Dominant Logistics
Real Urban Training in the Eco-Age
Everyone knows the the U.S. military is very lacking in effective
and realistic urban warfare training. Much of this is simply due to a lack of effective
and realistic training areas. There is little argument that a true urban combat training
center is desperately needed but the challenge is how to go about building one.
Modern environmental laws prevent us from engaging in large scale construction projects
within existing field areas. No matter how we feel about these laws, they are in place and
there is very little we can do to override them. But an alternative is available that
would require very little new construction and that construction would only occur in areas
that are already "urbanized." The plan also serves a number of other purposes.
Many have pointed out the inability of existing forces to fight effectively in high
altitude areas. This was showcased by efforts to gain support from British mountain troops
in Afghanistan. The 10th Mountain division is a Mountain division in name only - there are
no mountains at Fort Drum. For that matter, there are few good size hills. Bases are
available in mountainous regions so some have suggested relocating the 10th to one of
these locations like Fort Carson, CO.
Unfortunately, politicians oppose this idea because it would mean that no units would
remain at Fort Drum and a substantial amount of money has already been invested in
building up the base. Another unfortunate reality is that the base is not well suited to
supporting units other than light infantry, and the remainder of these units already have
bases. But Fort Drum has a number of unique characteristics that present some intriguing
possibilities for use as a training center specializing in urban warfare.
Location
Fort Drum is in a relatively isolated area of upstate New York. The nearest major city is
approximately 70 miles to the south while only very small cities/towns exist anywhere near
the post. Canada is closer than any metropolitan area and the city most associated with
Fort Drum is Watertown, which is about 10 miles from the closest gate.
Because of this isolation, Drum is already used as a training post for units other than
the 10th Mountain Division. Many National Guard and Reserve units conduct annual training
here and there is also a firing range for attack aircraft. Expanding on these training
activities should have little to no impact whatsoever on the surrounding population.
Overview of the Site
Drum is more or less divided into three sections: New Post, Old Post, and the field areas.
Old Post is the original garrision area that existed prior to the arrival of the 10th
Mountain Division. Up to that point, the base was used almost exclusively as a
Guard/Reserve training facility and this was housed in a small garrison area. The western
edge of Old Post is delineated by a major roadway and railway where rail operations are
carried out. This includes a four lane divided road adjacent to the railhead. The road
divider is very large to accomodate parking for on and off loading of vehicles at the
railhead.
To the west of Old Post is the New Post area of Fort Drum. After the full arrival of the
10th Mountain Division, it was realized that new garrison facilities were necessary to
maintain the full scope of operations at the base. Essentially, an entire new base was
built to house the 10th in the New Post area of Fort Drum. Everything was built anew - PX,
commisary, offices, motorpools, barracks, the works. But a key point to note is that
nearly all of this is a half mile or more from the areas of Old Post with most of it being
two miles or more.
To the north of both garrison areas is a highway that separates the garrison areas from
the field areas. Fort Drum is the second largest Army base in the United States - only
Fort Hood is larger. We're talking miles and miles of nothing but training ranges and
other field areas. It also hosts a major airfield here that was recently remodeled to
support all of the aviation assets currently available to the military.
Training Possibilities
Since so many are interested in the idea of relocating the 10th Mountain Division to some
actual mountains, we are left with the matter of what to do with Fort Drum if we actually
make the move. The answer? Blow it up!
What I am proposing is that the entire New Post area of Drum, including most housing and
support areas, be converted into an urban combat training center. The heart of New Post is
the facilities that host the current combat arms units of the 10th. These are built up on
a loop with a total diameter of approximately six miles. This area includes barracks,
motorpools, office buildings, clinics, bars, shops, the works. This would serve as the
primary training area and is sufficiently isolated that live fire with small arms and man
portable explosive munitions should not be a problem. Areas in between where units
currently reside can be filled in with the cheesy little buildings we usually use for
urban combat ranges so we're blowing up cheap buildings while also using real ones made of
concrete and featuring full utilities like electricity and water. All told, this area
consists of approximately three square miles with no living quarters within two miles of
its location and no civilians within approximately four miles.
Drum has many locations off post that are used for military housing. They utilize a busing
network to connect these off post sites to the base. If we retain the use of these
locations, the on post military housing can serve as a suburban area, complete with
restaurants, shops, and a complete shopping center (the existing commisary and PX
compound) in addition to hundreds of residential housing units. Any units that retain
residency at Drum can then use the off post locations for government housing.
The DISCOM area, which lies about a mile or so east of The Loop but well before the Old
Post area, can serve as an industrial park. This area is mostly motorpools and barracks
but also has the post fuel point and a nearby power plant. This would probably be a MILES
only area but it is still relatively large plus it is built on a hill to incorporate some
terrain variations.
The field area is sufficiently large that we can also incorporate a "nearby
town" as an additional aspect of the training center. This would be of the typical
"shantytown" construction and would remain fairly small but could be located to
allow for live fires. Also in the field areas would be the airfield that could host some
exercises depending on the circumstances rounding out our urban center with a complete
airport.
All told, this would give us five distinct urban training areas for utilization. The New
Post area of Drum, if converted as proposed, is more than sufficient in size to host
force-on-force exercises with units as large as brigade in size. Multiple exercises with
smaller units could be conducted simultaneously. Even light mechanized forces could be
accomodated without any difficulty. This is all in addition to the existing field ranges
that would also be available for live fire and other training. In short, this would be the
largest and most comprehensive urban warfare training center anywhere in the world. And
all of this would not compromise the post's current mission to support training of Guard
and Reserve units either.
Supporting Issues
As with other training bases, there will need to be some host OPFOR units to assist with
training. The base could easily accomodate Special Forces or Ranger units or even a
quantity of the Air-Mech forces being proposed by others. These would be an ideal fit for
the facilities that exist at Drum.
Much of Old Post would need to be upgraded or rebuilt and this would require some funding
but unlike trying to build a major urban training center in a current field area, there
would be no environmental issues as we're building in areas that are already built up.
Resident units can use facilities on Old Post and the off post housing areas for family
housing.
Visiting units can arrive by road (the interstate system runs nearby), rail using the
onpost facilities, air using the onpost facilities, or potentially even by sea if we can
work something out on nearby Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence Seaway. The post already has
considerable temporary lodging on Old Post but units will typically be living in the
training areas.
Political Issues
The greatest obstacle to any move like this is the political ramifications. As has been
witnessed with previous BRAC closings of excess facilities, no matter how much the
Pentagon wishes to reorganize, the process has to go through the politicians. And this is
why most other urban training center concepts never really pan out. But this can be an
exception.
Fort Drum would remain a jewel in the Pentagon's crown as the premiere urban warfare
center in the world. It can host joint and even multinational operations in a very large
area. It could also retain some of the elite units in the military that could benefit
greatly from this facility. Even non-military exercises, like hostage rescues, can be
trained at this facility.
If anything, this method of realignment would elevate the stature of Fort Drum and the
politicians who support it. Adjacent community issues are almost non-existent because of
Drum's isolated location. Simply put, this plan is a winner for everyone involved; the
military gets the finest urban training center in the world while the 10th Mountain
Division relocates to some actual mountains.
Summary
With environmental laws being what they are today, it is simply impossible to construct a
proper urban combat training center within any existing military-owned field area. At
best, we would simply get another "shantytown" of unrealistic buildings with no
real building materials and no utilities or other details of a true urban environment.
Moreover, existing field areas are too small to accomodate large units, multiple small
exercises, or live fire exercises.
The 10th Mountain Division needs to be relocated to a mountainous area where they can
properly train for their name. Fort Drum is the ideal location and situation to convert an
existing garrison area into the finest urban warfare combat training center in the world.
It has the size, the structures, the facilities, and the location to meet all of the needs
for this mission. We need to move the 10th Mountain Division and blow up Fort Drum.