Ft.Drum soldiers head for Afghanistan

FORT DRUM, NY (AP) - Several thousand soldiers based at Fort Drum in northern New York are headed to Afghanistan.

Officials with the Army's 10th Mountain Division say a joint deployment ceremony will be held Friday morning at Fort Drum's Magrath Sports Complex. Military officials say between 3,000 and 4,000 soldiers from the 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams will deploy for nine months in Afghanistan as Security Force Assistance Brigades.

Soldiers began leaving this week from Fort Drum and the departures will continue through the month of January.

The 10th Mountain Division is one of the Army's most deployed divisions, with about two dozen brigade deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan since September 2001. The division's headquarters unit has deployed five times to the two countries.