FORT DRUM -- The completion of a new complex for soldiers at Fort Drum in northern New York is being marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The construction and organization of the Soldier and Family Assistance Center took four years and $52 million. The project established a complex for the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Battalion, 85th Mountain Infantry Regiment, better known as the Warrior Transition Unit.
The battalion helps prepare soldiers to return to their units or move out of the Army. The unit has nearly 100 soldiers and more than 50 civilian employees.
The new center will provide space for counseling programs and assistance for soldiers, including military and veteran benefits, and Army Wounded Warrior programs. The project was finished in March.
Monday's ceremony comes on the heels of a critical report by the Department of Defense's Inspector General. The report, released in February, outlined problems with overmedication, low morale, and accessibility to services.
Fort Drum's Commanding General Mark Milley says leaders have taken steps to improve care at the base.
He says he expects the new center to help because it centralizes all the services soldiers need. He also says leaders regularly check with soldiers to make sure they're doing OK. Gen. Milley says they have also addressed the overmedication problem by assigning just one person to distribute medicine to a soldier. That prevents them from getting multiple prescriptions for the same medication.
However, Gen. Milley says improving care is an ongoing process.
"I think leadership is fundamental, and we've got to constantly be vigilant that we have good leaders in positions that are looking after the welfare of our soldiers."
(Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.)
