There are two possible ways the Taliban's retaking of Afghanistan can affect Fort Drum’s short-term future.

The 10th Mountain Division has not yet, at least publicly, received any orders, and may not.

However, since the day the troop withdrawal date was made official, the division has constantly been working out on ranges here at home, making sure they are ready for anything, anywhere, anytime.

It’s what it does.

“It didn’t matter wherever it was or whatever our nation needed to do, we were ready," said Maj. Gen. Milford Beagle, commanding general of Fort Drum. "So we will continue to pull that into the future and be ready for whatever, whenever.”

Whether on the ground in rough weather, firing heavy artillery or conducting practice air missions, the 10th Mountain Division stays ready for that call.

One specific training is called Operation Gunsmoke, a 16-day, live-fire exercise with real weapons and ammunition.

Led by the 10th’s Combat Aviation Brigade, it features mock scenarios that require various units from Drum and other military installations and branches from around the nation to come together and work as one.

“What we’re trying to achieve is the planning, preparing and execution of putting all those elements together, and move them around at the same time," said Lt. Col. Beau Rollie, a squadron leader.

Calls from troops on the ground, fire from choppers in the air. It’s all about making the very best of a multi-branch training session that doesn’t happen all that often.

“Doing training missions like this, it just reinforces that bond and that trust that we have when conducting real world operations," said Staff Sgt. Benjamin Blake of the U.S. Air Force.

And it’s that trust and teamwork that will help not only Fort Drum and the 10th, but military units across the country be ready when that call to duty comes in.

Currently, there are a small number of 10th Mountain Division soldiers remaining in Afghanistan, who are now working to provide security at the Hamid Karzai International Airport to assist with the withdrawal of designated personnel.