How to Recruit Veterans Near Fort Drum (Watertown NY)

Fort Drum sits just outside Watertown, New York. It is the largest single-site employer in the whole state. Every year, a steady stream of soldiers finish their time there and start looking for civilian work.

Here is the problem for local employers. Many of those soldiers leave the North Country. The job market up here is thin. So they take the first offer they get somewhere else and move away.

That means you have a short window. You can reach these veterans while they are still at Fort Drum. Or you can watch them pack up and drive south. This guide shows you how to reach them first.

Why is Fort Drum a strong place to recruit veterans?

Fort Drum is home to the 10th Mountain Division, a light infantry division nicknamed "Climb to Glory." The post supports about 38,000 soldiers, family members, and civilian workers. That makes it the largest single-site employer in New York State.

The base pumps close to $2 billion into the North Country economy each year. But the part that matters to you is the people. A large chunk of that force turns over every year. Soldiers hit the end of their contract. They separate. They need a job.

These are not entry-level workers. Many led teams. Many managed gear worth more than your delivery trucks. They show up on time. They pass a drug test. They know how to follow a process and train the person next to them.

The turnover is also predictable. Soldiers sign contracts with clear end dates. So the flow of talent leaving Fort Drum is steady and easy to plan around. You can build a hiring rhythm that matches it once you know when to look.

What kinds of jobs do Fort Drum soldiers do?

The 10th Mountain Division is built for combat. But it takes thousands of support roles to keep it running. That mix gives you a wide range of talent.

The two brigade combat teams at Fort Drum are packed with infantry, scouts, and artillery soldiers. The post also holds the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade and the 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade. So you get pilots, aircraft mechanics, supply sergeants, and truck fleet managers in the same place.

The aviation talent is worth a second look. The 10th Combat Aviation Brigade runs and repairs helicopters day and night. That takes mechanics, electricians, and parts managers who cannot cut corners. Those same skills move straight into manufacturing, fleet shops, and maintenance floors.

You will not find all of this talent on one job board. But it is all sitting a short drive from your front door. The trick is timing and translation. We will cover both.

What makes the North Country job market different?

The North Country is not a big metro. Watertown is a small city. The winters are long and the drive to a major airport is real. Some soldiers cannot wait to leave. Others fall for the area and want to stay.

That second group is gold for a local employer. A veteran who wants to plant roots near Fort Drum is a low flight-risk hire. They are not using your job as a step toward a bigger city. They want to stay put and build something.

You also get their spouse. Military spouses at Fort Drum often hold degrees and a steady work history. Many have moved every few years and rebuilt a career each time. They are sharp, flexible, and want local work that lasts. Do not overlook them.

The thin market cuts both ways. Fewer employers means less competition for you, if you move fast. It also means the soldiers who want to stay have fewer choices. Be one of the good options and you can win them for years.

The numbers back this up. The Watertown-Fort Drum area has a small civilian labor force of around 45,000 people, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In a pool that size, a strong veteran hire stands out fast. You are not fishing in a crowded pond. You just need to cast early.

Why do you need to reach them before they separate?

Soldiers know their end date months in advance. Most start their job search well before that date. They also start planning where to live next. In a thin market like the North Country, that often means moving away.

If you wait for a Fort Drum veteran to apply on your careers page, you are already late. By then they may have signed with a company in a bigger metro. Your job is to get in front of them during that planning window.

Reaching them early pays off twice. You get first pick of the strongest soldiers. And you catch the ones who want to stay in the area before they give up and look elsewhere. Both of those are wins you cannot get by waiting.

The best time to start is 6 to 12 months before a soldier separates. That is when they are open to a local option they had not thought about. Learn how to work that window in our guides on sourcing veterans before their separation date and building a sourcing calendar around PCS and ETS cycles.

How do you read a Fort Drum soldier's resume?

A 10th Mountain resume can look like a foreign language at first. It is full of unit names, job codes, and acronyms. Do not let that scare you off. The work behind the words is often exactly what you need.

Take an infantry squad leader. On paper it reads like combat. Look closer and you see a frontline supervisor who led people, owned expensive gear, and made calls under pressure. Here is the same person, two ways.

The skill you want is buried in the wording, not missing from it. A soldier who ran a supply room managed inventory and vendors. A medic handled patients in the worst moments. Read for the verb and the result, then match it to your open role.

Same soldier. The second version just speaks your language. Our guides on how to evaluate a veteran's resume and how to read combat arms experience walk through this in detail.

Where do you find transitioning Fort Drum soldiers?

You do not need a big program to reach these veterans. You need to show up in the few places they already go before they separate. Here are the strongest ones.

Start with the base transition office. Our guide on recruiting through base TAP offices shows how to get in the door. Then add the state veteran employment offices to widen your reach.

Does the Work Opportunity Tax Credit still apply?

You may have heard that hiring a veteran can earn your business a federal tax credit. That program is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC. It has helped employers offset the cost of hiring veterans for years.

For 2026, that changed. The credit expired at the end of 2025. It is not available for 2026 hires unless Congress renews it. Congress has brought it back after past lapses, and 2025 hires may still qualify. But do not promise your finance team a credit that is not live right now.

Check the current status before you build it into an offer. Our full WOTC guide for employers breaks down how the credit works and who qualifies. And never hire a veteran just for a tax break. Hire them because the work is good.

What mistakes cost North Country employers this talent?

Plenty of local businesses want to hire Fort Drum veterans. Many still miss. Here are the four errors that cost you the most.

Once you get a Fort Drum veteran in the door, run a fair interview. Our guide on how to interview a veteran candidate helps you draw out the real skills behind the military words.

How does BMR help you reach Fort Drum veterans?

Best Military Resume is a platform built by veterans. Transitioning soldiers use it to turn their military record into a civilian resume. That means the resumes you see are already written in language you can read.

The pool keeps growing. BMR adds more than 1,000 new veteran profiles every month. Over 60,000 resumes have been built on the platform so far. Many of those people are stationed at posts like Fort Drum right now, planning their next move.

That fresh flow matters for a local employer. You are not digging through the same old stack of resumes everyone else has seen. You get access to people who just decided to leave the service and want their next job. Reach them while they are still deciding where to work.

Want to reach these veterans before they leave the area? Connect with BMR's veteran talent pool and get in front of transitioning Fort Drum soldiers. You can also partner with us to build a steady pipeline from the base to your team.