If laughter truly is the best medicine, then Maj. Gen. Milford Beagle may have preferred his goodbye speech to Fort Drum was instead a full stand-up set.

“A big part of my heart and my wife’s heart will be left here in the North Country. What it has meant to us is, the thing I generally say is, ‘home is not a place, it is a feeling. It’s the feeling you get here,’ ” he said.

Beagle said he will miss Fort Drum, including those following his command and those outside the gates that embrace what happens within.

“Everybody gets it. From educators to health care workers to the local governments, they all get it, because they try very hard to be empathetic to those of us who wear the uniform,” Beagle said.

“All jobs in the Army are great, and there’s great teams that you have, but there are some that are just a little more special than others, and this one is a little more special to me and my family.”

Before Maj. Gen. Beagle officially put Fort Drum in his rear view mirror, he had a chance to sit down and talk with the incoming commander Maj. Gen. Gregory Anderson, and offered a small piece of advice.

“You’ve got a great team. You’ve got a great community,” Maj. Gen. Beagle said. “Senior commanders, their responsibility is making sure your team has what it needs. If you meet those needs, everything else will take care of itself.”

And while Maj. Gen. Anderson officially took over last week, he will not be fully settled in until next week.