SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND DELIVER $18 MILLION FOR FORT DRUM’S URGENTLY NEEDED WHEELER-SACK ARMY AIRFIELD UPGRADES
Funding Follows Senators Delivering $18 Million Last Year For Military Construction Projects To Expand Aircraft Storage & Training Facilities At Fort Drum
After Years Of Advocacy, Senators Say Funding For Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield In Just-Passed Defense Funding Bill Means Funds Are Officially Delivered For Fort Drum
Schumer, Gillibrand: $$ On The Way For Upgrading Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield!
After years of advocacy, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that they have delivered $18 million in federal funding to make long-needed upgrades to Fort Drum’s Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield as part of the just-passed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Defense funding bill, which was signed into law earlier this week. Schumer and Gillibrand explained that upgrading the airfield’s outdated lighting system is a top priority for Fort Drum leadership.
“Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield at Fort Drum is mission-critical to the 10th Mountain Division, our most deployed US Army unit. Without Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield, the 10th Mountain Division would be forced to find other airfields to deploy from, significantly limiting their mobility and deployable readiness. That’s why I’m proud to deliver $18 million in federal funding to upgrade Wheeler-Sack’s legacy lighting and electrical infrastructure,” said Senator Schumer. “Upgrading Wheeler-Sack’s lighting and electrical infrastructure has long been Fort Drum’s top garrison priority, as more than 70% of the lighting system at any given time is rated as ‘not mission capable’ and is held together by duct tape and other makeshift fixes that fall short of long-term solutions. After years of advocacy, I am proud to finally get this funding over the finish line and urge the Army to provide additional funding needed to complete these upgrades.”
“Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield is a vital asset for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, enabling rapid deployment for one of the Army’s most heavily tasked units,” said Senator Gillibrand, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I am proud to deliver $18 million in federal funding to modernize Wheeler-Sack’s aging lighting and electrical infrastructure. For years, more than 70 percent of the system has been deemed not mission capable. This long-overdue investment strengthens our national security, supports our service members, and ensures Fort Drum can meet the demands of today’s missions.”
“Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand have always understood the importance of Fort Drum to the North Country region. Besides being home to our friends and neighbors, the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum generates over $2.5 billion in economic activity for the tri-county region each year,” said Jefferson County Administrator Ryan Piche. “Investments in the Wheeler-Sack Airfield will ensure our soldiers and airmen have access to the latest technology when training and deploying from Fort Drum. Continued investment in Fort Drum is good for national defense, good for the 10th Mountain Division, and good for Jefferson County. On behalf of the Jefferson County Board of Legislators, I would like to thank Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for their continued support and advocacy.”
The Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield at Fort Drum serves as the primary departure airfield for the 10th Mountain Division—the most deployed regular US Army unit since 2002—and is a power projection platform for the entire US Army, enabling the rapid deployment of US forces to remote theaters of operation. However, the legacy lighting system for Wheeler-Sack is far beyond its service life, with most of the lighting and electrical infrastructure dating as far back as the 1940s, and currently, more than 70% of Wheeler-Sack’s lighting system is not mission capable. Schumer further explained that if the Army doesn’t follow Congress’s lead and match these funds with accelerated federal investment soon to complete these urgent and overdue repairs to Wheeler-Sack’s lighting and electrical infrastructure, it will significantly degrade the 10th Mountain Division’s mission readiness.
Schumer and Gillibrand explained that the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum uniquely relies on Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield for training soldiers, moving troops, and maintaining the base’s hub for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The Army has long planned for $70 million in essential, long-overdue repairs and upgrades to the legacy lighting and electrical infrastructure at Wheeler-Sack, but has relied solely on Congress to appropriate the funds, refusing to match congressional dollars and provide the remainder of the project, and failing to pull the project forward in the Army Facilities Investment Plan. The senators said this $18 million will be a key down payment to phase one of the Wheeler-Sack restoration and modernization project, and that they will continue pushing for funds in future fiscal years to complete all five phases of the $200+ million restoration. Additionally, Schumer emphasized the urgency of Wheeler-Sack’s restoration in explaining that as the project continues to receive funding, sections of the airfield will need to temporarily shut down while necessary repairs are completed, further degrading airfield operations.
Schumer has long fought to deliver this funding for Fort Drum. In a meeting with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll last year, Schumer pushed Secretary Driscoll—who served in the 10th Mountain Division and was stationed at Fort Drum—to pull the project forward for insertion in the FY 2026 Facilities Investment Plan (FIP), emphasizing that the Wheeler-Sack lighting repairs has been the garrison’s top infrastructure project under facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization, for several years. In a personal meeting with Major General Scott Naumann, Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum, Schumer previously vowed to fight for this funding.
This announcement follows Schumer last year securing $18.5 million in the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 for Fort Drum in planning and design of an aircraft maintenance hangar addition and an Operational Readiness Training Complex training barracks at Fort Drum, a vital step in unlocking the funding process in future funding bills.
Schumer has worked for years to deliver major federal investments to enhance Fort Drum’s capabilities. Schumer fought for years, personally calling the former Army Secretary, Defense Secretary, and Army Chief of Staff to deliver over $27 million in federal funding to construct a new railhead at Fort Drum, a top priority for the base. The senator also delivered over $21 million for a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Hangar at Fort Drum, and he secured $27 million for Fort Drum in the FY 2022 omnibus to replace the base’s existing water supply that was vulnerable to multiple forms of contamination, requiring Fort Drum to purchase half of its water supply from a municipal source. Schumer additionally secured nearly $10 million for two major Fort Drum projects in the end-of-year spending package for FY 2023.
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