’s commander, Gen.
Piatt joined more than 70 divi-
sion leaders and other soldiers
for an early morning four-mile
run on a cloudy, rainy day.
They stopped on Bomporto
Bridge, over Route 26, to honor
a key event of the 10th Moun-
tain Division’s operations in
Italy during World War II.
SYDNEY SCHAEFER/WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
SYDNEY SCHAEFER/WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
Steve Smith, deputy chief of
staff and a retired colonel, re-
counted how a 10th Mountain
Division task force carried out
a mission in late April 1945 that
helped accelerate the war’s
end, he told the group.
Gen. Piatt listened with
pride about how the 10th
Mountain Division played
such an integral role in defeat-
ing the Germans.
And Mr. Smith said he was
proud to join the general on
the bridge and wished him
well, thanking him for “a job
well done.”
The general joked that he
was sorry that the soldiers were
unable to keep up with him
during the run, so he promised
to slow down on the way back.
Before the group arrived, Mr.
Smith said he enjoyed working
with Gen. Piatt, known for his
quick wit and ability as a good
public speaker.
“If he wasn’t our command-
er, he’d be a comedian,” Mr.
Smith quipped.
A Pennsylvania native, Gen.
Piatt, who enlisted in the Army
in 1979, has served all over the
world, including tours in Ko-
rea, Panama, Hawaii, Alaska
and Germany. He was also
deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq,
Bosnia, Kosovo and Suriname.
He wrote two books about his
experiences in Afghanistan.
He looks forward to working
again with Gen. Milley, who
commanded Fort Drum from
November 2011 to December
2012, in his new job as the di-
rector of Army Staff.
In his new job, he’ll be re-
sponsible for integrating and
synchronizing the work of the
Office of the Secretary and the
Army Staff so that they meet
the goals and priorities of Sec-
retary of the Army Mark T. Es-
per.
The general will focus on
improving and modernizing
today’s Army and making sure
that soldiers will be ready for
war, he said.
“It’s a huge job,” he said.
He’ll also be promoted to
the rank of lieutenant general.
Asked about retiring to the
north country, he said he has a
job to do now. It’s something to
think about later.
But his son would love to
come back to the north coun-
try to hunt and fish. Maybe
they’ll get a cabin in the woods,
Gen. Piatt said.
If it happens, it’ll be their
north country home.