Posted on Jun 20, 2016
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31Z: Telecommunications Operations Chief
Fort Drum
31Z: Telecommunications Operations Chief Fort Drum
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 26
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SGM i spent tens years at drum, i will say this fort drum can get very cold in the winter sometimes getting down as low as -40. But normally the temp is in the teens. The weather at drum is not as bad as most make it out to be yes it snows alot however there are snowplows that run around the clock. It is just like any other place you get us to it, drum was one of the best duty stationed i have ever had.
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SGM Joel Cook
1SG Paul Fluharty, I spent four winters, 93-96 at Fort Drum the first 30 months I was in 2 BDE CBT. It used to be 3-14 inf Bn I believe it was redesignated 2-14 Inf Bn after I left. We walked everywhere with 60 lb. or more ruck. If you ever got a ride it was because you were in trouble. In winter we were never allowed sleeping tents, no heaters, only ECW sleeping bag, puss pad, and poncho tent in the snow. I still believe it is a miracle I never got frost bite or froze to death at temps as cold as -27 ambient, much colder with wind chill. After my first winter FTX I began looking for field cheats to generate heat inside my sleeping bag. We had to be careful because some people actually died using heaters inside their sleeping bag, that generate poisonous gases. The best was two 9 volt transistor batteries connected to each other inside a wool sock. They shorted out and got hot enough to burn through your sleeping bag, the wool sock prevented that. I still have bad dreams about being cold there. When I got promoted to MSG I got a 1SG slot in 10th Sig Bn. Like dying and going to heaven. My own vehicle, tents with heaters, etc, etc, etc. I know sometimes my signal soldiers got tired of hearing me tell them just how good they had it whenever they complained about cold weather conditions. I did not enjoy Fort Drum at all but I am sure that one of the primary reasons I made MSG and SGM was because I succeeded in that Infantry Bn, Signal slot when so many of my predecessors had failed miserably.
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SGT (Join to see)
I agree 1SG, it's something you have to get used to. It gets cold and people else where don't understand until they have been there and experienced the weather themselves.
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SGT James Colbert
SGM Joel Cook - Yep i know all about that i was in 10th DISCOM 10 SB(FWD) 46SB(FWD)
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SGM I am currently stationed at Drum. Winters here: 2014-2015, 2015-2016. My first winter here was long, cold with lots of snow fall. Last winter had spots of cold, but was relatively mild, some say due to El Nino-type conditions (short winter, lighter snowfall, warm breaks). Harsh winters can mean 3-6' of snow on the ground throughout the winter (Oct-Apr), weeks at a time where the temps will hang at -35 to 0 Fahrenheit, and wind blowing 20-30 mph. A lighter day could be sunny, 28-35 degrees with no wind.
Essentially, you never know what to expect, most people drive a vehicle with clearance and at least AWD and keep an emergency kit in the car. There are 3-5 snow days a winter, and late reports called by garrison probably 10 times a winter.
Alot of the crazy weather has to do with the "lake effect". Drum is about 20 miles east of Lake Ontario, and 15 miles south of the St Lawrence River. Being around all that water can cause unpredictable and harsh weather in winter. The jet stream normally flows right over our region, and the cold air from the north, combined with the moist air picked up while traveling over the large body of water, tends to throw blizzard-like conditions over the area throughout the winter.
Like 1SG already mentioned, they take great care of all the highways and freeways around here. Simply changing how one dresses in the winter, and being prepared for the conditions can help greatly in ones attitude and ability to cope. It's really not as bad as some would say. The summers and ability to drive to some of the greatest locations in the NE US within 3-5 hrs more than makes up for putting up with the winters here!
Essentially, you never know what to expect, most people drive a vehicle with clearance and at least AWD and keep an emergency kit in the car. There are 3-5 snow days a winter, and late reports called by garrison probably 10 times a winter.
Alot of the crazy weather has to do with the "lake effect". Drum is about 20 miles east of Lake Ontario, and 15 miles south of the St Lawrence River. Being around all that water can cause unpredictable and harsh weather in winter. The jet stream normally flows right over our region, and the cold air from the north, combined with the moist air picked up while traveling over the large body of water, tends to throw blizzard-like conditions over the area throughout the winter.
Like 1SG already mentioned, they take great care of all the highways and freeways around here. Simply changing how one dresses in the winter, and being prepared for the conditions can help greatly in ones attitude and ability to cope. It's really not as bad as some would say. The summers and ability to drive to some of the greatest locations in the NE US within 3-5 hrs more than makes up for putting up with the winters here!
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SGM Joel Cook
Thanks for responding, SFC Jeremy Holm, sounds like a very mild winter. The last winter I was there 93-96, Jefferson County and a few others set new, all time snow fall, in 24 hour records. We got eight feet in 24 hours. Watertown and Fort Drum declared emergency conditions. There was literally no place to dispose of the snow. Parking lots could not be utilized. People weren't showing up for work because there was no place to park their cars. A real nightmare. Finally they came up with an emergency plan to load dump trucks with snow and dump it off a bridge into a set of rapids in the Black River. It took over a week with dump trucks and front end loaders working 24 hours a day, nonstop to clear the snow from just critical parking areas. Most people got to work by ride sharing in 4 wheel drive vehicles in the morning then spouses picked them up on the main road in the evening. I hope you enjoy your time there because I hated it. My wife and kids however, said it was one of their favorite posts.
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Winter of 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. I am originally from NY so I am used to the winters and Lake effect snow. However, Ft. Drum is different. Winter lasts from October-April most of the time. The winter of 2013-2014 was probably the worst. We had an ice storm and everything was literally frozen to the ground. I was also the only company in the field in December when it was in the -teens. The winter from 2014-2015 was the coldest, as we broke the record for the coldest month in February that Ft. Drum/Watertown. It got to about -45 on most days that month.
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SGM Joel Cook
Thanks for your comments. It seems the weather at Fort Drum is not consistent. It seems to run in trends or cycles. I actually had one guy say it almost never got below the teens while he was there but he did not list what years he was there. I actually accused him of having never been there from the tales he was telling. I guess he got upset and me and wouldn't say what years he was there.
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