“I will tell you for sure, number one is going to be people,” Milford Beagle Jr. said on the day he arrived on Fort Drum. Fourteen months ago, when then brigadier general took command, he made that one promise.

“If we take care of our people, everything falls into place when you do that. It’s not just your soldiers, but it’s your families, your civilians, as well as the community,” Beagle said.

Now, as he leaves Fort Drum, the priority of people first is the one promise that now-Major General Milford Beagle is most proud to have kept.

“I don’t think you ever accomplish the people part of it," he added. "It is just something you continue to pursue, right? There are so many different aspects and dynamics of connecting with people and connecting people with resources."

For Beagle, that meant communication. He called for open lines, not only from him to them, but from them to him.

Whether that's keeping everyone happy and safe at home...

“We’ve had a great trend with regards to crime statistics going down, but it's based on how you focus and really find out where the challenges are so you do have a safe environment,” Beagle said.

…or while away, serving our nation.

“The goal is, if they are trained well, they’re taken care of by their leaders, then they all come home," he said. "They all accomplished the mission."

That has been what has separated Beagle from those who came before him. They all had a direct focus, Iraq or Afghanistan. He has not.

While there are 10th Mountain Division soldiers in nine different countries right now, including Iraq, Syria and Kuwait, he’s had to train the majority of his soldiers for an unknown future.

“We always talk in terms of you train for the known, but you educate for the unknown," he added. "We’ve been able to do both. Our training and education that we have to do keeps us prepared for the knowns and then the unknowns as well."

That was on full display earlier this year, when the division was called to Europe to help with the efforts as the war in Ukraine began.

“One of the first things the Army was asking us was for equipment to help the Ukrainians," Beagle said. "Within 96 hours over Easter weekend, we had to send major equipment and it was all ready. While our equipment is not the most advanced, you have to take care of what you have. What we sent was 100% ready, well-maintained and the Ukrainians were using it within hours of it arriving."

While that equipment was critical, it is just equipment. The soldiers that went are much more, and they are a group that is now back home safe.

In part two of this three-part series, Spectrum News 1 on Thursday interviews Beagle on how he is leaving Fort Drum, and how well positioned it and the 10th Mountain Division are for the future as a change in leadership takes place.