'You're never ready until it happens': Fort Drum soldiers describe combat-heavy deployment

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (WWTI) -- A mission full of conflict and combat. On Monday, March 25, nearly two hundred Fort Drum soldiers returned home from a nine-month deployment in the Middle East.

The 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team was deployed to the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility in August 2023. Soldiers were stationed in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Jordan in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

However, the rotation took a turn when the war broke out between Israel and Hamas.

For many of the younger soldiers in the brigade, this was their first deployment. These soldiers were faced with many new experiences, including live combat and enemy attacks.

"Ever since the war in Israel, we would go into the bunkers," Private First Class Geniarthur Alvarico explained. "We [had] rocket attacks. The previous unit, they didn’t get as much. We’d run into the bunkers every now and then."

During their deployment, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team fought off over 100 enemy attacks, according to 10th Mountain Division Commanding General Major General Gregory Anderson.

Although scary at times, Specialist Richard Warren said that this is what soldiers train for.

"You're never ready until, like, it happens," SPC Warren said. "Most of the time is happens when you’re asleep. So you're just kind of like snapping back to reality and waking up. I feel like my leaders had instilled a sense of confidence, and all of us who were deployed, Sometimes you don't know what you're capable of until push comes to shove."

With a deployment under their belt, both SPC Warren and PFC Alvarico said they're ready for the next mission.

For now, the soldiers are just happy to be back home stateside.

"I’m just glad to be back. It was a long nine months," PFC Alvarico expressed.

The redeployment on March 25 was the second round of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team to return to Fort Drum. Over 1,000 soldiers remain in the Middle East and will arrive back in Northern New York by mid-April.