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FORT DRUM, N.Y. (June 30, 2025) -- A documentary on the 10th Mountain Division (LI), centering on Soldiers competing in the 2024 D-Series and the Hale to Vail Traverse in Colorado, premiered June 23 at Fort Drum during Mountainfest Week.
“The High Ground” documents the 2024 winter challenge events as told by the Soldiers, while highlighting the legacy which 10th Mountain Division Soldiers forged in battle during World War II and the modern-day division as it reconnects with their alpine roots.
During the screening inside Fort Drum’s Multipurpose Auditorium, 1st Sgt. Dan Fields, Mountain Training Group senior enlisted adviser, and retired Lt. Col. Marc Cleveland, former 10th Mountain Division (LI) information operations officer, spoke about the inspiration for the documentary.
“We wanted to reconnect the 10th Mountain Division and the U.S. Army with the American people by telling our story,” Cleveland said. “No one has a better story than the 10th Mountain Division.”
As the 10th Mountain Division (LI) renewed its focus on alpine and cold-weather training, light infantry units were being conditioned to undertake arduous missions in austere environments around the world. Cleveland was tasked to help communicate this effort to a larger audience.
“The commanding general (then Maj. Gen. Gregory Anderson) told me to reach out to Army University Press to collaborate and coordinate a series of articles for a 10th Mountain Division special section in an edition of the Military Review Journal,” said Cleveland. “During conversations, I was introduced to Chris Carey with Army University Films, and we both agreed that it would be a good idea to make a documentary on the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division to accompany the articles.”
Army University Films partnered with the Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives, History Colorado, the National Ski Patrol and other organizations to create the documentary.
“We worked in collaboration with the 10th Mountain Division, from pre-production through to the release,” said Carey, director of “The High Ground and Army University Films historian. “Our goal was to showcase the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division, which is a challenge when you think of all that encompasses. ‘Legacy’ can encapsulate a lot of things, but the more I reflected on the concept, legacy is the point where history and modernity meet. So, then the challenge became figuring out how to show that on film.”
Carey said the historical footage they received of the 10th Mountain Division training at Camp Hale, Colorado, blended perfectly with what they recorded of the modern-era division Soldiers.
“As we got into that footage, we watched the World War II-era Soldiers doing the exact same things as the modern Soldiers,” he said. “And it was remarkable that during Legacy Week the modern Soldiers were literally standing in the same places that their predecessors had once stood.”
Cleveland received a lot of screen time in the documentary that he didn’t expect, but it also included insights from several other participants to help tell the 10th Mountain Division’s story.
“I like being ‘behind the scenes,’ but the director asked me to contribute my own story to the project,” Cleveland said. “I figured if I was asking other Soldiers to share their personal lives, I should be willing to do the same.”
In the end, Cleveland said seeing the personal side of people in uniform made for a compelling narrative.
“This documentary is different in the sense that it was made to resonate with people outside of the military,” he said. “We focused on individuals in an effort to remind people that Soldiers are just like them. We focused on the 10th Mountain Division legacy because we wanted to inspire people and spark their imagination. We wanted them to think about military service in a way that they might not have before.”
Carey said the production team had to make many impromptu decisions while covering the fast-paced training events.
“This was a challenging shoot,” he said. “This statement may shock some, but not everything in the Army does goes according to plan. So, when the D-Series Soldiers were stuck sitting out in the cold, our camera crew was out in the cold with them. We were blessed to have outstanding support from the division leadership and Public Affairs teams, as well as the participants themselves. We really enjoyed meeting the 10th Mountain Soldiers. There were some stressful moments during filming, but this was the most fun I’ve had making a film.”
Carey couldn’t attend the premiere at Fort Drum, but he recently rewatched the film.
“It feels like we accomplished our mission in terms of content,” he said. “Our leadership supported the direction of the film, and my team of Sara Carlsen and Nick Schale did outstanding work. Just watch two minutes of the film, and you can’t help but admire the beautiful landscapes. That’s because of Nick and Sara.”
In attendance were Soldiers with the 27th Public Affairs Detachment, whose videos and still photography were used in the documentary. Capt. Eric-James Estrada, 27th PAD commander, said that working with the Army University Press team was a rewarding experience.
“At the beginning we weren’t familiar with what they did as an organization, but they were a great group of people to work with,” he said. “As Public Affairs Soldiers, our job is telling the Army story and this was an amazing opportunity for us to do that.”
The physical and mental stressors that Soldiers endured in extreme winter conditions during the D-Series, Ski Trooper Cup, and the Hale to Vail Traverse, are captured in the film. While 27th PAD Soldiers occasionally make cameos in it, their hard work to capture footage is on full display.
“With a division as storied as the 10th Mountain Division, it was an honor to have some of my footage and imagery used in this documentary,” said Sgt. Jaidon Novinska, a mass communication noncommissioned officer with the 27th PAD.
Novinska, former Military Police, had only been in Public Affairs several months and he wasn’t sure his work had documentary-quality value. But Army leaders thought otherwise about his work and he was named 2023 U.S. Army Forces Command Military Photographer of the Year.
“I’ve never had my content used in a production this size before, so I was just excited to be a part of this project,” Novinska said. “It was interesting to see what they used in the film, and then to see all of our names in the credits.”
Spc. Sam Bonney said that he gained an appreciation for what the Soldiers accomplished during the D-Series as he filmed them.
“It’s one thing to get briefed about what they do, but then to actually walk alongside them on snowshoes and get to see the nitty-gritty details of what they went through was an awesome experience,” he said.
In extreme cold weather, Bonney said it was important to pack light for mobility, but to wear the essential cold-weather gear to stay warm.
“You had to protect your camera gear out there,” he said. “I kept the memory cards and batteries close to my chest to keep them warm. Camera batteries will die out quickly in the cold.”
While the documentary shows Soldiers using their skills and tenacity to overcome various challenges, it reveals their personal stories and reasons for being in the Army and the 10th Mountain Division (LI).
“I really liked seeing how much they humanized Soldiers, so you got to know people like Pfc. Rylan Parsons, who was the first woman to complete the Hail to Vail, and 1st Sgt. Field and the story he told about his dad,” Bonney said. “It showed a different side of Soldiers that you don’t always get to see.”
Cleveland said his favorite part of the film was seeing how 10th Mountain Division Soldiers were portrayed and the candid moments that captures their camaraderie and the spirit.
“The film doesn’t attempt to show a polished and perfect image of individuals on duty,” he said. “It’s real and the edges are rough – but that’s reality. Things weren’t perfect in the 1940s and they’re not perfect now. But the 10th Mountain Division and Soldiers did great things back then, and they’re still doing great things now.”
The documentary is available on the Army University Press YouTube page at www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyDgdozvUmk.
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.30.2025 07:49 |
| Story ID: | 501851 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 698 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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