New Coast Guard Unit Commissioned at Fort Drum

A new U.S. Coast Guard unit has opened at Fort Drum — the Marine Safety Unit: Thousand Islands. LDC Carrie Foster will serve as the commanding officer for MSU: Thousand Islands.

"We are very excited to welcome the community, our stakeholders, our partners into our new building here at Fort Drum and celebrate with us for the commissioning of our new unit," she said.

Rear Admiral Jon Hickey, who serves as the senior coast guard commander for all of the Great Lakes and their federal waters, and has been the special assistant to the vice president, spoke during the event in front of about 30 or 40 people.

This facility will replace a separate Massena facility, where Coast Guard members were involved in managing invasive aquatic species on the great lakes. But over time, new technologies have emerged, changing the mission.