In January 1984, the Department of the Army announced it was studying selected Army posts to house a new light infantry division. On Sept. 11, 1984, the announcement was made that Fort Drum would be the new home of the 10th Light Infantry Division. The first division troops arrived at Fort Drum on Dec. 3, 1984. Between 1986 and 1992, 130 new buildings, 35 miles of roads, and 4,272 sets of family housing units were built at a cost of $1.3 billion.
On Feb. 13, 1985, the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) was officially reactivated at Fort Drum. It was the first division of any kind formed by the Army since 1975 and the first based in the Northeast since World War II. Since then, it has been one of the most deployed units in the U.S. Army. The division commander after reactivation was Brig. Gen. William S. Carpenter.
