Tools

Military Matters: Fort Drum Chosen For Training Videos

Story Published: Oct 10, 2012 at 4:30 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 10, 2012 at 6:55 PM EDT

Fort Drum leads the Department of Defense in what's called "cultural property protection" training - teaching soldiers to identify and show proper respect for the places and objects that matter to people when they deploy to other countries.

"We have rules when we deploy and it's critical that our personnel understand those rules and understand why those rules are made and why they matter," Dr. Laurie Rush, cultural resources manager at Fort Drum.

Now, it's sharing those lessons with a much bigger audience.

Fort Drum's Cultural Resources Program is helping to make a series of short training videos that will be used by every branch of the U.S. military.

"That's a tool that enables folks to get very quick, very impactful understanding of 'okay, this is something I want to take into my next situation,'" said Lieutenant Commander Leedjia Svec of the U.S. Navy.

The videos are being shot at one of Fort Drum's historical and cultural gems, the LeRay Mansion on main post.

"I hope that this will get the attention of others and they can start doing these things at their own installations," said Svec.

In a war zone though, Dr. Rush says cultural property protection can be a matter of life and death.

"Ultimately for me, it's all about force protection, all about mission accomplishment, and making sure that our folks that deploy have all the skills and tools they need," she said.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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